NBA to host European esports tournament finals in London

Basketball video game NBA 2K17 is getting its first European All-Star Tournament that takes place online from December 10th to 11th.
Finalists will get the chance to compete at the NBA headquarters in London and the NBA Global Games London featuring the Indiana Pacers and Denver Nuggets at the O2 Arena.
The champions will also win an all-expenses paid trip to the NBA All-Star Weekend in New Orleans, Louisiana.
The news comes as the Houston Rockets team hired a director of esports development, and after the Philadelphia 76ers acquired Team Dignitas.
To take part, players need to assemble a pro team of at least three players in Pro-AM mode on NBA 2K17 on PS4, and compete against others within the two-day event.
The team with the highest score at the end of each contest day will compete in the finals in London on January 11th 2017, battling it out for the trip to the All Star Game in February.
“We believe NBA 2K17 offers a unique competitive experience for eSports enthusiasts worldwide,” said Alfie Brody, VP of marketing for NBA 2K.
“Following our first eSports tournament, Road To The Finals, culminating this past June in Los Angeles, it was a high priority for our brand to expand the competition to Europe.
“We’re excited to offer our European customers the same thrill of global competitive gaming and the chance of being crowned the top NBA2K team in Europe.”
More details and rules can be found on the NBA 2K17 esports web page.

Dom Sacco

Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.

As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.