King Of The Dot’s GZ Battles branch is getting ready for the first round of this year’s four-city, 16-man Grand Prix.
Each KOTD division has four seeds — some well-known vets, others lesser-known newcomers — and the opening rounds go down March 21 in Toronto and Vancouver, followed a week later by events in Calgary and Los Angeles on March 28.
One battler from each of the above locations will make it through to the semi-finals where Toronto's winner will face off against Calgary's, and Vancouver's will take on L.A.'s.
The winner of the tournament will land $2,000 in prize money and a title shot against GZ champion DDSS.
Here's everything you need to know about the four events.
Toronto
Toronto's bracket is stacked with recognizable names. poRICH is a former KOTD champion looking for his second GZ title shot, but he'll have to start against KP, a Toronto emcee with some strong performances on his resume.
Aftershock is another throwback from the early days of KOTD, taking on GZ favorite N-Pose, a battler from Detroit who will be looking to redeem his recent BOTB7 performance.
When:
March 21
Who:
poRICH vs. KP
Aftershock vs. N-Pose
The card also features some interesting non-GZGP match-ups:
HFK vs. Tricky P
Lexx Luthor vs. Jimz
Kaliente vs. Z Hunna
Q Shinobi vs. Perspectivez
Blaze vs. Zo Green
Check out the trailer for the event here:
Hosted by:
Gully TK, Organik, Bishop Brigante
Where:
Set Boutique, 333 King St. W. Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Vancouver
The B.C. bracket features names that are known more locally than globally, but this tournament could change that. Wildcard has established himself as an up-and-comer with match-ups against Megadef, poRICH and Yung Casper. He faces Apos in the first round in what will be a rematch of a 2013 GZ battle.
Stevie P has been in the Vancouver division since the beginning and his battle against Aspire made the main channel back in 2011. More recently, he's been building momentum with a string of strong performances and will face Cander in the first round, a Vancouver talent who hasn't been in the ring for more than a year.
When:
March 21
Who:
Wildcard vs. Apos
Stevie P vs. Cander
And a bunch of other GZ matches.
Hosted by:
La Sparka and Willie B
Where:
L.E.D. Bar, 967 Granville ST., Vancouver, B.C., Canada
Calgary
The Alberta division highlights a few emcees on the verge of breaking into bigger match-ups. Rezza Reckt, an Edmonton battler who's on a ridiculously long winning streak right now, will start off against Dirty Harry, whose battles against A-Class and Wildcard made him a strong contender for the GZ title before the tournament was announced.
Unconventional battler Philip Solo will take on Edwords, a Calgary transplant (via St. Catherine's, Ontario) with a ton of potential. This is Ed's second GZGP after losing in the first round to Wize Guy in 2013.
When:
March 28
Who:
Dirty Harry vs. Rezza Reckt
Philip Solo vs. Edwords
The GZGP match-ups are part of "Quarantine 2," Calgary's biggest battle card yet. Read our full preview of that event here.
Hosted by:
Sketch Menace, La Sparka and Pat Stay
Where: The Republik, 219 17 Ave SW, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Los Angeles
The Fresh Coast bracket features T-Pain's favorite battler/everybody's best friend Carter Deems taking on veteran Cali emcee Denter. Also squaring off will be Demetrie Jones (formerly known as Urban) and Bakersfield emcee Afta.
When:
March 28
Who:
Carter Deems vs. Denter
Afta vs. Demetrie Jones
And four other GZ battles.
Hosted by:
Malathion
Where:
Project Blowed Kaos Network, 4343 Leimert Blvd, Los Angeles, Calif.
Thoughts? Predictions? Let us know in the comments section below.
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