Bring on the Bans!
July 13, 2021
by Aaron Fox
The NBA 2K League’s annual midseason tournament THE TURN, powered by AT&T, is set to tip off this week. Over the course of four days all 23 teams will compete with $260,000 on the line beginning Wednesday, July 14th. Tournament schedule:
- Play-In Rounds: 7/14 Wednesday @ 6 PM
- Round 2: 7/15 Thursday @ 6 PM
- Quarterfinals: 7/16 Friday @ 6 PM
- Semifinals/Finals: 7/17 @ 6 PM
Each series will be best-of-three, and if you lose, you go home. The last team standing will take home almost half of the entire prize pool ($117,000), and all teams that finish 8th or better will add to their season’s earnings. Prize pool breakdown:
- 1st place: $117,000
- 2nd place: $52,000
- 3rd/4th places: $22,100 per team
- 5th-8th places: $11,700 per team
THE TURN is one of the league’s three annual tournaments (THE TIPOFF, THE TURN, and THE TICKET), and features its own creative twist: archetype bans. If you follow the NBA 2K League or play NBA 2K, you know what archetypes are. Archetypes essentially determine a player’s strengths and weaknesses. Each team will ban up to 3 archetypes per series. Breakdown on the bans:
- Game One: 2 bans per team (4 total)
- Game Two: 1 additional ban per team
- Game Three (if necessary): No additional bans
- All bans apply to both teams and remain in place until the end of the series
- More information on archetypes here
Last year, THE TURN’s finals featured season three champions, Wizards District Gaming, and the eventual 16-0 Raptors Uprising GC. Toronto ultimately won, claiming their second tournament banner while giving fans a preview of an entertaining semifinals matchup.
For Pistons GT, earning a bye round and automatically advancing to round two is quite a different spot than the team was in last season. Seeded 21st overall entering THE TURN just a year ago, Detroit has been much-improved after undergoing a roster revamp during the offseason. After being bounced in the first round by Knicks Gaming in 2020’s tournament, Pistons GT is only a series win away from playing in the money rounds.
Catch all of the action live on the NBA 2K League’s Twitch and YouTube channels. The play-in rounds begin on Wednesday, July 14th at 6 PM. Pistons GT will play Warriors Gaming Squad on Thursday evening (time TBD). Follow @NBA2KLeague and @PistonsGT on Twitter for more updates.