Fortnite stars compete for $3m charity prize at E3 showdown

World's favourite video game holds first major competition, watched live in LA by 15,000 fans and millions more online

Under the unforgiving LA sun, in front of a crowd of thousands, the first ever pro/celebrity Fortnite tournament took place on Tuesday afternoon, and anyone still mystified by the success of this brashly colourful multiplayer shooter would perhaps have been a lot wiser by the end. It was a fun spectacle, put on by the developer, Epic Games, for fans who screamed their support throughout the hour-long contest.

The set-up was simple. Fifty well-known Fortnite players - young adults who play every night for countless fans on YouTube and Twitch - were teamed up with 50 celebrities from the worlds of wrestling, television and music, with each pair taking part in an all-or-nothing match of the world's most popular video game. In Fortnite's famed Battle Royale mode, 100 players land on a giant island and must fight until only one player - or team - is left standing. Usually the prize is simply kudos, but here there was a $3m (2.2m) pot to aim for, the money to go to charities chosen by the top-finishing duos.