The Australian Open is hosting a two-day Fortnite tournament at the end of January. The Fortnite Summer Smash at Australian Open will see a solo free to enter tournament as well as a charity ProAm duos event. The solo format will see $400,000 AUD (£223,000) up for grabs, with $100,000 (£55,900) going to the winner, while the charity event will have $100,000 (£55,900) going to various charities of the winner’s choice.

According to the format, registration for the solo event seems to be open to everyone, with the first 500 that enter receiving an invitation to the event at Margaret Court Arena. Some have raised concerns about that structure and combined with the lack of information regarding what platform will be used, has led to some confusion about the event. Registration opens at midnight on Wednesday so more information may be available after that closes.

Interesting to note is the charity ProAm, which sees Oceanic Twitch streamers like Loserfruit, Lachlan, Muselk, Lazarbeam and MrFreshAsian being invited to take part, which as a result may bar them from entry into the solo tournament. They will be paired up in a 3-game series with other personalities from sports, gaming and entertainment. The Australian Open hasn’t mentioned anyone else that may attend the event, but perhaps more information will be released closer to the date.

Tickets are on sale currently, with seats going from $49 (£27.40) for adults and $5 (£2.80) for children ages 3-14. Premium seats are also available at $300 (£167) for the finals. Australian Open Director Craig Tiley said: “We’re proud of our reputation for delivering world-class events and are always looking at new opportunities to reach more people. The Fortnite Summer Smash at the Australian Open will see some of the best gamers from around the country do battle just hours before the world’s best male tennis players compete for the AO title.”

The Australian Open is a tennis major hosted in Melbourne, Australia from January 14th to the 27th. It is one of four grand slams in the tennis circuit and features the world’s best tennis players such as Roger Federer, Caroline Wozniacki, Novak Djokovic and Simona Halep.

Esports Insider says: It is intriguing to see traditional sports events trying to cater to the gaming crowd. No doubt a bid to try and draw more children and parents to the event, this is a smart move to get more casual tennis fans interested in the event. While attendance hasn’t been suffering, with an average growth rate of 7% year on year, this is a good forward facing move to try and capture the ever-elusive millennial audience.