INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — For this second time this spring, the NBA 2K game brought its tournament to Indianapolis.
“We’ve been playing 5-on-5 tournaments for our first four seasons, and today is actually the first tournament we’ve done incorporating 3-on-3, said Brendan Donohue, NBA 2K League president.
NBA 2K has 24 league-run teams, including one in Indianapolis that shares the Pacers name.
Eight amateur or influencer teams fill out the tournament, with the top 16 teams advancing into a one-and-done tournament format.
“It starts with, there’s roughly 30 million players that download the game. There’s 2 million that are playing the game every day, and we have worked to identify the top 120 players in the world,” Donohue said.
Competitive gaming draws millions of viewers, not just in person, but around the world. “Platforms like Twitch, our games tonight are on Twitch, are doing unbelievable engagement numbers,” Donohue said.
NBA 2K has gained in worldwide popularity with gamers from Asia to Mexico trying out for spots in the league. Gaming has evolved over the past 30 years because of social media and the internet.
“Now gaming is extremely communal. You go online with a friend. You’re automatically connected to hundreds and thousands of people who are playing and like-minded, and so that community has emerged,” Donohue said.
The 2K tournament will continue Friday and Saturday. The winning team will take home $150,000.
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