Warriors Gaming Sweeps Kings Guard to Open Season Victorious

On an exciting, back-and-forth opening night of the NBA 2K League, Warriors Gaming Squad executed when it mattered most. WGS swept West Coast rivals Kings Guard Gaming in a best-of-three series to open the 2020 NBA 2K League season 1-0. Playing a team touted by many to compete for the title, Warriors Gaming topped Kings Guard 70-67 and (cumulatively) 61-60 in two tense, hard-fought battles.

The first game played out live on ESPN2 as WGS built a 42-26 lead at halftime. Kings Guard, however, refused to roll over, bringing the game to within a basket late in the fourth quarter. Point guard Charlie “CB13” Bostwick, who finished with a career-high 30 points on the night, scored five clutch points late to seal the deal as a last-second Kings Guard heave rimmed in and out. First-round pick Malik “Slaughter” Leisinger was more than up to the challenge in his first game for WGS, finishing with a 10-point, 12-rebound double-double. Alex “Bsmoove” Reese added 19 points to help open the season with a victory.

.@CB13 ices the game! 🥶#ThisIsNotAGame
📺 ESPN2
💻 https://t.co/v1LLynxNVO
📱 https://t.co/KuOHN32wo2 pic.twitter.com/1U9gr3QBBS

— NBA 2K League (@NBA2KLeague) May 6, 2020

“This was a great way to kick off the season,” CB13 said. “Everyone played their role and stuck to the game plan, and shoutout to Coach Mike for this first win!”

The series stayed tight in game two. Warriors Gaming Squad built a 32-21 lead thanks to a 23-11 run in under three minutes during the second quarter. After technical delays pushed the second half of the game back, WGS held onto its 11-point advantage through over two quarters of play. Savvy clock management enabled WGS to close out the game with a one-point advantage and hand head coach Michael Newton his first WGS win. Bsmoove and CB13 once again led the way in the scoring column, posting 19 and 16 points, respectively, across game two.

“It was a grit and grind series” opined Slaughter on his first WGS action. “Both games came down to the end. I think we played to our strengths very well, but we still have some areas that we can improve in, of course. I’m glad we got the first win under our belt as we look to keep improving!”

Trying to dunk? @malikleisinger says ⛔ NOPE ⛔ pic.twitter.com/Nop4DwMcdK

— Warriors Gaming (@WarriorsGaming) May 6, 2020

“It feels great to start the season off with a win,” Newton said. “Obviously, there are some things we can learn from this, but I’m super proud of how our guys handled the adversity tonight.”

Warriors Gaming Squad is back in action at 6 p.m. PST on Thursday, May 7 against the Gen.G Tigers of Shanghai, the NBA 2K League’s first team outside of North America. Fans can watch live on the ESPN app, website, as well as the NBA 2K League’s Twitch and YouTube channels.