Magic Gaming Holds Off Heat Check Gaming to Advance in SLAM OPEN Bracket Play

The Lead: Magic Gaming is riding a five-game winning streak. After losing their first two games of the season, Orlando has rattled off five straight victories, including wins in three consecutive SLAM OPEN 3v3 bracket play contests. With their latest victory, a 3-2 series triumph over Heat Check Gaming, Magic Gaming is now one of the final four teams in the winner’s bracket of the double-elimination SLAM OPEN tournament.

Game 1: For the second straight night, Magic Gaming jumped out to a hot start. Orlando point guard Joshua “unguardable” Hunter and small forward Julian “Jboolin” Manzanares each fired off 11 points as Magic Gaming rolled to a 22-14 win over Heat Check Gaming.

Orlando made Miami one-dimensional and held both point guard KyJuan “HoodieKy” Johnson and lockdown Matthew “Matty” Grant, who spent the last two seasons with Magic Gaming, scoreless.

Game 2: Although he’s just entering his second season in the 2KL, Magic Gaming’s Ashton “LowkeyGodlike” Agredano is already building the reputation as one of the best shooting big men in the league. LowkeyGodlike continued to live up to the billing by knocking down a clutch 3-pointer from the top of the key to give Orlando a thrilling 22-20 comeback victory over Miami.

“I honestly trust him shooting any shot in the game,” said unguardable of his teammate. “There’s (no shot) I feel that he can’t green. He’s confident in himself and I’m confident in him.”

Unguardable finished with team highs in points (12) and assists (four), while LowkeyGodlike added five points, four rebounds, and three dimes.

Game 3: If the Sunshine State rivalry has taught us anything over the years, it’s that no meeting between these two clubs is going to be easy. HoodieKy erupted for a contest-best 16 points to extend the series and lift Heat Check Gaming to a 22-14 triumph.

Unguardable scored eight for Orlando, while LowkeyGodlike added six points, two rebounds, and two assists.

Game 4: Orlando had its chances to close the door on Miami, but HoodieKy helped Heat Check Gaming keep it cracked open. Ky poured in 11 points, including a game-winning 3-pointer, to help Miami hand Orlando a 21-19 defeat.

Unguardable posted a contest-best 14 points for Magic Gaming.

 Game 5: In critical contests, big-time players make big-time plays. Fortunately for Orlando, its entire 3v3 roster is capable of turning the tide in a series-deciding game. In this one, rookie Jboolin played suffocating defense and unguardable drilled a game-winning 3-pointer to propel Magic Gaming to a series-clinching 22-16 victory over Heat Check Gaming.

“At the end of the day, the name of the back of my jersey holds weight,” said unguardable, who finished with a game-high 12 points. “My name is unguardable (for a reason). I always feel like I’m going to hit the big shot. There’s never really a doubt in my mind when I’m shooting the ball … I shot the ball and we won the game.”

Quote to Note: “We just have three great shot makers. Who do you leave? We don’t have a guy where you say make him shoot it. You don’t leave Low. You certainly don’t leave Josh – especially with sharp badge. And JB came into tonight leading the league in 3-point percentage. Who do you leave? That’s the luxury of our team. You’re seeing us put games together looking better on both sides of the ball. But I’m telling you, we haven’t even gotten there yet to what we can be as a team. Every day, every practice, we’re improving a little bit. By the end of the season, we could potentially be pretty scary.” – Magic Gaming general manager and head coach Jonah Edwards

Up Next: Magic Gaming will face Nets GC on Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET as SLAM OPEN bracket play action continues.

How to Watch: Fans can watch games live on the NBA 2K League’s Twitch and YouTube channels.