The Milk Cup Preview

Less than 24 hours separate us from the beginning of the LAN Finals of the Milk Cup, a trailblazing tournament for women-identifying players with a quarter million dollars on the line. 

33 teams of three traveled to Los Angeles to duke it out at LA Comic Con for the rights to call themselves the best women-identifying team in North America. 

The teams fought through fierce competition on their way to qualify for the LAN final, with three qualifiers taking place over a period of three months, dating back to May of this year. 

Scoring

Teams will receive points based on their placement in each game and a bonus two points per elimination they secure along the way. The full list of placement points can be viewed below. 

Qualifier 1

The first qualifier took place on May 23, with 30 teams fighting for a top 11 position, which would qualify them for the LAN finals. 

The teams to look out for in the qualifier were Team Fraanticc (Sommerset, Yqzmin, Fraanticc), Team Moxie (Moxie,Regsita, dieyuhs) and Team Nina (Nina, Vader, vanessuh), as they were consistently placing high in their pre-qualifier matches. 

Team Fraanticc adopted a highly aggressive playstyle in the qualifier matches, racking up elimination after elimination, leaving teams in their wake as they crossed the map from their drop point. 

However, as the storm closed in on the first match of the qualifier, it would not be Team Fraanticc on top. Instead it would be Team Moxie, aided by their Aspect of Agility, which they acquired at their drop, Grim Gate. 

“In the endgame, if you have a coin, it’s really easy to get refresh,” said Regs.

They would utilize the Aspect of Agility and control of high ground through the end game to secure favorable fights and win out in each game, and although they were unable to secure the Aspect initially in one game, they finished each game with control of it. 

While Team Fraanticc ended the qualifier with the most eliminations with 97, they ended in second place in the points standing, as Team Moxie won every match and nearly matched them in eliminations with 96. 

The qualified teams from the first qualifier are listed below. (6th and 11th withdrew)

Qualifier 2

The second qualifier took place on June 20, with 33 teams fighting once again fighting to be in the top 11 and a coveted spot in the LAN Final.

The second qualifier started similarly to the first qualifier, with one team (SofyAnn, Milly, Yani) winning three matches in a row. 

However, their opposition found a flaw in their strategy, switching their drop to take them out early. The eventual first place team, Smylie, Sophia, and Marii, switched their drop in match 4, jumping on the opportunity to eliminate their biggest contention early, reducing their points earned drastically, sending them into match 6 with 25th and 26th place exits. 

“We made a decision, we gotta kill them off spawn, we need to get them out of the game,” said Marii.

In match 6, neither of the aforementioned teams made it to the top 4, as team Hailey took the victory. 

The top two teams would be Team Smylie and team SofyAnn, with the top 11 teams and their point totals listed below. (7th place withdrew)

Qualifier 3

In the final qualifier, 33 teams again would fight for 14 spots, due to other teams withdrawing from the LAN. 

Qualifier 3 was the playground for Team FemaleClix (FemaleClix, Kanary, CeceNuggets), as they won all but one of the matches, their lone non-Victory Royale match with a third place finish.

They used the Nitro splashes to run circles around their opposition, running through opponent’s builds and diving on them with as much aggression as possible.

While clearly the most confident team in the lobby, they had the skills to back their confidence, as they racked up 100 kills in six matches. 

The teams that qualified alongside Team FemaleClix and their points are listed below.

Looking Ahead

In under 24 hours, a new legend will be forged as the first women’s Fortnite LAN will take place. 

The teams finishing high in the qualifiers will definitely have a target on their back, and while it’s been a while since viewers have seen some of the competitors in officials, rest assured they are ready.

Even though the meta has changed to a slower pace from the first qualifier, some teams will be pushing the limits of pace and continuing their aggression, including Team Fraantic

“I don’t really think we should slow ourselves down just because everyone else is slowing down, I think we should just keep pushing at the same pace that we’ve been playing and play how we know how to play best,” said Fraantic

It will be the first LAN for most of the competitors, with the sole exception being Sommerset. 

“If anything it turns my nerves into excitement,” she said.

Teams will have to quickly adapt to new setups, large crowds, a large prize pool on the line, and a trophy looming over the competition, all while performing their best.

For many of the teams, winning this LAN would mean “everything.”

“Lifting that trophy means more than any of the money they can put up,” said Yqzmin.