Gen.G Tigers pulled off the upset of the night on Wednesday, sweeping third-seeded Pacers Gaming 3-0 to advance to the quarterfinals of the winners bracket in the NBA 2K League’s 3v3 Slam Open.
Nineteenth-seeded Gen.G will next face another high seed, No. 22 Hawks Talon GC. The Hawks edged No. 27 Rim Runners 3-1 in the most unlikely of the second-round matchups.
The double-elimination tournament’s top-seeded team, Nets GC, swept No. 16 Grizz Gaming and will next face No. 8 Pistons GT, 3-1 winners over No. 24 Mavs Gaming. No. 2 seed Lakers Gaming beat 15th-seeded Celtics Crossover Gaming 3-1, setting up a quarterfinal meeting with No. 23 Knicks Gaming, the highest-remaining seed left in the winners bracket. The Knicks beat No. 5 Blazer5 Gaming 3-1.
The other quarterfinal will pit fourth-seeded Heat Check Gaming against No. 12 Magic Gaming. The Heat beat 13th-seeded 76ers GC, 3-2, while the Magic swept No. 5 T-Wolves Gaming.
Gen.G rode a two-man game to its upset, as Jaiden “gallow” Frank and Lawrence “LawRich” Mayberry-Jordan combined for 58 of the team’s 66 points in the three wins.
The day was especially painful for Mavs Gaming and Blazer5 Gaming, as both lost a second time in the losers bracket to get bounced from the tournament. The Mavs lost 3-1 to No. 14 Wizards District Gaming and Blazer5 fell 3-0 to No. 29 Isles Team Gaming — the highest seeded team remaining in the tournament.
A trio of Wednesday’s winners-bracket losers bounced back with winners-bracket wins: the 76ers beat No. 10 Cavs Legion GC 3-2, T-Wolves Gaming swept 18th-seeded Raptors Uprising GC, and the Celtics took down No. 21 NBL Oz Gaming 3-1. In another losers-bracket game, No. 16 Grizz Gaming beat No. 6 Hornets Venom GT 3-2.
Bracket play for the Slam Open continues Thursday and concludes Saturday.
The Slam Open is the first of 3v3 tournaments in the NBA 2K League season, with the Switch Open (March 20-April 6) and the Steal Open (April 19-20) to follow. The playoffs are set for April 24-27 in Washington.
–Field Level Media