Esports company One Up has teamed up with up to 20 NBA players to launch the $1m (~£800,000) One Up x NBA 2K24 Championship Series.
The new NBA 2K24 esports series will be open to the public and features 20 online qualifying tournaments, each of which will be hosted by an NBA player. Some of the names involved in the series include Jamal Murray (Denver Nuggets), Paul George (Los Angeles Clippers) and Donovan Mitchell (Cleveland Cavaliers).
One Up’s qualifiers will take place from September 23rd to January 20th. The top 16 finalists of each qualifier will earn $20,000 (~£16,000) and compete in an online tournament in February 2024. The series will eventually culminate with the One Up x NBA 2K24 Championship, set to take place in Miami in the same month.
According to a release, among the 16 finalists, the winner will earn $250,000 (~£200,000), while the runner-up takes home $100,000 (~£80,000).
The series is the first One Up activation since the company secured a multi-year deal with the NBA 2K franchise last month.
“Our partnership with 2K is about lowering the barrier to enter esports competitions as we believe esports should be for all,” stated One Up CEO Brandon Pitts.
“We are pumped to be one of the first major tournaments for NBA 2K24 across multiple platforms and provide fans of the game the opportunity to compete against others with the chance to win game-changing cash prizes.”
Founded in 2019, One Up aims to provide on-demand esports competitions for gamers to compete for cash prizes, lowering the entry for esports experiences. The company’s Play One Up app allows gamers to monetize their skills through one-on-one matchups or tournament gameplay. The app allows match-ups across Call of Duty, Fortnite, Madden NFL, NBA 2K, FIFA and NHL.
When asked by Esports Insider about the $1m total prize pool — unusually high for a third-party NBA 2K tournament — Pitts commented: “We wanted to put our money where our mouth is and do it big for the fans and competitive gamers around the world.”
In addition to the main tournament, the select NBA players will also host exhibition matches for the series, each featuring a $10,000 (~£8000) prize pool. One Up’s partnership with NBA 2K will also see the company deliver original content on its mobile app.
Participants must be residents of the US to compete, as well as being 13 years or older. Players can enter the series via the Play One Up mobile app and registration is on a first-come, first-serve basis.
