ESL FACEIT Group and FIBA launch NBA 2K23 tournament series

ESL Faceit Group (EFG), the organization in charge of the superb CS:GO events from ESL Gaming and FACEIT, has partnered with the International Basketball Federation (FIBA).

The agreement between the two parties will be to run a series of official NBA 2K23 tournaments under eFIBA Season 1.

eFIBA Season 1

The outstanding 2K sports video game title will welcome eFIBA Season 1, an inaugural tournament that ESL Faceit Group and FIBA will host.

The eFIBA Season 1 consists of seven regional events played online in the four FIBA regions, Europe, America, Asia, and Africa. In addition, 30 National Federations will be divided into six conferences to compete for the Conference Champions trophy throughout the season.

This is not the first esports tournament that FIFA has promoted, as in 2020 and 2021, they organized different events called FIBA Esports Open in the previous titles of the saga. However, there is no doubt that this is a vital step for the growth of basketball in a virtual way and, thus, try to welcome as many fans worldwide as possible.

FIBA becomes the latest addition to ESL FACEIT Group’s extensive and fruitful list of partners. First, let’s remember that EFG has partners of high statures, such as Ticketmaster, Spotify, and many more.

Start date

eFIBA Season 1 starts next January 20, 2023, where the 30 National Federations from around the world will be fighting for glory in this inaugural season of NBA 2K23 in the Pro-Am game mode.

FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis said:

“We are excited about the upcoming tip-off of the eFIBA Season 1, FIBA’s eBasketball tournament on NBA2K23, and our collaboration with EFG. These upcoming seven tournaments will provide National Federations with the opportunity to compete against the best eBasketball national teams in the world, building on the momentum created from the FIBA Esports Open events in 2020 and 2021.”

On the other hand, Roger Lodewick, President of Esports Games at EFG, said:

“The NBA2K community and game is in the top 3 sports game titles globally. We’re therefore thrilled to start this long-term cooperation with FIBA and develop and serve the eFIBA community. It will enable us to complement the NBA2K offering with competitive national team eBasketball and provide the community with bold and entertaining online and in person events.”

Schedule

Regional Qualifiers

• Asia – January 20
• Africa – January 21
• Europe – January 22

Regional Finals

• Asia (Middle East & South East Asia) – January 24
• Africa – January 24
• Americas (North & South America) – January 25
• Europe – January 25

Participating Countries

Africa

• Benin
• Burkina Faso
• Cote d’Ivoire
• Egypt
• Ghana
• Madagascar
• Morocco
• Tunisia

Americas

• Argentina
• Barbados
• Brazil
• Puerto Rico

Asia

• Qatar
• Indonesia
• Lebanon
• Mongolia
• Philippines
• Saudi Arabia

Europe

• Belgium
• Cyprus
• France
• Germany
• Great Britain
• Italy
• Latvia
• Lithuania
• Portugal
• Spain
• Turkey
• Ukraine

Each of these 30 National Federations will be represented by a minimum of five players, who must have their avatar in the game.

There is no doubt that this new tournament in NBA 2K23, with the collaboration of FIBA and EFG, will be spectacular. It will allow the five representatives of each federation to represent their respective countries at the highest competitive level.

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