British Esports, in association with the British Basketball Federation, announces the Great Britain team to compete in the €50,000 eFIBA Open Season 2.
Sunderland, Tuesday 3rd October 2023 – British Esports, the national body established to support grassroots esports in the UK, has announced the Great Britain NBA 2K24 esports basketball team set to compete in eFIBA Season 2.
British Esports has extended its partnership with the British Basketball Federation to support the participation of Great Britain in the second season of the eFIBA Open, which gets underway with its regional qualifiers from today (October 3rd 2023) until November 2nd.
61 nations will take part in the second season of eFIBA, the official NBA 2K24 tournament from the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and ESL FACEIT Group (EFG). National federations across seven regional areas – Europe, Africa, North America, South America, Southeast Asia, Oceania and the Middle East – will compete in the 5v5 Pro-Am game mode on PlayStation 5.
The winning national team from each regional final (running November 7th to 9th) will secure a spot in the first in-person eFIBA World Finals at DreamHack Winter, Jönköping, Sweden, (November 25th to 26th 2023) and a share of the €50,000 prize pool.
The Great Britain team have been taking part in a three-day bootcamp at the gaming accommodation at British Esports’ National Esports Performance Campus in Sunderland, including team practice, media sessions, scrims and more.
Alex Davies, Performance Advisor for British Esports, has been on hand to deliver key coaching advice and support, in order to prepare the team’s mental state ahead of the regional qualifiers.
The player roster for the Great Britain team competing in eFIBA Season 2 includes:
- Harry ‘HazzaUK’ Hurst (Captain)
- Samuel ‘SamThaRuler’ Adegun
- Abdul ‘JIIINXY’
- Kyan ‘KyBaandz’
- Jamie ‘vGooner-’ Bull
- Justin ‘xxSENSEI’ Mendoza
- Ali ‘AliGotRange’ Alobaidi
- Jamie ‘Dirk_JDR’ Diaz-Ruiz
- Jonah Edwards (Coach)
There’s also the chance for community streamers to get involved with the event.
The announcement comes after British Esports previously supported Great Britain in last year’s eFIBA Open Season 1.
“We are proud to be partnering with British Esports again to enter a British team into this year’s eFIBA Open,,” said Kieron Achara, Technical Lead at the British Basketball Federation. “British Esport does a stellar job supporting the players by giving them a platform to perform on the highest stage. Captain Harry Hurst and the rest of the squad have our full support and I know they will be representing our country with pride and passion.”.”
“We’re delighted to continue our support of basketball esports and some of the best players Great Britain has to offer in the latest eFIBA Open,” added Chester King, CEO, British Esports Federation. “We’re also pleased to welcome the team to our brand new facilities in Sunderland where they have been bootcamping ahead of the tournament. We look forward to hosting more teams in the future and seeing how they get on. Thanks to the British Basketball Federation for teaming up with us, our continued partnership once again exemplifies the synergy between esports and traditional sports.”
“After a very successful eFIBA Season 1, which featured some exciting games and captivating moments, we are thrilled to now go to the next level with the inclusion of in-person Finals – the first ever in the history of eFIBA – and announce the arrival of Season 2. The passion and enthusiasm exhibited by the expanding eFIBA community is truly remarkable, and we are delighted to bring this next season of national team basketball to both esport teams and fans across the world,” commented Frank Leenders, FIBA Media and Marketing Services Director General.
“We’re excited to announce Season 2 of eFIBA alongside our partner,” added Roger Lodewick, President, Sports Games at ESL FACEIT Group. “eFIBA was created to nurture and develop the passionate NBA 2K community while offering competitive and thrilling online and offline events. Its inaugural season has already left a tremendous mark on the sports games esports scene, and we can’t wait to continue building the global esports ecosystem for national teams with FIBA.”
For more information on the Great Britain team competing at the eFIBA Open, and to stay up to date with all the latest news, including player rosters, upcoming fixtures and results, please visit the eFIBA Europe Tournament page.
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Contact
Adam McGowan | Marketing Director | British Esports | [email protected]
Alice Leaman | Head of Operations | British Esports | [email protected]
About British Esports
Established in 2016, British Esports is the national body for esports in the UK. As one of the world’s leading esports authorities, we are the recognised member of the Global Esports Federation for Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and founding member of the International Olympic Committee Esports and Gaming Liaison Group. From nationwide amateur grassroots competition to cutting edge esports curriculum and national representation on the global stage, we’re dedicated to increasing levels of esports awareness, improving esports standards, and inspiring future esports talent.
About the British Basketball Federation
The British Basketball Federation (BBF) is the national governing body responsible for basketball in Britain and took on the international federation (FIBA) membership role in 2016. The BBF runs GB Basketball in a federated model, under a Board of management comprising of an Independent Chair, Independent Directors and representatives of the three member Home Country Associations (HCAs) of Basketball England, Basketball Scotland, and Basketball Wales.
The role of the British Basketball Federation is to create a world-class elite performance programme in Great Britain, and to work with the Home Countries and other stakeholders to ensure the growth and success of British basketball.
For more information, please visit https://gb.basketball/ or contact Sarah Dickson at [email protected].
