Previewing ‘The Ticket’ Tournament For T-Wolves Gaming
June 11, 2019
By Max Minsker
Last week it was two games, and two post-game interviews for BearDaBeast as T-Wolves Gaming went 2-0 in back to back games against Hawks Talon GC and Jazz Gaming. Bear averaged 26.5 points and 10 assists per game in the two contests as T-Wolves Gaming moved to 5-6 on the season and 3-2 in weeks 7-10, earning them the No. 12 seed in next week’s tournament, ‘The Ticket’.
Tell em’ @BearDaBeast23 🗣
pic.twitter.com/PdwnKQq7jC— T-Wolves Gaming (@TWolvesGaming) June 7, 2019
In last week’s first game against Hawks Talon GC, the T-Wolves got out to a blazing hot start, leading 35-17 at halftime. They didn’t let off the brakes in the second half, ultimately winning by 43 points; The win marked the largest margin of victory in franchise history. The team moved center FEAST to the power forward position to counter Hawks Talon star Dat Boy Shotz on the shot creating post scorer power forward build. However, Atlanta decided to trot out a new lineup of its own, moving Dat Boy Shotz to small forward. The T-Wolves may have inadvertently stumbled into a new lineup with FEAST on the sharpshooting rim protector power forward build and JoJo on the sharpshooter rebounder center build. Who says five-out is dead?
Bear finished with 30 points and nine assists in the game, while JMoneyRep817 added 18 and five assists. All five scorers were in double figures for the T-Wolves as the team shot 78% from the field.
The second game of the week was a much closer contest, with T-Wolves Gaming leading Jazz Gaming by just one point heading into the fourth quarter. However, a strong team defensive performance in the fourth quarter propelled the team to a 69-60 victory against the team that knocked them out of The Turn. Bear and JMoneyRep817 again lead the team in scoring with 23 and 22 points respectively. JoJo added 17 points and nine rebounds in his second consecutive appearance at center.
After their first two-win week of the season, T-Wolves Gaming now sports a regular season point differential of +2.5 (good for 7thin the 2K League) to pair with two quarterfinal finishes in tournament play.
This week, the T-Wolves will head to Orlando for The Ticket tournament hosted by Full Sail University. As the 12-seed, T-Wolves Gaming will square off against 21-seeded Pistons GT on Thursday at 3 p.m. CT. These two teams met back in week 5 and T-Wolves Gaming secured a 73-59 victory. Pistons GT took two big losses last week, so they will be looking for a big rebound victory in the play-in round of The Ticket.
If the T-Wolves can beat Pistons GT, they will face off against ‘The Turn’ champions Warriors Gaming Squad. With one of the most balanced rosters in the league, Warriors Gaming Squad presents problems for any team. Should the T-Wolves advance past the play-in round, this would be a premier first-round matchup.
The winner of The Ticket tournament will secure a spot in the 2K League playoffs. T-Wolves Gaming is currently one game behind current 8-seed Bucks Gaming, so winning the tournament and securing a playoff bid would be a major victory for the expansion team in its first season. T-Wolves Gaming is hot right now. With the right mentality and a little bit of luck, this team might just secure a playoff spot this week.