Magic Gaming Rolls Past Hornets Venom GT in SWITCH OPEN Bracket Play

The Lead: It’s a tough task to beat any team in the NBA 2K League once. It’s challenging to do it twice. And it’s immensely difficult to record three triumphs in a row against a single opponent. However, Magic Gaming has been able to achieve that feat against Hornets Venom GT. After notching two straight sweeps over Charlotte earlier in the season, Orlando surged past Charlotte for a 3-1 series victory on Wednesday to advance in SWITCH OPEN 3v3 bracket play.

“There was no lack of focus in our room tonight despite the fact that we had already (swept them twice) this season,” said Magic Gaming general manager and head coach Jonah Edwards. “We wanted to do that again … But it’s a testament to the knowledge of this group. They’re so smart in this 3v3 mode and completely understand what teams are looking to do and how they’re looking to do it.” 

Game 1: Just as they’ve done in their two prior matchups with Hornets Venom GT, Magic Gaming came out and threw the first punch. Orlando point guard Joshua “unguardable” Hunter went 6-for-6 from the floor on his way to a contest-best 16 points to propel Magic Gaming to a 21-10 victory.

Orlando small forward Julian “Jboolin” Manzanares added five points. Magic Gaming was a perfect 5-for-5 from deep and 8-for-8 from the floor overall.

“We have three great offensive players,” said unguardable. “I came out and played probably my best game of the year, so that always helps. We just felt like if we got out to a hot start, we would get more stops than them and win the series.”

Game 2: After Orlando’s floor general dominated the series opener, Charlotte’s point guard answered back in Game 2. Trey “TreyDollaz” Wright went 5-for-5 from long distance on his way to a game-high 17 points to help Hornets Venom GT edge Magic Gaming 21-19.

Unguardable and Jboolin each scored eight for Orlando, while big man Ashton “LowkeyGodlike” Agredano added three points and four boards.

Game 3: Eager to respond, Magic Gaming used their defense to fuel their offense in Game 3. Blocks by Jboolin and LowkeyGodlike and a steal by unguardable all led to transition points for Orlando in a 22-17 victory.

Jboolin scored nine, LowkeyGodlike poured in eight, and unguardable tallied five points and seven assists.

Game 4: Determined to make quick work of Charlotte, unguardable erupted for 14 points and LowkeyGodlike added seven as Magic Gaming earned a 21-16 triumph to clinch the series.

Quote to Note: “The key to us maintaining the momentum we have right now is consistency. I feel like if we come to practice every day and practice hard, along with showing up when it matters in the games – which is when it really matters – we’re going to make it far and possibly win the tournament. If we’re not consistent, we’re not going to win. But I feel like we’re hungry. We made it to the finals (of the SLAM OPEN). We felt what it was like to be there. We feel like this is the chance for us to win it this time.” – unguardable

Up Next: Magic Gaming returns to SWITCH OPEN action on Thursday when they face Pistons GT at 8:15 p.m. ET. Orlando is 1-1 against Detroit this season.

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