NBA 2K League, basketball’s marquee esports competition, returns to Loco for the 2021 season

~ Fans can witness the best NBA 2K players in the world competing across 23 NBA 2K League teams ~

 

National, 15th June , 2021: The NBA 2K League returned to Loco, India’s leading game streaming platform, for the 2021 regular-season and season-long competition. The 16-week season tipped off Wednesday, May 19 with THE TIPOFF Powered by AT&T, and will conclude Saturday, Sept. 4 with the 2021 NBA 2K League Finals Delivered by DoorDash. 

 

Continuing the partnership that tipped off with 2020 NBA 2K League Playoffs and Finals Delivered by DoorDash, NBA 2K League games will be streamed every week, Thursday through Sunday 7 p.m. IST onwards on the platform. Across the 23 team rosters, the 2021 season will feature 10 international players from five countries and territories.

 

For the first time, the NBA 2K League will be aligned into two conferences, the Eastern Conference, and the Western Conference, with each team playing both inter- and intra-conference matchups. The 23 teams will play 28 regular-season games each. The top five teams in each conference at the end of the regular season will automatically qualify for the NBA 2K League Playoffs. The 13 remaining teams will compete in THE TICKET, with the winning teams from each conference earning the 11^th and 12^th spots in the playoffs. The NBA 2K League will award $1.5 million in prize money across THE TIPOFF, THE TURN and the playoffs. For more information on the 2021 NBA 2K League season, click here.

 

NBA India Head of Global Content and Media Distribution, Sunny Malik said, “We are thrilled to present the 2021 NBA 2K League action on Loco as a part of our ongoing partnership and look forward to delivering yet another exciting season and expanding our reach in the ever-growing esports community and fan base in India.”

 

Commenting on the association, Anirudh Pandita, Founder, Pocket Aces said, “Game streaming and esports had a banner year in 2020 with audiences growing at a record rate in India. Loco has been at the forefront of the game streaming movement in entertainment and has played a critical role in developing the gaming community in India. In 2020, we worked closely with the NBA 2K League to lay the foundation for this category in India and we are excited to work with them to make this season’s experience even more interactive and enjoyable for fans in India.”

 

Through the association with the NBA 2K League, Loco has raised the bar for premium esports viewing in the country, with international competitions. The long-standing association between the brands is also a testament to Loco’s growing international recognition, which comes on the back of successful partnerships with leading esports and allied brands.  

 

Loco serves the rapidly evolving Indian gaming ecosystem consisting of over 300 million gamers, and the partnership with the NBA 2K League underlines the commitment of the platform to bring cutting-edge esports entertainment to the country. Loco already houses some of India’s top competitive gamers such as Sc0ut, Jonathan, Thug, Ghatak, Sumit, GTX Preet, Snax, and Xyaa along with top teams like TSM, IND, 8bit, and Soul among others who provide viewers with the very best of gaming entertainment. The platform recently organised a charity stream with India's biggest gaming streamers and celebrities to raise funds for India’s fight against COVID-19.

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About Pocket Aces:

With a mission to solve boredom for the 500+ million young Indians online, Pocket Aces is India's leading digital entertainment company focused on mobile video.

Pocket Aces is an original content creator and publisher, with huge distribution power. The company operates India’s largest socially distributed content network which includes five diverse brands: FilterCopy (short fiction), Dice Media (multi-episode web series), Gobble (lifestyle), Jambo (young-adult animation), and Nutshell (infotainment). Pocket Aces also operates Clout, India’s leading influencer management practice, as well as Loco, India’s largest homegrown game streaming, and esports app.

The company's socially distributed video network has amassed >13 billion video views with a current run rate of over 500 million monthly views. Loco is one of the fastest-growing apps in the country today with more than 24 million registered users with active users spending over 30 minutes daily on the app. Clout manages more than 60 actors and creators exclusively. The company has a team of over 200 people across Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Delhi.

About the NBA 2K League

The NBA 2K League, a professional esports league co-founded by the NBA and Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTWO), launched in 2018 and features the best NBA 2K players in the world.  Each of the league’s 23 teams features six players who compete as unique characters in 5-on-5 play against the other teams in a mix of regular-season games, tournaments and playoffs.  NBA 2K League partners include Anheuser-Busch, AT&T, Champion Athleticwear, Dash Radio, DoorDash, eGG Network, ESRevolution, Loco, Mondelēz International, Raynor Gaming, SAP, SCUF Gaming, Snickers, Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sport1, Twitch, Wilson and YouTube.  For more information about the NBA 2K League, visit NBA2KLeague.com.