Warriors Gaming Squad Finishes 2-2 at THE TIPOFF Powered by AT&T

Warriors Gaming Squad finished 2-2 at THE TIPOFF Powered by AT&T, losing only to eventual tournament winners T-Wolves Gaming.

T-Wolves Gaming eked out a 66-62 win over WGS in the Group B’s opening game before finishing the home-and-home matchup with a 75-64 victory. WGS quickly turned and topped Pacers Gaming 78-69 in the latter’s opening game before pulling out a classic 81-79 win in an overtime game that featured not one, but two buzzer-beaters.

0.9 SECONDS LEFT, DOWN BY 3 @CB13 WHAT pic.twitter.com/DCxJTkJkkX

— Warriors Gaming (@WarriorsGaming) May 20, 2021

Warriors Gaming Squad’s three first-round rookies all made an impact in their debuts. No. 3 overall pick Veron “Hezi” Coates exploded in his first game for a 30-point, 16-rebound double-double and averaged 21 points and nearly 12 rebounds per game. Power forward Austin “KayAus” Caterino averaged 7 rebounds per game and scored 18 points in the team’s fourth game. Sharpshooter Antoine “ANTOINE” Featherstone provided what may have been the play of the entire tournament, hitting a heavily contested three-point buzzer-beater in overtime to secure WGS’ second win of the competition.

.@Antoine100M might've delivered the best shot of the weekend with this buzzer beater for @WarriorsGaming 😱

All of the action starts at 6pm/et !!!!

Twitch: https://t.co/6dc8AW2dsp
YouTube: https://t.co/TCg6c5Ew1H pic.twitter.com/fsZLEQB6oV

— NBA 2K League (@NBA2KLeague) May 21, 2021

The team’s returning players also made their customary impact. Lockdown small forward Samuel “Gradient” Salyers shot 65% from the field and limited 2019 Finals MVP Michael “BearDaBeast” Key to just 15 points per game for T-Wolves Gaming. Point guard Charlie “CB13” Bostwick, an MVP candidate in 2020, averaged nearly 24 points and dished out over 11 assists per game while committing just 4 turnovers across the entire tournament.

WGS’ .500 finish is the team’s third consecutive .500 at THE TIPOFF, following 1-1 and 2-2 splits in 2019 and 2020. Both tournaments also included games against Pacers Gaming, against whom Warriors Gaming Squad now sits 4-2 all-time in tournaments. Group winner T-Wolves Gaming, starting former WGS center Malik “Slaughter” Leisinger, earned its first tournament wins over Warriors Gaming Squad in franchise history. The 2019 champions proceeded to defeat two-time THE TIPOFF winners 76ers GC in the tournament finals (in a rematch of the 2019 NBA 2K League Finals). New TWG acquisition Dhwan “ShiftyKaii” White was named tournament MVP after averaging 22.8 points and 4.8 assists per game as T-Wolves Gaming’s secondary ballhandler.

Warriors Gaming Squad opens the regular season against Bucks Gaming, whom WGS defeated in a three-game quarterfinals series en route to the NBA 2K League Finals in 2020, on May 27 at 4:20 p.m. PST. The team’s full schedule can be found here.