Season 5 of the NBA 2K League officially tips off tonight! This season, NBA 2K League Will award $2.5 Million in total prizes. The TIPOFF tournament commences with the following team matchups kicking off the new season:
- DUX Infinitos LOSS vs Pacers Gaming
- Bucks Gaming vs Mavs Gaming
- Wizards Distract Gaming vs Gen. G Tigers
- Hawks Talon GC vs Celtics Crossover Gaming
- Warriors Gamign Squad vs Kings Guard Gaming
- 76ers GC vs Heat Check Gaming
- Raptors Uprising GC vs Grizz Gaming
- Hornets Venom GT vs Knicks Gaming
The first points of season 5 goes to @BallLikeSeem of @DuxInfinitos!
💻: https://t.co/IWibnYP9k4 pic.twitter.com/wQrDNDEYdv
— NBA 2K League (@NBA2KLeague) April 5, 2022
T-Wolves Gaming (who play tomorrow vs Cavs Legion GC) won THE TIPOFF tournament last year and come to this season with a roster that features retained veterans, including 2019 NBA 2K League Finals MVP Michael “BearDaBeast” Key and 2021 NBA 2K League All‑Stars Dhwan “ShiftyKaii” White and Malik “Slaughter” Leisinger.
Check out THE TIPOFF fact sheet from the NBA 2K League
THE TIPOFF POWERED BY AT&T – FACT SHEET
- THE TIPOFF powered by AT&T is a three-week tournament (Tuesday, April 5 – Saturday, April 23) with all 24 NBA 2K League teams participating. For THE TIPOFF tournament group play schedule, click here.
- THE TIPOFF begins with two weeks of remote group play (Tuesday, April 5 – Friday, April 8; Tuesday, April 12 – Friday, April 15) to determine the four teams from each six‑team group that will advance to the round‑of‑16 in-person bracket play at the NBA 2K League Studio in Indianapolis from April 20 – 23.
- For the first time, the NBA 2K League hosted a “Group Draft” where teams selected each other’s opponents by picking groups. To watch the Group Draft process, click here.
- The 24 teams are divided into two conferences – East and West. Each conference was then divided into two groups via the Group Draft, for a total of four groups with six teams per group.
- Each team will play five games in group play, competing against each team in its group once.
- The four teams in each group with the best records will advance to the round of 16. Tiebreakers are detailed below.
- Round‑of‑16 seeding will be determined by records during group play and (if necessary) use of the tiebreakers.
- Matchups in group play will use a single‑game format.
- Matchups in the round‑of 16‑will also use a single‑game format.
- Matchups in the quarterfinals through finals will be played in a best-of-three format.
- The groups for group play are as follows:
- Group A (Western Conference): T-Wolves Gaming, Jazz Gaming, Pistons GT, Blazer5 Gaming, Lakers Gaming, Cavs Legion GC
- Group B (Western Conference): Pacers Gaming, Warriors Gaming Squad, Kings Guard Gaming, Mavs Gaming, Bucks Gaming, DUX Infinitos
- Group C (Eastern Conference): Wizards District Gaming, Gen.G Tigers of Shanghai, 76ers GC, Celtics Crossover Gaming, Hawks Talon GC, Heat Check Gaming
- Group D (Eastern Conference): Hornets Venom GT, NetsGC, Raptors Uprising GC, Knicks Gaming, Grizz Gaming, Magic Gaming
- Tiebreaker scenarios for THE TIPOFF:
- Points earned for each match/series win (1 pt. for each win, etc.)
- Win % overall (on a per game basis)
- Head-to-Head record (on a per game basis)
- Win % within conference (on a per game basis)
- Average points differential
- Average points scored
- Random Draw
- Games will begin at 7 p.m. ET April 5 – 8, April 12 – 15, April 20 – 22 and 3 p.m. ET on Saturday, April 23. Fans can watch games live on the NBA 2K League’s Twitch and YouTube channels. Games will also be available on Dash Radio, eGG Network in Southeast Asia, Loco in India, and Sport1 in Europe.
- The teams will compete for a total prize pool of $250,000. The prize pool will be awarded as follows:
- First place – $100,000
- Second place – $50,000
- Third and fourth place – $25,000 each
- Fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth place – $12,500 each
- THE TIPOFF powered by AT&T is the first of three in-season, 5v5 tournaments (THE TIPOFF, THE TURN and THE TICKET) that are part of THE BANNER CHAIN powered by AT&T.
- T-Wolves Gaming is the defending champion of THE TIPOFF and features retained veterans including 2019 NBA 2K League Finals MVP Michael “BearDaBeast” Key and 2021 NBA 2K League All‑Stars Dhwan “ShiftyKaii” White and Malik “Slaughter” Leisinger.
- Following THE TIPOFF, NBA 2K League competition continues with the group play stages of the SLAM OPEN, which is part of the Coinbase NBA2KL 3v3 BLACKTOP SERIES.
