The top five seeds in the NBA 2K League's 3v3 Switch Open won their second-round, upper-bracket matches on Thursday to advance to the in-person portion of the event next week in Washington.
No. 1 Knicks Gaming moved on the hard way, dropping the first two games before pulling out a 3-2 win over No. 16 Heat Check Gaming.
No. 2 Bucks Gaming swept No. 18 Magic Gaming 3-0, and No. 3 Pistons GT edged No. 14 76ers GC 3-2. No. 4 DUX Infinitos crushed No. 13 Mavs Gaming 3-0, and No. 5 Pacers Gaming squeezed past No. 12 Jazz Gaming 3-2.
In the day's other second-round, upper-bracket matches, No. 24 Lakers Gaming upset No. 8 NBL Oz Gaming 3-0, No. 23 NetsGC downed No. 26 Dot Squad 3-0, and No. 11 Celtics Crossover Gaming defeated No. 27 Rim Runners 3-1. Dot Squad and Rim Runners are community teams.
The 25 NBA 2K League teams, who were seeded based on qualifying results the past few weeks, were joined in the double-elimination bracket phase of the $150,000 event by seven community (amateur) teams. Each match is best-of-five.
The 32 teams began bracket play on Tuesday and will narrow the field to 12 teams by the end of Friday. The remaining 12 teams will convene at District E in Washington for an in-person, single-elimination tournament beginning on Wednesday. The champion will be crowned on April 29, with the winner taking home $60,000 and the runner-up getting $30,000.
The last four spots in Washington will be determined with two rounds of lower-bracket action on Friday. The second-round, lower-bracket matchups:
--No. 16 Heat Check Gaming vs. No. 6 Warriors Gaming Squad
--No. 30 The OTF Vultures vs. No. 8 NBL Oz Gaming
--No. 13 Mavs Gaming vs. No. 7 T-Wolves Gaming
--No. 15 Blazer5 Gaming vs. No. 12 Jazz Gaming
--No. 21 Gen.G Tigers vs. No. 18 Magic Gaming
--No. 26 Dot Squad vs. No. 20 Grizz Gaming
--No. 14 76ers GC vs. No. 9 Cavs Legion GC
--No. 32 Gamers First Longhorns vs. No. 27 Rim Runners
--Field Level Media