The NBA 2K League has announced that all the tournaments part of its 2023 competitive season will take place in Washington, D.C.
The events, organised in partnership with Monumental Sports & Entertainment, will be hosted at the soon-to-debut District E esports venue in the US capital.
District E is a nearly 14,000 sqft facility adjacent to the Capital One Arena, home of the NBA’s Washington Wizards and the NHL’s Washington Capitals. The NBA 2K League will award $2.5m (⁓£2m) in cash prizes across all stages of the competition.
For the first time, the season will be separated into 3v3 and 5v5 halves. Specifically, the 3v3 portion of the season begins with the Slam Open on March 8th and finishes with the NBA 2K League 3v3 Finals on May 13th. The 5v5 competition tips off right after, on May 23rd, with The Tipoff and will culminate with the NBA 2K League 5v5 Finals on August 5th.
Cryptocurrency platform Coinbase and telecommunications company AT&T will sponsor the first stages of the competition, in the 3v3 and 5v5 halves respectively. Other partners of the NBA 2K League include the likes of Google, PlayStation, clothing brand Champion, Snickers, as well as Oreo, among others.
Brendan Donohue, President of the NBA 2K League, commented: “Pioneers of esports since the beginning, including through their success with two-time NBA 2K League champion Wizards District Gaming, we are thrilled to partner with the Leonsis family and Monumental Sports & Entertainment to help launch their new state-of-the-art facility, District E Powered by Ticketmaster.
“We can’t wait to make Washington, D.C. our home in 2023 and bring the excitement of the NBA 2K League to fans at District E.”
Washington D.C. has become sort of a hotspot for esports events lately. Esports tournament organiser BLAST has also announced that the BLAST Premier Spring Finals, will take place in the city.
