Atlanta Hawks
Hawks Talon GC To Host First Draft Eligible Tournament ‘Showdown in the A’
Hawks Talon Gaming Club, the NBA 2K League team of the Atlanta Hawks, announced that they will host a 32-team virtual tournament called ‘Showdown in the A’. For the execution of this tournament, Hawks Talon has teamed up with Rival, a first-of-its-kind, enterprise SaaS solution that empowers companies and organizations to leverage the popularity of gaming and esports. People interested in participating in the tournament will register their team of five for the tournament through the Hawks Talon GC site on Rival.
The tournament, which will begin play on Monday, Nov. 16, will last approximately eight days and feature competition in a 5 vs. 5 ProAm style and best-of-three series. The winners of the tournament will be declared on Tuesday, Nov. 24 and will receive a $500 grand prize and become eligible for the NBA 2K League’s Draft at the beginning of next season. In addition, one top performing player, not on the winning team and chosen at the discretion of Hawks Talon GC, will receive a Golden Ticket, which will be an opportunity to become draft eligible in the upcoming NBA 2K League Draft.
“We are thrilled to host our franchise’s first-ever draft eligible tournament and provide people a chance to compete for an opportunity of a lifetime,” said Hawks Talon GC Head Coach and General Manager Wesley Acuff. “The talent in the NBA 2K League is the best of the best, and we look forward to seeing who will show up and make some noise.”
Anyone who plays NBA 2K21 on PS4 can register for the tournament from Saturday, Nov. 7 through Saturday, Nov. 14. Spots are only available to those in the order that they complete registration. After 32 teams sign up, registration will be completed. Hawks Talon GC and Rival will then create a 32-team bracket to begin tournament play on Monday, Nov. 16.
Schedule for Hawks Talon GC’s ‘Showdown in the A’
Round of 32
Monday, Nov. 16
12 p.m. – 11:59 p.m. ET
Round of 16
Wednesday, Nov. 18
12 p.m. – 11:59 p.m. ET
Round of 8
Friday, Nov. 20
12 p.m. – 11:59 p.m. ET
Semifinals
Sunday, Nov. 22
12 p.m. – 11:59 p.m. ET
Finals
Tuesday, Nov. 24
12 p.m. – 11:59 p.m. ET
Registration for the tournament opens at 12 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 7. To read the rules and sign up, visit NBA2KL.rivalgames.com/hawkstalongc.
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Hawks Talon Gaming, the official NBA 2K League affiliate of the Atlanta Hawks, completed their five-man squad during the 2024 NBA 2K League Draft by selecting ‘BaitPickk’ and ‘Duck’ in the draft.
With the 11th overall pick, Hawks Talon GC selected power forward Tyler ‘BaitPickk’ Montague, a prospect from Dayton, Ohio, new to the NBA 2K League in 2024. ‘BaitPickk’ entered the draft pool after earning his eligibility through the Brooklyn Nets GC Earn Your Spot team draft eligible tournament.
Prior to the draft in September, Hawks Talon GC acquired the 11th pick from 76ers Gaming Club that sent Caesar “CEEZ” Martinez and a 2025 third-round pick to NBL Oz Gaming.
“I’m happy with the direction that the team is going in,” said Director of Esports Wesley Acuff. “We have five players who want to be in Atlanta and want to play together. You can’t ask for more than that in this league.”
With the 35th overall pick which was originally acquired in a trade with Warriors Gaming Squad during the 2023 draft, Hawks Talon selected four-year veteran Christopher ‘Duck’ Charles, a guard from New York.
A former second overall pick in the 2020 2K League Draft, ‘Duck’ won the 2K League Most Improved Player during the 2021 season.
“We’re happy with this draft. Those are the two guys we wanted since a couple of months ago,” said Hawks Talon Head Coach Ismael ‘MAELO’ Diaz-Tolentino. “We did our homework, and it worked out extremely well for us.”
