BIG Duo vic0 and Malibuca Prevail in Inaugural Fortnite Reload Elite Series
BIG duo Taylor-Petrik “vic0” Gatschelhofer and Danila “Malibuca” Iakovenko made Fortnite esports history by winning the inaugural Fortnite Reload Elite Series at EWC 2026, securing victory in Match 13 of the Match Point Finals. The championship marks their second consecutive Tier 1 LAN victory, following their triumph at the FNCS Major 1 Summit in Düsseldorf.
The tournament featured a distinctive Match Point format requiring teams to accumulate 350 points across multiple matches to become eligible for the finals. Aurora duo Oltean “shxrk” Ștefan and Tin “t3eny” Popovic were the first to reach this threshold, winning Match 2 and Match 7 and qualifying as early as Match 9. Their strong early position made them formidable contenders for the title.
Despite their early lead, Aurora ultimately came up short as other teams crossed the qualification threshold. The mounting competition and consistent performances from vic0 and Malibuca’s squad proved decisive, with BIG preventing Aurora from capturing the inaugural championship. The pair’s narrow defeat represents a painful conclusion to what had been a dominant performance through the group stages.
The Fortnite Reload Elite Series establishes a new Tier 1 tournament format in competitive Fortnite, showcasing the region’s elite talent through its innovative Match Point system that emphasizes sustained performance across multiple matches rather than single-match dominance.