Eight NBA 2K League teams remain alive for the last two 3v3 Championship berths after the first day of action at the Coinbase Steal Open in Indianapolis.
Seven teams won their first-round series Wednesday and will conclude the single-elimination tournament Thursday night. All matches are best-of-five.
The Gen.G Tigers of Shanghai, Magic Gaming, Heat Check Gaming, Cavs Legion GC, T-Wolves Gaming, Warriors Gaming Squad and Jazz Gaming won Wednesday night. They’ll be joined in the second round by Nets Gaming Crew, whose first-round opponent, a team representing the Asia-Pacific region, was forced to withdraw due to pandemic-related travel restrictions.
One team from the Eastern Conference and one from the West will qualify for the league’s 3v3 Championships. The teams that qualify will be seeded 11th and 12th. The Championships are set for Aug. 17-20, also in Indianapolis. Thursday’s finale will pit the Eastern and Western conference advancers, with the winner getting $20,000 as well as the higher seed.
The Steal Open field is made up of the teams that finished sixth through 12th in the Seed Weeks competition, which concluded July 30. Also competing in the Steal Open are two foreign-based teams, the Tigers of Shanghai in the Eastern Conference and Team Europe in the Western Conference.
On Wednesday, the Gen.G Tigers beat Raptors Uprising 3-1. Magic Gaming outlasted Hornets Venom GT 3-2, while Heat Check won a tight 21-19 final game for a 3-2 win over Grizz Gaming.
In the Western Conference, T-Wolves Gaming beat Team Europe 3-2, Warriors Gaming topped Mavs Gaming 3-1, Jazz Gaming defeated Kings Guard Gaming 3-1 and Cavs Legion eliminated Blazer5 Gaming, also by a 3-1 margin.
Thursday’s action will begin with four second-round matchups:
–T-Wolves Gaming vs. Jazz Gaming
–Warriors Gaming Squad vs. Cavs Legion
–NetsGC vs. Heat Check
–Gen.G Tigers vs. Magic Gaming
–Field Level Media