"Bring more respect and larger variety of players" MrSavageM speaks his mind about Fortnite's Ranked Mode and Red Bull Contested

Professional Fortnite player Martin "MrSavage" Foss, 18 years old, hailing from Oslo, Norway, is one of the most prominent personalities in the community. From placing first in DreamHack Anaheim 2020 to winning numerous Cash Cups to placing second in Fortnite Champion Series: Chapter 2 Season 8 Grand Finals - Europe alongside FlowiS and Skram, MrSavage truly lives up to his name.

In the recent Red Bull Contested LAN tournament that was held on June 10, 2023, he placed 84 on the leaderboard. We at Sportskeeda, got a chance to talk to him and gain some insight on his thoughts about the Ranked Mode, Red Bull Contested, and the general state of the game prior to the event kicking off.

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Martin "MrSavage" Foss Andersen talks about his start in Fortnite, Red Bull Contested LAN tournament, and shares his expectations for the Ranked Mode

Q. First and foremost, thanks for taking the time to chat with us, Henrik Mclean. Would you mind introducing yourself to people who might not know who you are and perhaps shed some light as to what got you into Fortnite in the first place?

MrSavage: Thanks for having me. I’m MrSavage, I’m 18, and I hail from Oslo, Norway. The way I got into Fortnite was I went downstairs, and I saw my brother playing this game, and I was like, “Hey, this game looks nice. Can I try it?”

And he was like, “No, bro. You have your own PC. Go download and play it.” So I downloaded it, and I just started playing. This was when Fortnite was in its prime. I just started grinding it. That’s kind of how it started.

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Q. You've had an incredible career in the world of Fortnite so far. Would you mind sharing with us a few highlights and accolades earned thus far? Furthermore, where do you want to see yourself as an Esports athlete in the next few years?

MrSavage: One of my biggest achievements has been qualifying for the World Cup four times. Even though I didn’t end up doing that good in the Fortnite World Cup, I still managed to win DreamHack Anaheim 2020 not long after it.

I think that’s my biggest achievement, winning DreamHack Anaheim 2020. I’ve also done well in quite a few other tournaments, Cash Cups, and online DreamHacks.

But I’m still not happy. I want to win an FNCS or a bigger LAN event. Hopefully, that will happen in Scotland.

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Q. Coming back to the topic at hand, how are you feeling about the upcoming UK's first major Fortnite LAN tournament? Surely playing in front of a live audience will be a different ball game altogether. What’s your take on it? Do you feel that it will be a distraction or add to the overall hype of the event?

MrSavage: The live audience definitely adds to the atmosphere. Personally, when there’s a live audience, I get way more into the zone. I feel that I focus and perform better. I love having a live audience. It makes the event a lot better.

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Q. I understand that solo is a high-risk, high-reward format for any tournament, especially given that there will be eight opening rounds, with eliminations in the final four being worth double points. What’s your take on this unique setup? Do you feel that Duos would have been better suited?

MrSavage: I think having a Solo tournament once in a while is definitely cool, so I don’t mind the format at all. In fact, I think it’s cool that they are trying something different. You know, a trip to Scotland to compete in a crazy tournament on the first day of the new season, it’s going to be fun.

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Q. Given the stiff competition from some of the best players in Europe, what’s going on in your mind right now? Walk us through the thought process that helps you concentrate on staying on top of things.

MrSavage: I’m just waiting for the new season to come out, and I’ll try to get on a bit before the new tournament. Get the layout of the island and make a game plan and just take it from there. I’ve competed against great players before, so I’m not nervous. We’ll just see how it goes.

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Q. If possible, share with us the strategy you implement during the early game versus the late game. Given how the addition of certain movement mechanics and the Reality Augment system has spruced up gameplay, will it affect your desired strategy’s outcome?

MrSavage: I think that no matter how much you try to change Fortnite, it’s always going to be better if you can stay alive during the late game, obviously. So yeah, I’ll just try to make it to the late game. Usually, in Solos, late games, you just have to freestyle it. We’ll see how things go, but I’m pretty confident.

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Q. As a professional player in Fortnite, given the competition at hand, what are your predictions about the tournament? Do you have anyone in mind who you would like to go head-to-head with during the course of a match? On that note, is there someone who would want to avoid it at all costs, and if yes, why?

MrSavage: Anyone I'd like to avoid? Well, there are a lot of good players, so I’m going to try and avoid most of them. Hopefully, I won’t get into too many fights because, in Solos, anything can happen.

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Q. Moving on from the Red Bull Contested Fortnite LAN tournament, what’s your take on the newly added Ranked Mode? Do you feel it has enough gusto to propel Fortnite into the limelight and help professional players be taken more seriously?

Given that the LAN tournament in Copenhagen, Denmark - FNCS Global Championship 2023, is due later this year, do you feel that the Ranked Mode will help shine a brighter light on things?

MrSavage: I think Ranked Mode could have definitely been done a lot better because in Arena, we had siphon, and there was a competitive loot pool. When they added Ranked Mode, there was nothing like that, and they removed the Kinetic Blade, and there were cars and all.

So I guess, yeah, they have done it in a better way. I hope they fix it as soon as possible. But yeah, it could definitely help out the competitive scene. Bring more respect and a larger variety of players that want to grind Ranked even though they are not that good.

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Q. As a professional player, what are your expectations from the Ranked Mode moving forward? Although it’s still in its infancy, what more can Epic Games do to improve the experience and integrate things more seamlessly?

MrSavage: I think just reverting everything to how the loot pool and things were in Arena would improve it a lot. Small adjustments to the ranking system, how fast you can rank up, and what gives you a high rank will make a lot of difference.

I think that they can improve a little bit, but it’s definitely going to be good for Fortnite.

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Q. Moving on from the Ranked Mode and the competitive side of things, what are your general thoughts about Chapter 4 Season 2 thus far? Are you enjoying the storyline and newly added collaborative items, or do you feel that the current season was a letdown?

MrSavage: I think Fortnite Chapter 4 Season 2 has been great. I had a lot of fun playing and grinding it. I hope they don’t disappoint in Fortnite Chapter 4 Season 3. We’ll see how it goes.

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Q. Speaking of seasons, what’s your wishlist for Fortnite Chapter 4 Season 3? With leakers/data-miners predicting a full-scale tropical/jungle biome, are you excited to play the role of Ace Ventura?

MrSavage: Yeah, I think the jungle biome is going to be a lot different because there’s going to be so many trees, right? Players are going to be able to move as they wish without being spotted, but Fortnite has this thing with changing one part of the map each season, so it might not affect things that much.

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Q. On that note, thank you once again for taking out the time to talk to us, but before you leave, what would be the one piece of advice you’d like to share for up-and-coming players? What’s that one thing that you would want them to know and focus on above everything else?

MrSavage: Just be patient. It takes time to go pro. Also, listening to what the professionals give advice on, watching yourself playing games, and just being honest with yourself.

If you’re bad at some aspect of the game, practice getting better. Just stay true to yourself because it’s going to take time if you want to go pro.