The NBA 2K League’s EU Invitational will be held at London’s Gfinity Arena, the league announced Thursday.
NBA 2K League on Twitter
Gfinity Arena will host the first-ever NBA 2K League European Invitational in London! https://t.co/YUUozBL9Vq https://t.co/joUxztRqBo
Gfinity Arena has played host to some of the sports world’s leading esports events, including the Call of Duty World League: London competition and the ePremier League.
The EU Invitational will see 20 European NBA 2K League draft prospects play in a double-elimination tournament from December 13-14. The official tournament day, December 14, will be livestreamed on the NBA 2K League’s Twitch and YouTube channels.
Several NBA 2K League managers and coaches will attend the event for the purpose of evaluating all 20 players. Managing Director Brendan Donahue named Adam Rubin from Pistons GT, Patrick Crossan from Wizards DG, and Kyle Rudy of Knicks Gaming among confirmed attendees, via periscope.
At the end of the event, a committee comprising league representatives and team managers will add several select players to the 2020 NBA 2K League Entry Draft pool. Pacers Gaming’s Cody Parrent and Pistons GT’s Adam Rubin, both of whom attended last year’s APAC Invitational in Hong Kong, will be in attendance, while 76ers GC head coach Jeff Terrell will make his first overseas trip on behalf of the league.
“We are excited to bring together the best NBA 2K players from across Europe for our first-ever European qualifying event,” said NBA 2K League Managing Director Brendan Donohue upon the announcement of the tournament. “Building on the success of last season’s APAC Invitational, which identified several draft-eligible players from the Asia‑Pacific region, it is important for us to further strengthen our player pool by providing more opportunities for top international players to qualify for the 2020 NBA 2K League Draft.”
In season one, the league featured three European players: Harry “Hazzaa” Hurst and Jamie “vGooner” Bull from England, and Jannis “JLB_2K” Neumann from Germany. Hazzaa and JLB played together for Mavs Gaming in season one, while Gooner played for Pacers Gaming. After all players went unretained following the 2018 season, Knicks Gaming selected Hazzaa in the 2019 Entry draft and retained him after the 2019 season. Gooner and JLB will participate in the EU Invitational.
Here is the unconfirmed list of 20 players, representing 7 countries, acquired by DIMER:
- Mastour (PG)
- Jannis (PF)
- Badjian (Lock)
- Marcel (PG)
- Edu (PG)
- Lele (Sharp)
- Bigboy (Lock)
- Guardia (C)
- Rafa (Lock)
- Dario (Lock)
- Mario (PF)
- Jordy (Sharp)
- Tansu (Lock)
- Gooner (PG)
- Nash (C)
- Doval (PF)
- GC (C)
- Certi (SG)*
- Chambix (C)
- Prohamzu (Sharp)
