Jazz Gaming will kick off its second season in the NBA 2K League on Friday with a pair of matches in the group stage of The Tipoff tournament.

The NBA 2K League is an esports venture founded by the NBA and Take-Two Interactive Software. It features 21 teams competing in a combination of regular-season, tournament, and playoff games.

Players compete as unique characters — not existing NBA players — in 5-on-5 play; no artificial intelligence is used. Jazz Gaming, which is affiliated with the Utah Jazz, has a six-man roster, which includes two returning competitors and four new draft picks.

The Tipoff tournament, which got underway on Tuesday, features all 21 teams from the league. It will culminate on Saturday, with the top eight teams competing for the tournament title and a share of a $120,000 prize pool.

Jazz Gaming’s two games Thursday will be against Bucks Gaming at 7 p.m. MT, and against Blazer5 Gaming at 8 p.m. MT. All Tipoff tournament and regular-season games take place at the NBA 2K League Studio in Long Island, N.Y., and are livestreamed on the league’s Twitch channel (www.twitch.tv/nba2kleague).