One Up Teams With 2K Games, NBA Players for One Up x NBA 2K24 Championship Series

Credit: One Up/2K Games

On-demand esports competition company One Up has partnered with 2K Games, NBA players, and NBA 2K24 to launch a new competition series called the One Up x NBA 2K24 Championship Series.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Launching on Sept. 23, the One Up x NBA 2K24 Championship Series is described as a “open-to-the-public competitive gaming challenge” that will be led by 20 NBA players including Jamal Murray, Paul George, and Donovan Mitchell. It will also offer a total cash prize pool of $1M USD. Eligible players can enter the competition for free but will need to install the Play One Up mobile app on Apple or Android devices beginning today to participate.

 The competition will feature 20 online qualifying tournaments (each hosted by an NBA star) and will run from Sept. 23 – Jan. 20. At the end of these competitions, the top 16 finalists of each qualifier will earn $20K, with the 16 runners-up earning $4K each, and 3rd and 4th place finishers earning $500 each. The top 16 finalists will advance to compete in an online tournament on Feb. 3-4, followed by an in-person event in Miami to compete in the One Up x NBA 2K24 Championship on Feb. 15. The overall winner will earn $250K, second place will take home $100K, third and fourth place receiving $50K each, and fifth through eighth place receive $25K each $25K each. 

NBA players will also host exhibition matches throughout the season, each with overall prize pools of $10K.

 And now for the fine print, according to a release:

To qualify for the One Up x NBA 2K24 Championship Series, participants must be residents of the U.S. and D.C. (excluding Arizona) and be 13 years or older, must have a valid One Up account, have access to NBA 2K24 on PS5 or Xbox X/S, have internet access and access to a PSN ID with the PS Plus Service or an Xbox X/S with a gamertag and the Xbox Gold service. Participants will log in to their Play One Up account on iOS or Android, click on the “NBA 2K” community icon, and follow the prompts to register. Eligible players may participate in one or more of the sixteen (16) qualifying tournaments that begin on September 23, 2023, at 3:00 PM Eastern Time. Registration for the qualifying tournaments is available beginning September 14, 2023, at 1:00 PM Eastern Time. Registration for each qualifier tournament will close one (1) hour prior to the start time. 

You can read the complete rules here.

Editor’s note: An earlier iteration of this story contained two errors – it listed the start date as Sept. 24 (it is Sept. 23) and said “29” NBA stars would be participating (that number is actually 20). The story has been corrected with the right date and number. We apologize for the errors.