Kids don’t need to struggle to work together when they play Fortnite anymore. Instead, they can go Rogue. Recently the esports organization Rogue just announced that young players can apply to join the Junior Rogue Program which will help kids pursue the possibility of being an esports-level player in the popular game.
Announced on September 18, 2018, Rogue partnered with Find Your Grind to create the program. It is designed to mentor children who play Fortnite and are interested in playing video games professionally. Kids and teenagers 18 and younger are eligible to apply.
We're incredibly proud to announce our @findyourgrind Junior Rogue program which will provide young #Fortnite players with mentorship and learning opportunities from some of the game's top influencers like @DrLupoOnTwitch!
— Junior Rogue (@JuniorRogueGG) September 18, 2018
Apply Now: https://t.co/DiWHh42YJQ#JuniorRogue pic.twitter.com/rwrtIz4MVm
Players who are accepted into the program will be coached by Rogue’s pro Fortnite team, including notable players and personalities Benjamin ‘DrLupo’ Lupo and Ryan ‘00flour’ Borst. Both expressed their excitement for being a part of the program in a launch video. The band Imagine Dragons also wished good luck to participants in the video. Two of the bands members, Daniel Platzman and Wayne Sermon, recently became co-owners of Rogue.
According to Rogue, they “are looking for a diverse group, and basically anyone who has passion for Fortnite can be a fit.” The organization is on the lookout for 15-20 members for the fall semester. Their ideal candidate is “someone who has the DNA of DrLupo,”. When choosing candidates, they will be looking at “their game play [and] how they interact on camera with their personality” as well as similar elements that they look for in their pro Fortnite team.
Rogue’s partner in the program, Find Your Grind, “is about stories not scores”. They want to be able to mentor and teach the players in the program, and to give them the real-life experience they need to succeed in esports.
Rogue announced their 8-man Fortnite lineup back in July, including Robert ‘Gingerpop’ Breakey and Alex ‘AlexJJ’ Campbell. Frank Villarreal, Rogue owner and co-founder, said that he and DrLupo “spent months going through hundreds of players” to find the members of their team.
Players who are selected into the program will potentially be joining the booming Fortnite esports scene. The Fortnite Summer Skirmish recently came to close, with almost 500 players earning money from competing. The next tournament, the Fortnite Fall Skirmish, will begin on September 21st, and will last six weeks, with a total of $10 million in prize money being awarded. The finale will take place at Twitchcon from October 26-28.
Considering Rogue has esports teams in many other games, this could potentially lead to similar programs with the others. The organization is active in scenes like CS:GO, FIFA, Rocket League, Rainbow Six Siege, and H1Z1, all of which could potentially have programs similar to the Junior Rogue Program.
This type of program is not without precedent, as Epsilon did something similar in 2014 when
they created a “youth team” for Call of Duty. It was designed not just to teach them how to play COD on a professional level, but to encourage them in their academic studies as well.
According to Rogue, the announcement of the Junior Rogue Program received more than 50,000 views in 24 hours and has already received positive feedback from the press and the general public.
Participants are asked to submit a video of their best continuous 40-60 minutes of gameplay on Fortnite, to display their overall skill. Applications are due October 5th.