‘BaitPickk’ and ‘Duck’ join ‘Glo’, ‘UnderRatedGoat’, and ‘MDS’ to round out the five-man roster.
To stay up to date on Hawks Talon Gaming Club, visit HawksTalonGC .gg and follow the team’s social channels on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
On Sunday evening, Hawks Talon GC, the official NBA 2K League affiliate of the Atlanta Hawks, hosted Atlanta rapper Kid Saiyan on stream as part of the second installment this season of the team’s award-winning Talon Takeover content series. The stream served as a pregame show before the Hawks Talon’s in-person 5v5 matchup with 76ers GC as part of group play in THE TURN in the NBA 2K League. Hawks Talon hosted fans, friends, and family to witness the competition in person. 76ers GC ultimately came away with the win, 66-61.
“Competition is a part of my DNA and is what drives my fuel for gaming,” said Kid Saiyan. “It was awesome to play 2K with Hawks Talon GC today.”
Kid Saiyan, an Atlanta rapper and son of Atlanta legend T.I., is a recording artist, avid gamer, and Pokémon card collector. He recently appeared at “Hot 107.9 Birthday Bash” at the award-winning State Farm Arena, joining his father as a surprise guest. His most recent project, Wild Rock$tar$, featured Lil Keed and Matt Ox, among others, and he is currently working on new music to be released this year.
He joined the stream to talk about his love for gaming and play NBA 2k with members of Hawks Talon, as well as talk about his music, Atlanta, and more.
“We are grateful to everybody that came out to support us in-person and for all the work done behind the scenes to make another in-person game happen,” said Hawks Talon Director of Esports Wesley Acuff. “We pride ourselves on reaching our fans in new ways each season and having them at our facility is always impactful for us.”
On the virtual court, Hawks Talon and 76ers GC engaged in a back-and-forth affair. MarkDavid Smith (MDS) led both teams with 31 points (13-20 FG), but it was ultimately not enough as the 76ers GC outscored Hawks Talon 28-24 in the second half to secure the win.
In 2020, Hawks Talon announced the creation of the one-of-a-kind content series called Talon Takeover which features celebrities, entertainers and influencers playing various popular video games. The Talon Takeover content series earned the NBA 2K League’s Team Business Award for Best Livestream Program in March 2021. The first installment of the 2023 season featured Memphis crunk rapper Duke Deuce on May 23.
Hawks Talon GC, the official NBA 2K League affiliate of the Atlanta Hawks, will face off with Cavs Legion on stage in Washington, D.C. after defeating Heat Check Gaming (3-2) and Team Handlez (3-1) in the first stages of bracket play of the SLAM OPEN. Hawks Talon is 2-0 in the double elimination tournament, and advanced to the stage as one of the top 12 teams remaining in the competition. Their matchup with Cavs Legion will come on Wednesday, March 29 at 6:45 p.m. ET. The game can be followed on the NBA 2K League’s Twitch or YouTube channel.
“Being back on stage as one of the best teams in the tournament is huge for us. The guys have worked hard to get to this point and their reward is the chance to compete for a banner in front of the NBA 2K fans,” said Hawks Talon Head Coach Ismael Diaz-Tolentino. “I believe that our team performs best on stage and I’m excited to see this group play this Wednesday.”
The three players who have represented Hawks Talon in 3v3 format so far are: Caesar “CEEZ” Martinez, Sam “GRADIENT” Salyers, and Juan “HOTSHOTx305” Gonzalez. The team competed remotely from The Lab presented by Diggi Games by Georgia Lottery, located in the award-winning State Farm Arena.
In a new format this year, 3v3 tournaments will include double elimination bracket play and no conferences. At the end of two weeks of group play in each tournament, all 25 NBA 2K League teams will advance to a 32-team remote bracket play for the first week, with the 12 top-performing NBA 2K League and Community teams remaining advancing to in-person bracket play in Washington, D.C. for the following week. The top eight teams in winners bracket and the top four teams in losers bracket will form the 12 teams who are invited to DC for on stage competition.
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