Nine-year-old Fortnite player handed four-year ban

Harsh or fair?

By Rob Thubron

WTF?! People getting banned from competing in competitive gaming is nothing new, but four-years is a longer than usual punishment. It seems even harsher when you find out the person in question is only nine years old, but there’s a good reason behind it.

For those who might not have heard of him, Zenon is a nine-year-old Fortnite player from Brazil who’s so good at the battle royale title that’s he’s competed in paid tournaments. Unluckily for him, the terms and conditions of these competitions state that entrants need to be at least 13 to take part.
Over the weekend, Zenon competed, and even managed to place, in a round of FNCS Solos open qualifiers, but as Fortnite Intel reports, he didn’t get away with it this time. There’s even footage of him receiving his four-year ban while playing alongside his dad, who's shown trying to comfort his clearly very upset son.
Zenon won’t be playing in any competitive or Arena games of Fortnite for four years, meaning he’ll be sticking to casual modes until 2024. Why such a lengthy ban? It’s all to do with his age. By the time the ban's up, he’ll have reached the required age limit of 13 for entering competitions.
Since the clip started spreading on Twitter, a number of Fortnite pro players, influencers, and fans have lent their support to Zenon, saying he should be allowed to compete.
Zenon can take solace in the fact he still has his Twitch channel, run by his dad, and considering how good he is at Fortnite now, he'll likely be even better on his return to competitive play four years from now.

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