NBA team Sacramento Kings has launched its own community esports tournament platform alongside enterprise services company Rival.
The two join forces to create ‘The Realm’, an online community for the team’s fans within and beyond California.
Despite little success within the NBA 2K League from a competitive standpoint, Sacramento Kings’ esports team King Guard Gaming has continued its expansion efforts. Rival is one of Kings’ multiple partnerships over the years, including a partnership with VSP Global Innovation Center and a reoccurring partnership with College Esports International (CESI) to host a collegiate tournament.
Rival has previously worked with other professional sports teams in leagues to build community platforms. This includes Major League Soccer (MLS) team FC Cincinnati and EFL Championship clubs Wycombe Wanderers and Stevenage FC.
To achieve Sacramento Kings’ goal of reaching fans of all ages and interests, The Realm will host several online tournaments for various popular titles including NBA 2K, Fortnite and Rocket League. Monthly tournaments will also be held for cash prizes, experiences, and other prizes from all Sacramento Kings teams, including its G League team Stockton Kings and Kings Guard Gaming.
In a statement, Kings President of Business Operations John Rinehart, commented: “The Realm and our partnership with Rival gives us the opportunity to engage with fans beyond the Sacramento region.
“As esports continues to grow, we are excited to offer our gaming community a place to connect with each other and the Kings franchise.”
