Prescott Schaumburg presses the keys on his computer keyboard thousands of times.
By now, it’s a matter of reflex and muscle memory.
That’s what it takes – along with a lot of patience - to win at Fortnite, a video game sensation that took hold back in 2017 and has now been added to the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools’ spring activities.
“You have to be pretty coordinated,” Schaumburg said. “There are so many buttons to press, and it’s a lot of muscle memory. It’s a lot of hand-eye coordination.”
Schaumburg was one of over 300 high school students within MAIS’ system to sign up for the tournament this past month, and on Monday evening, he was the last man standing, winning the first ever overall Fortnite tournament.
About 180 players ended up in the tournament, the Indianola Academy junior told The E-T this week.
Typically, there are 100 Fortnite players at a time during a game.
“In a normal game, there’s about 99 people in the lobby, but with this, it was set up in a way that we played one-on-ones, so we only had to focus on one other player, and we had a huge bracket for that,” Schaumburg said.
An avid gamer, Schaumburg said that he’s grown used to the fast style of play required for the big battle scenes in the game, but he does not prefer the action-packed drama other players enjoy.
“Most people think it’s about getting above your opponent, but in the tournament we just played, I pretty much played the low ground the whole time, and that’s how I won,” Schaumburg said. “I was called the sneakiest player in the tournament.”
The games pitted one player against another and lasted about two hours until the final bracket, and those games lasted about three hours each.
“A lot of these players practice so much to get high ground,” Schaumburg said. “They watch tutorials on how to do that kind of stuff, but I’m not that much of a huge builder, I guess, but I’m more of a smart player. At the end of the day, I’m more than likely going to win that fight, because I’m more strategic and I try and find openings.”
During the course of play, gamers can chat with one another, and they can watch other games being played.
Much like the friendships built among players of different schools on sports fields, Schaumburg said he was able to form bonds with fellow gamers through this tournament.
“I actually became friends with some people,” Schaumburg said.
Schaumburg said he could play Fortnite for hours, and he is happy it has been added to the list of activities through MAIS.
