Bucks Gaming, the NBA 2K League affiliate of the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks, announced this week that it has allied with European organisation QLASH to hold a competition.
The QLASH & Bucks Gaming Pro-Am EU Showdown is already underway and will run through November 6th, featuring 16 teams in a league format.
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Petar Tchavdarov, Head of Partnerships for QLASH, commented in a release: “We are excited to be working on a large-scale European event around NBA 2K, using it as an entry point to the scene and allowing us to grow from there. Collaborating with a true leader in the space like Bucks Gaming guarantees that we will hit the ground running, create enormous hype, and appeal to the widest audience possible.”
QLASH currently competes in several different games, including Clash Royale, FIFA, Brawl Stars, and StarCraft II. Last season, the NBA 2K League welcomed its first team not associated with an NBA team, Shanghai’s Gen.G Tigers, so QLASH may view a future opportunity to bring a European team into the league.
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NBA 2K21 was released earlier this month, but the NBA 2K League is currently in the midst of its offseason following the previous season’s finals in August. The league itself previously appealed to the European community with a NBA 2K League European Invitational last December.
Andrew Buck, Manager of Bucks Gaming, added: “We are thrilled to have the opportunity to collaborate with QLASH to connect with the European NBA 2K community, assist in the development of the competitive NBA 2K scene, and expand the global awareness of the NBA 2K League.”
Esports Insider says: This is an interesting play on QLASH’s part to create some EU interest around NBA 2K21 in partnership with an existing league team. Given last year’s European Invitational, it seems like the NBA also sees potential in Europe, so this QLASH/Bucks event could be another step towards fostering league expansion in the future.