Fortnite Summer Skirmish Week 3 Prize Money, Twitch Live Stream and More

Week 3 of the Fortnite Summer Skirmish series kicks off Friday with a duos competition dubbed the Race to the Crown. 

Teams will compete in custom matchmaking lobbies against other pro players and streamers. Like Week 1, the format places a heavy emphasis on wins with four points for a Victory Royale and two points for at least five eliminations during a match.

The first duo to 13 points wins the event and the $60,000 first-place prize money. A $6,500 bonus is also available for the most kills in each match.

It's another test for the Fortnite servers, which struggled to handle the high number of players still alive for the final circles in Week 1. Placing top priority on winning compared to high-kill games leads to a lot of camping and less mid-game engagements.

"We experienced many pain points from a server performance standpoint and feel we under-delivered for the premiere of online competition in Fortnite," Epic Games stated after Week 1. "While we often run tests to learn how the servers will perform, having significant prizes on the line changed gameplay behavior significantly."

The popular battle royale game will attempt to showcase its progress during Week 3.

Let's check out all of the important details for Friday's action. That's followed by a look at the prize money and analysis on the tournament's top contenders. For a complete list of teams, visit the Summer Skirmish's official website.

Viewing Information

When: Friday, July 27 at 5 p.m. ET

Live Stream: Fortnite on Twitch

Prize Money for Top Finishers

1st: $60,000

2nd: $48,000

3rd: $40,000

4th: $36,000

5th: $32,000

Full List: Week 3 Payouts

Top Contenders

1. Liquid Chap and Liquid 72hrs

Team Liquid hasn't generated as much mainstream attention as the likes of FaZe, TSM, Ninja or Dr. Lupo, but they will be a major force as the Fortnite competitive scene continues to grow.

Chap and 72hrs showcased their potential by winning the first game in Week 1 and being among the last teams alive in the second game. Their extensive work in pro scrimmages and head-to-head battles in playground mode was illustrated in their advanced end-game strategy.

They understood the win-focused rules meant the heavily populated late game was more about building and editing—at one point in Week 1 they navigated the Loot Lake water beneath the other players—than direct combat, and used that to their advantage.

Since Week 3 is being contested under similar circumstances, Liquid should be considered the slight favorite, especially if improved server performance leads to smoother building for all competitors.

2. FaZe Cloak and FaZe Tfue (Not Tfue)

Cloak and Tfue have proven downright dominant in high-kill competitions. They won four Friday Fortnite tournaments in 10 weeks. No other duo captured more than one title. That's even more impressive when you consider the amount of RNG involved in those events.

They weren't selected to compete as a team in Week 1, forcing them to play with different duo partners. So it's unclear how their success in kill-centric tourneys like Friday Fortnite and NerdOut will translate, but it's impossible to leave them out of the discussion of favorites.

It's worth noting Tfue has been working to acclimate himself to new keybinds following a middling performance in last week's solo Summer Skirmish event. A full week of practice should limit the impact of that change in Friday's matches, though.

The question for Cloak and Tfue will be whether they want to play aggressive, seeking the guaranteed two points for five-plus kills and potentially some bonus money for the most eliminations, or adopt a more conservative strategy in search of victories.

3. TSM Myth and TSM Hamlinz

Myth has started to gain the reputation of struggling to deliver on the biggest stages. He infamously died of fall damage in his first match at Ninja's Vegas event in April and suffered the same fate during the celebrity Pro-Am at E3 in June.

Those moments overshadow an otherwise strong track record. He won a Friday Fortnite tournament with Hamlinz and, like Team Liquid, the TSM tandem has taken part in pro scrims to practice for high-end lobbies like they'll deal with Friday.

The key for Myth and Hamlinz in Week 3 will be better execution during the final circles. They were a factor in a couple matches during Week 1, but couldn't close the deal. If the lag issues are fixed, their extensive experience as teammates make them a major threat.

Other teams to watch include Liquid Poach and FaZe Tennpo, Hysteria and High Distortion, FaZe SpaceLyon and Liquid Strafe as well as NoahJ456 and 100T Parallax.