After a decades-long drought in New York, the Knicks have finally delivered a championship ... in gaming. Knicks Gaming knocked off Heat Check 2-0 on Saturday to become the inaugural NBA 2K League champions, despite being tabbed as an underdog entering the event. It's the first championship trophy for the Knicks since they won the NBA championship in 1973. The Knicks were so far back in the standings that they had to win a tournament late in the gaming season just to earn a playoff spot in the first year of the NBA's venture into esports. They then knocked off the top-seeded Blazers, and capped off their magical run by sweeping Heat Check Gaming, first with a 69-66 win and then a 74-71 title game to bring it home. The NBA 2K League is the first official esports league operated by a U.S. professional sports league, and it featured 17 teams in its first season. The Lakers, Nets, Timberwolves and Hawks have all committed to joining next season, meaning that two-thirds of the league's franchises will be represented with teams of gamers moving forward. "We expect this to be a global league," NBA 2K League managing director Brendan Donohue told the Associated Press on Saturday. "That is on our game plan, though when that happens it's not definitive. But that is our goal."<doc-sep>NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 04: Dayvon Curry (GOOFY757) poses for a photo with NBA 2K League Managing Director Brendan Donohue after being drafted #9 in the first round by Knicks Gaming during NBA 2K League Draft at Madison Square Garden on April 4, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) Knicks Gaming defeated Heat Check Gaming to win the first NBA 2K League Championship. Knicks Gaming won the first NBA 2K League championship, beating Heat Check 2-0 in a best-of-three series, 69-66 and 74-71. Yes, this means the Knicks won a championship. For once. There’s an argument to be made that Knicks Gaming got extremely lucky; the team went 5-9 in the regular season and only made the playoffs as winners of The Ticket tournament. Heat Check went 8-6 in the regular season, making the playoffs as the six seed on point differential. Both teams beat the top three seeds on the way to the finals; Knicks Gaming took down Blazer5 and Heat Check beat Pistons GT in the quarterfinals. Heat Check also beat 76ers GC in the best-of-three semifinals. Knicks Gaming continued their strong tournament performance, coming in with a lot of momentum. Entering the finals, Knicks Gaming were 10-4 in tournament play including the playoffs. Both teams had sizeable crowds in the arena. Not only were the players fired up, it was often hard to tell what cheering was coming from the real-life crowd and which was coming from the in-game crowd. The players couldn’t hear themselves think during timeouts. Game One Knicks Gaming absolutely dominated the first game despite the close score. In the first half Knicks Gaming consistently held Heat Check at a double-digit distance, building a comfortable lead in the low scoring half. Point guard Adam “iamadamthe1st” Kudemati led the Knicks with 34 points, eight assists and 13 field goals. Kudemati was on fire from three, nailing three points from both wings. The rest of Knicks Gaming contributed as well; potential MVP candidate and power forward Dayvon “G O O F Y 7 5 7” Curry barely missed a triple-double with 12 points, 11 assists and six rebounds. Center Nathaniel “natekahl” Kahl was key on the defensive end, shutting down Juan “Hotshot” Gonzalez early and leading all players in steals with four. Knicks Gaming had a lot of lucky breaks in terms of rebounds and fouls early on, allowing them to take a huge lead. Heat Check small forward Juan “Hotshot” Gonzalez kept his team in the game by himself, leading all scorers with 44 points. The rest of the team could not play up to his level; only Basil “24k Dropoff” Rose surpassed five points with 14. Heat Check Gaming was cold from three only scoring three as a team. Heat Check relied on shots in the dead zone going 10 for 21. The second half was a different story. 24k Dropoff came alive in the second half scoring the overwhelming majority of his points in that half. Game Two Heat Check maintained their momentum going into game two. Hotshot once again led all players in scoring in the half but the rest of Heat Check finally pulled their weight. Every Heat player on the floor contributed in some way. Point guard Stanley “Majes7ic” stoofd out, grabbing six rebounds. Heat Check came up empty from three but lit it up inside the arc. iamadamthe1st went cold in the first half of game two. The New Jersey native went 0 for 9 in the first half, forcing G O O F Y, nate and center Idris “idrisdagoat6” Richardson to keep the Knicks alive in the first half. Knicks Gaming took a timeout in the second quarter and it seemed like shooting guard Eric “YeyNotGaming” Ward was about to turn it around but it was not to be. The momentum swung back toward Knicks Gaming in the fourth quarter. After letting the gap extend to double digits before bringing the gap back to five with two minutes remaining. This was followed by an absolutely insane sequence of possessions where Knicks Gaming had four offensive rebounds in one possession followed by two possessions where the Heat couldn’t put it away and four free throws that allowed Knicks Gaming to take a 68-66 lead. Majes7ic couldn’t put a buzzer beater away to put Heat Check ahead and send the series to game three, allowing Knicks Gaming to come away with the championship in a sweep.<doc-sep>
After 45 years, an NBA championship is heading back to New York City. But it isn’t the Larry O’Brien trophy won by the NY Knicks. Instead, it was Knicks Gaming, who beat Heat Check Gaming to win the inaugural NBA 2K League Championship. For most of the 2K League season, Knicks Gaming played like their affiliate NBA club—the team flirted with last place and players bickered with one another. But a dramatic midseason turnaround culminated in an unlikely playoff berth. And now, the team can’t feel any better as they won it all, taking home a $300,000 prize to boot. Knicks Gaming had to overcome some great teams throughout the playoffs though to take the title. First, they had to beat undisputed top seed Blazer5 to survive the single-elimination first round. That game came down to the buzzer as Blazer5’s league MVP Dayne “One Wild Walnut” Downey missed a layup that could have clinched it. Things didn’t get easier in the next round. Paired against Cavs Legion Gaming, Knicks Gaming dropped the first game before their best player, center Dayvon “Goofy757” Curry, got into the action and into the heads of the Cavs. The comeback set up a final between Knicks Gaming and a Heat squad that had a star of their own: Connor “Dat Boy Shotz” Rodrigues. Heat Check relied on Shotz almost exclusively to run their offense. He dazzled the audience with an array of deep three pointers and crafty layups as he drove his team to the final. But against the firepower of the Knicks, Shotz just wasn’t enough. Knicks Gaming took a big lead into the fourth quarter of game one before Shotz woke up, but even a late barrage of threes from the Heat star couldn’t save the team. Heat Check came out hot in the second game and their lead ballooned into double digits. But Knicks Gaming came back behind Goofy and star point guard Adam “iamadamthe1st” Kudeimati. Then, a late three gave Knicks a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. Sharpshooter Eric “YeyNotGaming” Ward came through as the unlikely hero to earn the win and sweep in the championship. The Knicks are NBA2K champions. In one year the Knicks 2K team now have more rings than the NBA Knicks in the last 40 years. The best Knicks team in New York play video game basketball. #NBA2KLeagueFinals — Rod Breslau (@Slasher) August 25, 2018 Saturday’s final was a huge victory for the city of New York, where the NBA 2K League studio is located. It’s also a huge victory for the nascent esports league—things should get even more exciting in season two.