72hrs’ return to Fortnite will be the biggest comeback story of 2021

Thomas “72hrs” Mulligan was once the face of competitive Fortnite. He intends to reclaim his throne in 2021

If you’re an active peruser of the r/FortniteCompetitive subreddit, you’ve probably seen idolistic mentions of the forum’s favorite pro player. 72hrs is typically referred to as “Tom” -- since everyone is apparently on a first name basis with him

I distinctly remember meeting 72hrs at TwitchCon 2019. He was going up the escalator, I was on my way down. As I called his name while crossing paths, I made the fatal mistake of going in with a splayed hand when he reached out his fist. The result was a miserably sad snail and the most embarrassedly confused Tom I’ve ever seen. I still have cringe inducing shower thoughts of this moment from time to time

Many people including myself love 72hrs because he exudes a chaotic neutral energy that is both entertaining and relatable. You have to watch his streams to get a clear understanding as to why “Tom” was a charming face to competitive Fortnite. That and his beast-like placements with Chap during the Summer/Fall Skirmish were the two components that brought him instant notoriety

But as the competitive landscape evolved and the skill ceiling became a race to the top, 72hrs became less and less dominant. 2019’s year ending Squad FNCS was the last event he would leaderboard, achieving 6th place with the OG Liquid squad plus CizLucky

A man who built up a cult following with Fortnite had lost his touch with the game. According to 72hrs, Chapter 2 had drained out much of the fun and desire to compete. A slew of updates and loot balances had admittedly made the game very hard to grind in early 2020

Unfortunately it’s really hard to get back on the horse after you take an extended break from Fortnite. You come back and everyone is at you level, forcing you to catch up to get ahead again

These compounding issues lead to an almost complete year without a serious 72hrs threatening the NA-East lobbies. Now Benjyfishy, Mongraal, Clix, Ronaldo, Unknown and any other cracked 15 year old is all the rave

But the story of 72hrs isn’t over just yet. It seems he found his second wind after finding enjoyment in the current state of the game. Here’s a clip from 72hrs’ Twitch livestream outlining his future plans

As a 72hrs fan, this is great news. He is committing to play comp Fortnite again! (At least until next World Cup) pic.twitter.com/l4Gs1E1QnD

— Somebodysgun (@somebodysgun) December 15, 2020

“I want to tryhard for at least until the next World Cup. I’m trying to unwash thy self [sic]. I just need more time, that’s it,” 72hrs remarked

This clip came out after Epic Games announced there would be no Fortnite World Cup in 2021 due to Coronavirus concerns. With that in mind, we can conclude that 72hrs is planning a long term stay with Fortnite once again… at least until 2022

We’ve already seen an inkling of the competitor Tom once again. He played in Dreamhack with Snood and got somewhat close to qualifying for finals. 72hrs also cashed in $2400 during Frosty Frenzy split between himself, Faze Funk, and HEARTT

Listen -- I know there’s still a lot of work to be done. He’s still a good few hundred places off his previously familiar spot on the top of the leaderboard. But he also hasn’t been rigorously practicing for all too long

ARENA GANGhttps://t.co/YAOn4rsnVR

— Tom 72hrs (@72hrs) December 18, 2020

The grind is just beginning for 72hrs as he’s begun the competitive journey live on Twitch once again. For the past few days, 72hrs has been almost exclusively outputting competitive Fortnite content. A viewer’s perspective could tell you that he’s enjoying it much more now than when he lost touch with the game not one year ago

I might be biased when I wrote the title to this piece. I also know what a top form Tom looks like. And with the experience he has over the youngins’, I expect for him to form a playstyle and synergy similar to that of a Bizzle -- who continues to lead the pack on NA-East despite not being a cracked out mechanical player

What I’m saying is that there’s room for 72hrs to make his way back to the top. This market hasn’t been oversaturated just yet. It’s just a matter if he’s willing to go through with the plan and unwash himself over the course of 12 months

We’ll be watching, and reporting, from the sidelines in the meantime

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