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SEOUL AND NEW YORK (UPDATED) – The 2020 NBA 2K League APAC Invitational, the league’s second international qualifying event in the Asia-Pacific region, gets going on Monday, January 20 with two Filipinos seeing action at the Nexon Arena in Seoul, South Korea.
Custer George Galas (gamer tag: PBE__Custer) and Aminolah Jr “Rial” Polog (gamer tag: PBE_Rial) will be among 20 of the top NBA 2K players from Australia, China, New Zealand, South Korea, and the Philippines who will see action in the two-day tournament that aims to identify elite players from the Asia-Pacific region who may be eligible for the 2020 NBA 2K League Draft.
Last year, Polog made history in the Draft as the Filipino professional esports player was the country’s lone representative in the 198-strong class that featured the best NBA 2K players from 10 countries. (READ: Filipino NBA 2K star marvels at esports’ future)
On Thursday, January 16, NBA 2K said a thid Filipino bet, Lynard Clark Banzon (gamer tag: PBE_Clark) will be part of the contingent.
The tournament on the final day, January 21, will be livestreamed on the NBA 2K League’s Twitch and YouTube channels and in China on Tencent’s Penguin Esports, Douyu and Huya beginning at 3:30 pm local time.
“We’re excited to be holding our second Asia-Pacific invitational in Seoul and that Gen.G will be working with us on the event as part of our strategic relationship to develop elite NBA 2K talent across the Asia-Pacific region,” said NBA 2K League managing director Brendan Donohue.
“Last season’s APAC Invitational identified several players who became eligible for the NBA 2K League Draft, and given the talent in the region we fully expect the level of competition to be even greater this year.”
The NBA 2K League also launched on Wednesday, January 15 the league’s official Weibo channel in China, allowing the country’s fans to follow the latest news and updates.
Long-term
The NBA 2K League identified players for the APAC Invitational through Gen.G’s recent Shanghai Invitational (Gen.G’s first-ever Pro-Am tournament in China that featured 20 of the best Chinese NBA 2K players), the NBA 2K League Combine and historical performances in NBA 2K events.
At the end of the APAC Invitational, a committee comprised of league representatives, select NBA 2K League players and team personnel serving as scouts on the league’s behalf will identify several players who will become eligible for the 2020 NBA 2K League Draft.
As part of the APAC Invitational, Gen.G CEO Chris Park will unveil Gen.G’s NBA 2K League team name, logo and social media channels on January 20.
The following day, the NBA 2K League will host the NBA 2K League Global Invitation Match, a series of exhibition matches featuring APAC Invitational players and 2019 NBA 2K League Finals MVP Michael “BearDaBeast” Key (T-Wolves Gaming) playing against top representatives from NBA2K Online 2 (a free-to-play online game published in China), including National League Champion “Shy.”
The NBA 2K League Global Invitation Match will also be livestreamed in China on Tencent’s Penguin Esports, Douyu and Huya beginning at 11:30 am local time.
Last season, Jack “Jaacko” Stevenson (New Zealand) became the first player ever drafted from the APAC Invitational when he was selected 50th overall by Pistons GT, the NBA 2K League affiliate of the Detroit Pistons.
In September, the NBA 2K League announced that Gen.G, the global esports organization connecting the best gamers in the U.S. and Asia, would launch an NBA 2K League team from Shanghai that will join the other 22 NBA 2K League teams for the 2020 season.
In addition to launching the Shanghai franchise, Gen.G and the NBA 2K League announced a long-term relationship to grow the NBA 2K League’s global player pool and fanbase.
Last summer, Tencent, a leading provider of comprehensive Internet services in China, streamed condensed 2019 NBA 2K League Playoff and Finals games to its hundreds of millions of daily users across Tencent Sports, Tencent Video and Tencent News.
For more information, fans can follow the NBA 2K League on Twitter (NBA2KLeague), Instagram (nba2kleague), Facebook (NBA 2K League), Twitch (NBA2KLeague) and YouTube (NBA 2K League) and visit NBA2KLeague.com. – Rappler.com
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