Speedrunner and pro gamer GrandPooBear is hosting an invitational Fall Guys tournament with a prize pool of $5,000. The adorable battle royale launched less than a month ago and has already become a cultural sensation, drawing not only hordes of fans and players but legions of corporate brands eager to leave their stamp on the game as well.
The amount of success Fall Guys has found since release is truly staggering. It's acquired a fanbase big enough to cause routine server issues and its popularity is still growing. The game is also a sensation on Twitch, where thousands of people gather to watch streamers journey through the colorful obstacle courses. Plenty of streamers have made names for themselves by playing Fall Guys, though not always for the best reasons; streamer TimTheTatMan, for example, only recently won his first game of Fall Guys, overcoming a losing streak more than 600 games long.
The pro gaming market is finally beginning to latch on to Fall Guys as well. In addition to the upcoming Twitch Rivals Fall Guys event coming at the end of the month, GrandPooBear announced on Twitter that he will be hosting FallMania, a Fall Guys tournament set to begin on August 27th. The event is invitational, but a signup sheet has been posted to offer opportunities for "creators of all sizes" to possibly compete in FallMania and future events. GrandPooBear is offering a winner-take-all prize pool of $5,000 for each event.
Fall Guys is an unconventional game to appear in the professional circuit but not an unwelcome one. It's a unique competitive multiplayer game, and its cutesy art style and hilarious slapstick action make it a joy to watch. Most popular competitive games these days are shooters like Call of Duty or Overwatch, which require pinpoint accuracy and lightning reflexes. By comparison, Fall Guys is a goofy, pleasant jaunt through a gauntlet of brightly colored obstacles that look like they came straight out of a Mario level. It's a huge change of pace.
As developer Mediatonic has learned, there's a lot of money to be had in Fall Guys as well. An overnight gaming sensation like this doesn't come around too often, and pros like GrandPooBear and the streamers that will be signed for his invitational can hardly be blamed for wanting a piece of the pie. GrandPooBear already indicated that this wouldn't be his last event, and he's certainly not going to be the only one finding innovative ways to use Fall Guys as a platform. Between FallMania and the upcoming Twitch Rivals competition, the future of Fall Guys looks bright.
Fall Guys is available now on PS4 and PC.
Source: GrandPooBear/Twitter