TOWAMENCIN- They entered, and they competed. The 16 spots in the NPTV 2k20 PS4 & XBOX1 March Madness Tournament were taken up and play to find this year’s 2k20 champion got underway this week. The 16 players were picked following the live announcement of the open invitation bracket last Friday and the entries came in fast. It will be the battle of the consoles where 8 Xbox 1 players and 8 PS4 players will look to win out their respective side of the bracket to earn a trip to the championship against the top player of the other respective gaming console. The results of the NPTV 2k20 March madness tournament opening round are in with game summaries below.

Game A: Kicking off games in the PlayStation bracket, game A came down to the wire as Nick Koch, playing as the Trailblazers went up against Branden Soubik as the Lakers. Late game free throws jolted Branden ahead on the scoreboard, forcing a desperate final second three-point shot from Nick, who gave the ball to Damian Lilliard. The shot from behind the arc did not answer Nick’s prayers, leaving the score at a 106-101 final, in favor of Branden and his Lakers. The Lakers win sends Nick home while Branden earns his way to round 2.

Game B: Moving down the bracket to game B, Ronak Lashkari went with the Sixers, defeating Josh Hittle, who chose the Nets, 106-90. Ronak came through with a 16-point blowout and will move on to the next round. 

“Some things just went my way and fortunately we’re able to move to the next round and I’m looking forward to my next match up in the bracket,” Lashkari said.

Game C: The square off between Zayd Richardson and Kevon White in round 1 ended with a final score of 72-68. The Pelicans, played by Zayd Richardson, got a low scoring victory the Rockets played by White, as Zayd pulled off the nail biting victory.

Game D: In the final game in the PlayStation bracket, John Graber tipped off against Kenneth Grandy. Due to a lag issue in the game, it was settled by both players that there would be only one half of regulation played and the results finished at a final score of 45-32 in favor of John. Choosing the Clippers as his team in the opening round, John topped Kenneth’s Lakers in the one-half matinee. A Lebron James half court shot would not be enough to sway this match up into Kenneth’s favor as John hoists a 13-point opening round victory, punching his ticket to the tournament’s quarterfinal round.

Game E: Michael Carmody opened the Xbox bracket tournament play with a 82-76 victory over Nick Gianficaro. With the Bucks as his team of choice, Mike punched his ticket to the next round with a resounding 45-point and 15- total rebound performance from Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Game F: Tyler Trippetti tipped off as the Lakers against Drew Cummando and the Sixers. A close 85-81 final score found Drew on the upside of this nail biter with an offense led by Ben Simmons. 39 points from Simmons gifts Drew with another round of 2k to play while Tyler is eliminated in round one.

Game G: Joey Leone faced off against Justin DiPietro and the Grizzlies. Joey as the Sixers won, 103-89, thanks to Ben Simmons, who dropped 53-points to send Joey Leone to the next round and knocking out Justin from further tournament contention.

Game H: Wrapping up the Xbox bracket, Lucas Kile went toe to toe with Alex Kee in game H. Lucas’s elected team, the Nets, handily beat Alex’s Lakers as the final score was 85-68, sending him to the next round of the tournament courtesy of the performance by Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, who combined for 37 points in the round 1 victory for Lucas. 

The quarterfinal round of the tournament  includes the following match ups:

• PS4

Game I: Branden Soubik v.s. Ronak Lashkari

Game J: Zayd Richardson v.s. John Graber

• XBOX 1

Game K: Drew Cummando v.s. Michael Carmody

Game L: Joey Leone v.s. Lucas Kile

Tune into North Penn Television’s Morning show for more information on the next round match ups and highlights from this week’s games in the NPTV 2k20 PS4 & XBOX1 March Madness Tournament.