從外面看去，NBA 2K電競聯賽的工作室仿佛只是長島市的一個不起眼的倉庫，既沒有明顯的標志，也沒有華麗的裝修。而走進工作室，從室內的大屏幕上卻能夠看見很多人，玩家們圍成了一個圈，眼睛緊盯著電腦的顯示器。球迷們則在為2K聯賽里自己最喜歡的隊伍加油鼓勁——這便是NBA 2K電競聯賽的現場了。

如果你對電競不感興趣，看著那一看臺的球迷，和紅藍相間的墻壁，你可能完全進入不了氛圍。只有你真正沉浸在激動人心的比賽甚至是那些脫口而出的臟話中，你才能夠真正體驗到電競的魅力。

而很快，中國的NBA和電競迷們就會體驗到這種感受了。

NBA 2K電競聯賽在7月下旬宣布，它將進軍作為全球最大的電競市場之一的中國。NBA 2K的中國合作伙伴，正是中國游戲業的巨頭騰訊。

騰訊已經獲得了NBA比賽的轉播權，很快，它也將獲得授權轉播NBA 2K的賽事。NBA 2K電競聯賽的所有權由NBA和《NBA 2K》游戲的發行商TakeTwo公司共同擁有。

NBA 2K聯賽已經做好贏得中國觀眾青睞的準備了，因為這款游戲早已吸引了很多中國游戲玩家的興趣。NBA 2K聯賽的總經理布蘭登·多諾霍對《財富》雜志表示：“在中國，玩家玩這款游戲最常見的方式是玩2K online，也就是這款游戲的一個免費版本。到目前為止，我們還沒有辦法與那些玩家進行互動。但通過與騰訊的合作，我們得以接觸到這部分玩家，并且在本賽季進行一些測試，以后再做更多的事情。”

考慮到電競在中國的風靡，將2K聯賽推廣到中國也是一個自然而然的選擇。根據IHS Markit公司2017年的一份報告顯示，中國已經成為全球最大的電子競技市場，去年有57%的電競比賽在中國舉行。就在2K online流行的同時，中國人對籃球這項運動的熱情也越來越高，加之中國人對電競的巨大興趣，多諾霍認為，NBA 2K聯賽入華后，聯賽的收視率必將迎來大幅增長。

不過，NBA 2K聯賽想做的，并不僅僅是在中國轉播自己的比賽。目前，NBA 2K聯賽的所有球隊都與傳統NBA的球隊有關聯，不過NBA 2K聯賽的玩家都是以自己的虛擬形象出現在游戲里的，而并非是NBA球員的形象。比如，波特蘭開拓者隊在NBA 2K聯賽中的隊伍是Blazer5 Gaming隊，但是球隊里并沒有一個人的球風跟開拓者隊的控衛達米安·利拉德一樣。

多諾霍表示，隨著聯賽的擴展，中國是一個他們很希望進入的市場。至于非NBA的參賽球隊如何設計和命名，目前聯賽尚未確定，不過2K聯賽是很愿意接納新球隊的。

多諾霍表示，他們想繼續在中國尋找潛在的電競運動員。通過游戲和線下活動吸引愛好者，最終在中國建立本土參賽隊伍。“這是一個龐大戰略的一部分。”

“我們正在與一些對加入聯賽感興趣、但又不是NBA老板的人進行積極對話。現在談論時間表可能還為時過早，但我們知道，在不久的將來，聯賽中會出現NBA以外的球隊。”

早在聯手騰訊之前，多諾霍就設想過在中國舉辦NBA 2K聯賽的活動。本賽季，NBA 2K聯賽就曾經在香港舉辦過一場資格邀請賽，以更好地吸引美國以外的電競人才。

多諾霍表示：“我們認為，這對于加大聯賽在該地區的曝光率是一次很好的試驗。”

隨著NBA 2K聯賽的長島市工作室日益火爆，看臺區似乎已經擠不下越來越多的球迷了，搬家對于聯賽總部來說貌似是一個最好的選擇。（財富中文網）

譯者：樸成奎

From the outside, the NBA 2K League studio looks like an unassuming warehouse in Long Island City. There’s no big signage or pomp. But inside there are screens above the crowds, the players are in a circle focusing on their monitors, and fans are cheering for their favorite teams in the 2K League, the e-sports competition scene for the NBA 2K video game.

For those not interested in e-sports, it can be hard to grasp the atmosphere, with its bleachers of fans and the decked out red and blue walls, until you’re actually immersed in its excitement and light trash talking.

But soon that experience will open up to even more people.

The NBA 2K League announced in late July that it is coming to China, one of the world’s largest e-sports markets, and it’s doing so with the help of Tencent, a massive Chinese conglomerate and a leader in gaming.

Tencent already broadcasts NBA games, and similar to its deal with the league, it will begin showing 2K League events, too. The NBA 2K League is owned by the NBA and NBA 2K maker TakeTwo.

The 2K League is poised to score points with Chinese viewers, because there’s already interest from gamers there. “In China, the more common way for players to engage in the game is actually 2K online, which is a free version of the game,” Brendan Donohue, managing director of the 2K League tells Fortune. “Up until this point, we haven’t been able to engage that audience. This deal, by partnering with Tencent, it allows us to unlock that audience and test that this season before doing more in the future.”

Expanding 2K League to China also a natural move, considering the popularity of e-sports there. According to a 2017 report by IHS Markit, China is the largest global market for e-sports, streaming 57% of all matches last year. Between the popularity of 2K Online, growing Chinese interest in traditional basketball, and the massive appetite for e-sports, Donohue expects viewership for the league to see a substantial increase.

But the league is looking to do more than merely show its games in China. Currently, all of the 2K League teams are linked to ones in the traditional NBA, but 2K League players appear as digital avatars of themselves, and not as NBA players. For example, the Portland Trail Blazers’ counterpart is Blazer5 Gaming, but no one plays as the NBA team’s point guard Damian Lillard.

Donohue sees the league expanding, and China is one place they’re looking to move into. How the non-NBA teams will be named or styled is still undecided, but the 2K League is willing to make the expansion happen.

“This is part of a much broader strategy here,” Donohue said explaining that they want to continue finding potential e-sports players in China, reaching fans there through game streaming and live events, and eventually setting up Chinese-based teams.

“We are having active conversations with people who are interested in joining the league that are not NBA owners. It might too early to talk about a timeline, but we know in the near future there’s going to be teams outside of NBA-owned teams in the league,” Donohue said.

Even before that, Donohue envisions the NBA 2K League putting on events in China. For the current season, the league hosted an invitational qualifying event in Hong Kong in order to better attract non-U.S.-based talent.

“We think this is a great test for us to start to expose the league to the region,” Donohue noted.

As the 2K League’s Long Island City studio gets more popular, and the bleachers start to overflow with fans, moving seems like the best option.