NBA 2K League welcomes Philippine gamers with 'open qualifiers'

MANILA, Philippines – Filipino gamers will now have a chance to compete in the NBA 2K League (NBA 2KL), the official esports league of the NBA.

This season, NBA 2KL will be featuring "open qualifiers" for players all around the world, including the Asia-Pacific region where gamers from the Philippines, Australia and Korea can join.

Set from June 22-25, the Steal Open APAC Qualifiers is already open for registration until Sunday, June 19.

Gamers will compete for a cash prize amounting to $2,500 (around P133,000) and the right to move on to "bracket play" in Indianapolis, where they will compete against 14 NBA 2KL teams as well as an amateur team from Europe.

NBA 2KL uses the "Pro-Am" online multiplayer mode of NBA 2K22 where teams will make up groups of three to go up against each other.

According to the APAC Qualifiers Official Rules, teams will be competing in best-of-three match ups in the contest, except for the semifinals and finals matchups will be a best-of-five series.

Of note that contestants will need to be playing NBA 2K22 on PlayStation 5 to be eligible.

The NBA 2K League played its first season in 2018. Their most recent champions are the Wizards Gaming District.