What the Fortnite? Esports extensions at the Soccer Capital summer watch party
The Soccer Capital Gaming Experience, presented by the Kansas City Pioneers // Photo by Kylie Volavongsa
Sporting Kansas City’s Soccer Capital Summer watch parties are for everyone—even if soccer isn’t your thing at all.
In the days when the City’s official FIFA Fan Fest isn’t open for World Cup watching, KC2026 touts this party as one of your next best bets. At least, in a family-friendly sense, where you’re not shoving through a sea of drunk 20-somethings at the Power & Light District. Not that the latter lacks its own merits. But that’s not what I’m here to talk about.
Really, I’m referring to the Soccer Capital Summer brand activation where you get to shoot people. On Fortnite, anyway.
This tent, in the Sporting Park plaza, is filled with computers, a couple ergonomic gaming chairs, and all kinds of console games from Rocket League to Roblox to everyone’s favorite third-person shooter. It’s a collaboration between watch party organizers and professional esports powerhouse, the Kansas City Pioneers, who’ve partnered with Sporting since 2021 (not to mention the Royals, Chiefs, and Kansas Speedway).
Photo by Kylie Volavongsa
“This is the first time there’s ever been any sort of esports gaming activation—to our knowledge—that happens around these festivities in a host city,” says Sam Kulikov, Pioneers co-founder. “We want to curate an environment here in Kansas City for people at a younger age to connect to things that they love by bridging the gap between traditional sports and gaming.”
Oh, and they’ve expanded their presence at the party. On July 7, the Soccer Capital watch party featured a Rocket League x NFL crossover with Chiefs players Jeffrey Bassa and Armani Watts.
The Pioneers also recently announced their July 15 Nations Cup competition, where fans themselves can register to play THE FINALS with competitive gamers and other creators—and yes, it will stream on the big screen between quarterfinal matches.
Meanwhile, the July 18 and 19 watch parties will have more variety streams and open community matches on the big screen.
I first saw it when I hit the Mexico vs. South Korea match on June 18. A “Gaming Experience” was the last thing I expected to see, but I was filled with mirth—as was the mix of men young and old, clutching their controllers, completely locked in. I decided to join them: Fortnite solo, classic mode, no build (always no build).
After reaching eighth place, Fortnite user Onedirection67 made quick work of me. My hands shook. Nearby, one of the Colors DJ collaborators hunched over a game of Mario Kart.
A battle between Canada and Qatar raged on the big screen outside. All I caught was the sound of a whistle and a hot mic from the Canadian bench: “His leg is hanging off!”
The perfect segue back to the other beautiful game.
