East Asia Super League will delay home-and-away format until 2023

The East Asia Super League is a wildly popular tournament that launched in 2017, featuring the best basketball teams in Asia. This year, the EASL was expected to become an actual league with a home-and-away season that featured eight teams competing over the course of six months and culminating in a Final Four tournament with a $1 million prize.

However, the East Asia Super League announced today that while they still intend to switch to this home-and-away format in 2023, this year's event will once again "take place in a tournament format, taking into account ongoing COVID-19-related issues throughout the region," according to a press release.

"EASL’s focus is on operating Season 1 of game play in a responsible manner that allows for partner leagues to carry on with their domestic leagues uninterrupted by precarious travel situations," the statement reads. "Details of the tournament format will soon be announced and shared with EASL fans. Discussions regarding a 'Champions Week' in Manila are currently ongoing."

The EASL tournament is scheduled to tip off on October 12, 2022. 

“Our mission remains to create the premier basketball league and entertainment experience in
Asia; elevating the sport in the region," EASL CEO Matt Beyer said. "Controlling variables and operating our season in the most responsible manner reduces uncertainty for all our stakeholders as international travel throughout the region rebounds incrementally." 

For more info about the East Asia Super League, check out this behind-the-scenes look at the startup, which has added Jalen Green, Baron Davis, Shane Battier and Metta Sandiford-Artest as investors.