Knicks Gaming faced a daunting challenge this weekend in the NBA 2K League. With all 17 teams playing in The Ticket, the second and final midseason tournament, winning wouldn’t come easy.
But it was even harder for the Knicks. They came into the week in 16th place, just one win ahead of last-place Warriors Gaming. That meant their path through the single-elimination tournament would be difficult.
But it also meant they had more to play for: With just four more weeks of regular season play before the season-ending playoffs, the Knicks absolutely had to win The Ticket to earn one of the eight playoff seeds. The winner of the tournament would earn an automatic berth into the playoffs.
The Ticket turned out to be an extremely chaotic tournament from the first day. Heavily-favored 76ers GC—who came into the week with the second-most wins in the league—were eliminated in just the third match.
But the biggest upset happened on Friday, when Blazer5 Gaming—widely considered the best team so far—were dismissed by Kings Guard Gaming, another one of the worst teams in the league. With that one match, the whole tournament was blown wide open: And with Blazer5 and 76ers out of the running, it was anybody’s tournament to win.
In the end, two teams in the bottom half of the standings survived through to the final. Celtics Crossover Gaming put down Kings Guard and Pistons GT, while Knicks Gaming had a slightly tougher path against Wizards District Gaming and then Cavs Legion GC.
That set up an extremely exciting finale that came down to the wire. The player to watch for Knicks Gaming was Adam “iamadamthe1st” Kudeimati. The shifty guard was on fire throughout the whole tournament, and he came through in the final.
Celtics Crossover were led by a star guard of their own, Albano “oFAB” Thomallari, the second overall pick in the draft. OFAB picked up assist after assist. He had his team up at halftime, but at the end, he had a few too many wasted possessions where he was too focused on getting the ball to a teammate.
That allowed the Knicks to shoot their way back into the game. A clutch three gave them the lead before a couple layups sealed the deal for a team desperate for a victory.
Knicks Gaming will now get to enjoy a tremendous advantage over the last third of the season—they can focus solely on getting into playoff shape with a spot already locked in. What’s more, they proved that they can play with anybody in the league.
