Starting on Friday, March 27, the NBA 2K League will host The NBA 2KL Three for All Showdown, a 3-on-3 tournament that will pit top fans, influencers and top female 2K players playing in the NBA 2K20 MyPark game mode for the opportunity to challenge NBA 2K league teams. The tournament will be held completely online.
The tournament is in response to the NBA 2K League postponing the start of their third season on March 24 due to concerns over the coronavirus.
In stage one of the tournament (March 27-29), 32 fan-organized teams will battle in XBox and PS4 brackets. Teams will sign up at NBA2KLeague.com beginning the week of March 23.
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The fan teams that make it to stage two (March 31 - April 3) will be met by teams of top female 2K players, social media influencers, and NBA2K League players (where teams of 3 will represent their NBA2K League teams), once again in XBox and PS4 brackets.
The tournament will be broadcast on NBA 2K League's Twitch and YouTube channels and feature a $25,000 prize pool. According to NBA 2K League, the prize pool breaks down in this fashion:
$15,000 available to the non-NBA 2K League teams in the second stage, with the two furthest‑advancing non-NBA 2K League teams in each bracket (Xbox and PS4) getting $5,000 and $2,500, respectively.
$9,000 available to the NBA 2K League teams with the two furthest‑advancing non-NBA 2K League teams in each bracket (Xbox and PS4) getting $3,500 and $1,000, respectively.
$1,000 available to the winners of the fan‑only brackets in the first stage ($500 awarded to each winning team: XBox and PS4).
The rounds of the tournament will be best-of-three, while the final will be a best-of-five.
"I think with everything that's going on right now, this tournament allows everyone to come together and not only pass time but also enjoy themselves while playing a game we all love," Blazer5 Gaming player and NBA 2K League season 2 MVP Nidal "Mama Im Dat Man" Nasser told ESPN. "The format is awesome, in my opinion, because it's quick, fast-paced matches that will have everyone on the edge of their seats. Not to mention the money the LG is swaying over everyone's heads. Everyone should be really excited for what's to come. Playing vs. teams in the LG and also influencers gives everyone a chance to make a name on a big stage and allows them to use their success towards season 4."
As far as the "pros vs joes" aspect of the tournament, where fan-organized teams will have the opportunity to fight their way to challenge pro teams of 3, Mama offered his thoughts via text message:
"Haha, well if I'm being honest in the "Park" fans will do well. There's a lot of hidden gems throughout the community that just don't have time to go for the LG. Hopefully them doing well in this tournament will give them more motivation to make our LG even more competitive then what it is."
The full roster of influencers and players who will participate in the tournament will be revealed at a later date.