The NBA 2K League will play its games at a new facility in 2020, moving from Long Island City to Manhattan for its New York games.
NBA 2K League on Twitter
The #NBA2KLeague is moving to Manhattan for the 2020 Season! Season 3 starts on March 24: https://t.co/EAO1YanWnH https://t.co/LVCQJlPKqv
The league’s new facility will occupy a 13,600 square-foot space located at 508 West 37th Street in Manhattan, with a capacity of 200 people. For its first two seasons, the league played at Brooklyn Studios in Long Island City. The new studio will feature revamped audience seating, larger screens, a mic’d up stage, a Bud Light VIP Lounge, a streaming pod for guest streamers, and an additional studio for content capture.
New this year, the league will sell for single-night, Bud Light VIP Lounge and season tickets for regular-season and select tournament matchups. Previous fan attendance in Long Island City was free.
“Every season we seek to elevate the NBA 2K League experience for players, fans and viewers, and we are taking a major step in that direction with our new Manhattan studio,” said NBA 2K League Managing Director Brendan Donohue. “This unique space will further establish the NBA 2K League as a world-class esports product and make the league more engaging and accessible to casual and hardcore fans alike.”
The NBA 2K League’s third season tips off Tuesday, March 24 with the Tipoff Tournament. Weekly regular-season matchups at the NBA 2K League Studio will begin at 7 p.m. EST on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. Each team will play a total of 16 regular-season games. Every Friday, the league will host a “Game of the Week” featuring a noteworthy matchup.
New this season, select NBA 2K League teams will host rivalry matches and round-robin events in their local markets. All rivalry matches and round-robin games will count toward a team’s regular-season record, with the exception of the round-robin championship games. Each round-robin event will have a total prize pool of $20,000 with the winner of the championship game receiving $15,000.
The 2020 season will once again feature three in-season tournaments—once again sponsored by league partner AT&T—that comprise the league’s Banner Chain. All 23 teams will compete in the Tipoff and the Turn, while the Ticket, moved to the end of the season, will feature only the 14 teams not in one of the top nine playoff seeds. The Ticket will earn winning team earn the 10th and final spot in the 2020 NBA 2K League Playoffs, which will tip off Wednesday, July 29 and take place over four days of gameplay. All 23 teams will have five bye weeks during the season, including a league-wide bye week July 1-4.
During the 2020 season, the NBA 2K League will award $1.4 million in prize money.