Playing in front of a live crowd mattered little to Pistons GT on Wednesday, as the club continued its dominant run at the NBA 2K League’s 3v3 Slam Open with another sweep to advance to the Final Four of the winners bracket.
After three weeks of remote play, the Slam Open moved on Wednesday to District E, a new live-events center in Washington. The remainder of the tournament (through Saturday) will be played at the venue.
The Pistons — the 16th seed — swept No. 8 Jazz Gaming 3-0, their third sweep in as many matches in the playoffs. They will face Hawks Talon GC in the winners semifinals, as the 13th-seeded Hawks got by No. 5 Cavs Legion CG 3-1.
Amateur club Glitchy got sent down to the losers bracket with a back-and-forth, 3-2 loss to No. 10 NetsGC. The 31st seed in the bracket, Glitchy was the final community team left in the winners bracket.
The Nets will play T-Wolves Gaming in the other winners-bracket semi. The 11th-seeded Wolves beat No. 3 Knicks Gaming 3-2 in the day’s final match.
The four winners are guaranteed to take home money, as the top eight finishers in the event earn cash.
The losers-bracket quarterfinals are up next, with Wednesday’s losers facing the four other remaining teams with a loss in the losers bracket on Thursday. The other remaining amateur team, No. 26 Glo Navy Glosquitos, will play the Knicks.
The other lower-bracket, fourth-round matches set for Thursday are the Cavs vs. No. 17 Celtics Crossover Gaming, the Jazz vs. No. 7 Wizards District Gaming and No. 6 NBL OZ Gaming vs. Glitchy.
The playoffs began in a best-of-five, double-elimination format, with the opening rounds played remotely. In the finals, the winners of the winners and losers brackets will play for the championship, with the winners bracket winner needing one win and the losers bracket winner needing to sweep two games in the finals.
All 25 professional teams advanced to the playoffs, with group-play records determining seeding. The top seven teams from the community competition filled out the final seven seeds.
NBA 2K League 3v3 Slam Open
Winners bracket quarterfinal results (Wednesday)
No. 16 Pistons GT 3, No. 8 Jazz Gaming 0
No. 13 Hawks Talon GC 3, No. 5 Cavs Legion GC 1
No. 10 NetsGC 3, No. 31 Glitchy 2
No. 11 T-Wolves Gaming 3, No. 3 Knicks Gaming 2
Losers bracket fourth-round matches (Thursday)
No. 5 Cavs Legion GC vs. No. 17 Celtics Crossover Gaming
No. 8 Jazz Gaming vs. No. 7 Wizards District Gaming
No. 3 Knicks Gaming vs. No. 26 Glo Navy Glosquitos
No. 31 Glitchy vs. No. 6 NBL OZ Gaming
Prize Pool
1. $60,000
2. $30,000
3. $17,000
4. $13,000
5-6. $10,000 each
7-8. $5,000 each
–Field Level Media
