Hawks Talon GC Clinch Top Seed in Division in ‘The SLAM OPEN’ Group Play

Hawks Talon GC, the official NBA 2K League Affiliate of the Atlanta Hawks, wrapped up the group play portion of The Coinbase SLAM OPEN on Thursday night with a 3-0 win over Team Smoke. The SLAM OPEN is the NBA 2K League’s first 3-on-3 tournament, and the first to include amateur teams. Hawks Talon Gaming finished group play with a 5-1 record, clinching the top seed in their group and advancing to bracket play, which is set to take place in Indianapolis beginning Weds., May 11. The top two teams in eight divisions advance to bracket play.

Hawks Talon began group play with a 3-0 sweep of Hornets Venom GT and a 3-1 win over Heat Check Gaming before dropping a series to Team Smoke. Talon regained momentum following their loss with three consecutive sweeps of Hornets Venom, Heat Check Gaming, and Team Smoke this week.

The trio of Caesar Martinez (CEEZ), rookies Bryson Fleming (PUTBACK) and John Mushaben (WITNESS) started for Hawks Talon in all six games in group play.

“It means a whole lot to qualify for bracket play with this team,” said Martinez. “After not qualifying during THE TIPOFF, it made us hungrier to not miss another chance to compete in person.”

The bracket play will begin on Wednesday, May 11 with four of the round-of-16 matchups in a best-of-five format. Thursday, May 12 will conclude the round of 16. Friday, May 13 will feature all four quarterfinal matchups in a best-of-seven format. The tournament will conclude on Saturday, May 14 with both semifinals as well as the finals, all best-of-seven.

“I am very proud of the resilient attitude and the level of commitment the guys have shown,” said Diaz-Tolentino. “That is part of the philosophy I wanted to bring to the team, and I am really happy to see them buy in and work for each other, which has led to positive results.”