YouTube superstar Daniel ‘KEEMSTAR‘ Keem has announced the cancelation of his popular weekly tournaments Friday Fortnite and Minecraft Monday, which saw streamers and pro players go head to head in the games’ public lobbies.
The announcement comes hours after October 7’s Minecraft Monday was sent spiraling into chaos thanks to a hacker destroying the server, though KEEMSTAR revealed that it was a financial decision, rather than a spur of the moment choice following the drama.
Instead, Keem explained that although he likes “putting on a show for the community” and loved organizing the two weekly events, the fact that it earns too little money has seen it plod along on a “shoestring budget” for the past few months.
Friday Fortnite has embedded itself as one of the most popular regular Fortnite tournaments.
“There’s this misconception that I’m making thousands and thousands, millions of dollars off these tournaments,” the weekly-event mogul said in a video shared on Twitter. “No, no, people don’t understand that the amount of work to organize something like this is insane.
Because of the lack of money, Keem felt the events had been suffering in quality, and explained that he wanted viewers to have the best possible experience while watching their favorite stars battle it out once or twice a week.
“Frankly, we’ve been cutting so many corners on Minecraft Monday, like money should be spent here and there, and same with Friday Fortnite, and the reason we don’t spend the money and put money into it is we’re not making any money!” he said.
Future of #FridayFortnite & #MinecraftMonday !!! pic.twitter.com/SHUApjW5vm
— KEEM :popcorn: (@KEEMSTAR) October 7, 2019
KEEMSTAR revealed that there was still a future for the Fortnite and Minecraft events, however. Though he didn’t name the companies vying for a chance to helm the weekly tournaments, the YouTuber confirmed there were a few investors waiting in the wings.
“What’s happening now is that I have two companies, maybe three, that are fighting over taking over my tournaments and replacing UMG, and they’re offering some crazy money,” he said.
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“Last Friday and today’s Minecraft Monday could have been way better if I had money so I feel like it’s stupid to keep doing these events on a shoestring budget, when in a couple of months I would have a lot of money, could even raise the prize pool, and I might actually get paid for putting all this work into doing these tournaments!”
KEEMSTAR said he wants to make his Minecraft and Fortnite events as great as they can be.
The YouTuber also offered up a vague return date for when viewers and fans could once again watch the ever-popular events – sometime in November.
“I’m thinking the return of Minecraft Monday and Friday Fortnite will be in November. Also, there’s some brand new games that we’re working on tournaments with, that’s going to come out in the future as well,” he confirmed.
“I want to hold on this now because I don’t want to do this on a shoestring budget, I want this that you guys love and cherish, and that’s why I’m doing it – for you. Right now it’s not getting the vibe that I want it to.”
KEEMSTAR revealed two or three companies are looking to invest in the weekly events.
This isn’t the first time the event has been dropped into a hiatus either. Back in August, Fortnite Friday found itself shelved during Epic’s Trios qualifiers, a move Keem was quick to slam the game publishers for.
While there are no hard and fast dates for fans to expect a return, KEEMSTAR’s promises seem to confirm bigger and better events on the horizon, and potentially a whole new as-yet-unconfirmed game entering the roster – World of Warcraft Wednesdays, anybody?
