WBG Pika's Road To Qualifying For The Fortnite World Cup Finals

Just before the end of the Fortnite World Cup Qualifiers, we got to sit down with World Best Gaming’s Julio “Pika” Cesar Nevarez. We talked about his experience competing in the qualifiers and what qualifying to one of the biggest esports tournaments in the world means to him.

As a new competitive Fortnite player, Pika had some invaluable advice for aspiring players who are looking to break into this ultra-competitive scene, including how to navigate the challenging Fortnite ecosystem.

Qualifying for the Fortnite World Cup is no easy feat. Pika was earnest in admitting that it’s not easy to qualify for the World Cup and the ten weeks that you have to qualify fly by so quickly.

When it came to his Duos, he and Keenan “Rhux” Santos performed well but have been unable to qualify as of yet. When Pika mentioned their placements for the qualifiers, he confessed, “it was really really hard - it sucked to see that we got 3rd place twice in a row”.

Many players would be proud to place that well, but it’s understandable to feel frustrated when you’re so close to victory and are unable to obtain it.

Pika qualified for the Solo portion of the Fortnite World Cup, and it’s easy to see how much qualifying means to him:

Pika practiced for twelve hours a day leading up to the Solo qualifiers and followed a pretty strict routine:

“Wake up, play Fortnite, go to the gym, and then sleep.”

He joked about sticking to such a routine, but admitted that the World Cup means so much for him. This is Pika’s first competitive game, and the World Cup will be his first major tournament.

We asked him what the World Cup meant to him and his answer was simple:

“Just knowing that I’m up there with the rest of the world, the 0.0001% of the players that are really good at the game, that’s amazing”.

Being a competitive player requires drive. You have to not only be good at the game, but your drive to be better needs to be at the core of who you are.

Pika took no time in admitting where his competitive drive comes from — his brothers.

As a kid, Pika said his brothers would “trash talk me all the time,” especially when they played video games.

At the same time, Pika acknowledged that his brothers, “Taught me to not get salty or get upset, but rather just get better and try harder.”

This taught Pika to remain calm in challenging situations and not to get disappointed with losses.

In a scene full of salty players, Pika stands apart having already understood that being salty doesn’t teach you to get better nor does it help you accomplish your dreams — like qualifying for the Fortnite World Cup.

It’s easy to see that Pika has the skills and mentality to weather the competitive Fortnite scene. When we spoke about what it means to be signed to an organization like Worlds Best Gaming, Pika said, “signing to an org like WBG gives you that boost of confidence. They also helped me meet Rhux, my Duo partner, which I wouldn’t have been able to do without WBG.”

These moments, like signing to WBG and qualifying for the Fortnite World Cup, are steps for Pika, a way of reassuring himself that he’s on the right path. It helps that it gives him the confidence boost required to continue his drive for becoming the best.

He needs it too for when Fortnite drops those meta breaking patches just before or during tournaments and Pika “just needs to adapt to the changes”.

It was a pleasure getting to speak with WBG’s Pika to learn about his experience in the qualifiers and his journey in competitive Fortnite so far.

You can find Pika landing in Mega Mall on his Stream or catch him at the Fortnite World Cup from July 26th through the 28th.

Clip via @claystehling

Read more:

Fortnite Chapter 2 Season 5 Zero Point: Everything You Need To Know

This article was written by Hotspawn. Hotspawn combines news, in-depth analysis, and how-to guides into one place to help you learn everything you need to know about esports.