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League/Tournament Brands:
- The NBA 2K20 Global Championship will span the Americas, Europe, and Asia Pacific, and award $145K USD in total prizing.
- ESL will host the regional finals, as well as the Global Finals on Feb. 22, 2020.
- Unlike the five-player teams of the NBA 2K League, the Global Championship will feature individual 1v1 matchups.
2K Games today announced the NBA 2K20 Global Championship, a new international tournament that features 1v1 gameplay and a total prize pool of $145K.
Held in partnership with ESL, as well as the National Basketball Association (NBA), and National Basketball Players Association (NBPA), the NBA 2K20 Global Championship spans a number of online and offline events between October 2019 and February 2020.
Unlike the NBA 2K League, which features five-player teams associated with NBA organizations, the NBA 2K20 Global Championship will see individual players control an entire in-game squad on the digital court.
Regional finals for the Americas, Europe, and Asia Pacific will be held at ESL studios in Los Angeles, Paris, and Sydney, respectively, with $15K awarded to the winner of each. The top eight international players will then compete at the Global Finals on Feb. 22, 2020 at ESL’s Los Angeles studio, with $100K in cash and prizes awarded to the ultimate victor.
“We’re excited to partner with the NBA, NBPA, and ESL to create this first-of-its-kind tournament for NBA 2K,” said 2K senior vice president of basketball operations, Jason Argent, in a release. “For anyone who is interested to test how their skills match up on a global scale, we encourage you to register and see if you truly have what it takes to become the best head-to-head player in the world.”
The NBA 2K20 Global Championship is the latest step by 2K Games to embrace a more international audience and player base for its esports efforts. Earlier this year, the NBA 2K League held its first international qualifying event in Hong Kong, with finalists eligible to be drafted into the league.
Additionally, a July partnership with Tencent Holdings saw condensed versions of NBA 2K League playoffs and finals games streamed to Chinese video platforms with hundreds of millions of daily users. The NBA has become enormously popular in China, and the league has its own partnership with Tencent to broadcast real NBA games in the country.
