Replay the dream: SWX QuaranTourney reairs on new e-gaming website “Just Add Monsters”

Their dream season was taken away from them when Gonzaga learned that the NCAA Tournament was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. But the Zags and their faithful fans got a small measure of redemption on Monday, when Gonzaga defeated Duke in front of an audience of 250 viewers on Twitch.tv, to win the three-week-long SWX QuaranTourney. So, what exactly is the QuaranTourney? It is a hybrid of two video games: NBA 2K20 and Draft Day Sports: College Basketball 20. The goal? To bring an authentic March Madness experience to the masses, through the magic of video games. On Friday, March 13th, just as the NCAA Tournament and the sports world grinded to a halt, the SWX sports team reached out to Wolverine Studios. The video game publisher was best known for its sports simulations, particularly Draft Day Sports: College Basketball 20. Shortly after being contacted by SWX, Wolverine Studios went to work. Their designers coded a custom 68-team bracket for its simulator. That bracket would later be used in the QuaranTourney, tailored and created exclusively for SWX. The field of teams was unveiled to the public two nights later on a live broadcast of “SWX Tonight” in Spokane, Washington. Later that night, the tournament was simulated multiple times over the course of three hours. “We wanted a tournament experience that would replicate real March Madness,” said SWX Sports Director Sam Adams. “After a few hours of simulations, we finally landed on a result that reflected the trends that were showing up in the game, but also captured some of the randomnesses of the real NCAA Tournament.” One simulation had BYU winning the National Championship. Another saw Boston University beat top-seed Dayton in the first round. Possible, yes. But they were the kind of results that were likely to lose credibility in the eyes of those following the tournament. More than fifty simulations later, the “perfect” result finally presented itself in a simulation. Next, games were played using a more traditional video game. Since NCAA Basketball hasn’t existed in video game form since 2009, SWX had to use a college mod for NBA 2K20. The mod, or modification, was created by NBA 2K fan “SkillazKill,” who had created more than 30 teams so people could play as their favorite college player or team in a video game. Those rosters, and their corresponding players, logos, and uniforms, were used in NBA 2K to re-enact the results of the earlier computer simulation. The video game sessions of the modded NBA 2K20 were recorded, and highlights were selected and edited for air on SXW. Those video clips were narrated by sports anchors, just like real sports highlights on traditional sports shows like ESPN SportsCenter. Not long after, the video game sessions were brought to Just Add Monsters, where they were given an authentic live broadcast experience. Notable broadcasters like college radio play-by-play announcers Larry Weir and Matt Chazanow teamed up with former Seattle SuperSonics color analyst Craig Ehlo for live sports announcing. The undeniable hit of the QuaranTourney was actor Eric Edelstein and his spot-on impersonation of famed announcer Bill Walton. “This is a creative dream that started organically and turned into something people really want,” said Edelstein, an admitted Gonzaga super-fan who jumped at the opportunity to call games as his tie-died alter-ego, Bill Walton. You can view a replay of the entire tournament on JustAddMonsters.com Tuesday, April 7th: Sweet 16 game featuring Gonzaga vs. Maryland. Wednesday, April 8th: First: Baylor vs Providence in the Elite 8; followed by Gonzaga vs San Diego State. Thursday, April 9th: Final Four Friday, April 10th: National Championship game. Though the QuaranTourney may now be over and the champions have been crowned, the broadcasts live on with Just Add Monsters (JAM). Episodes can be watched on the website JustAddMonsters.com, as well as on Just Add Monster’s Twitch and YouTube pages. As long as sports are on hold, look for SWX and JAM to continue to bring you original sports video game content. Have an idea? Send your suggestions to @SWXRightNow and @SamAdamsTV on Twitter. Who knows? Your team might just win the next virtual championship.