NBA makes leap to eSports with $250,000 Road to Finals

NBA 2K16 will be the first game in the basketball franchise to offer an accompanying eSports tournament, to begin on February 15.

The Road to Finals will run alongside this year’s NBA season, culminating in the Finals in June, and run on both PS4 and Xbox One versions of the game.

Players can form their own Pro-Am team to compete in a series of in-game events to qualify for the tournament, where 16 will go head-to-head in an elimination round in May, before the winners face off at the NBA Finals in June.

California-based Take Two Interactive studio, Visual Concepts, is responsible for the 2K Sports output and has been looking to integrate their games with eSports communities for some time.

“The NBA 2K development team has aspired to join the exciting world of eSports for years,” said Greg Thomas, president of Visual Concepts. “Road to the Finals is our first step, and we can’t wait to add even more excitement and competitive action to our franchise.”