Everything you need to know before the FIBA 3x3 World Tour Doha Masters 2021

DOHA (Qatar) - The FIBA 3x3 World Tour is back, and there's plenty to be excited about. We will once again be bringing you the best players in the world, wherever you are, across social media and television. Let's take a closer look at everything you need to know ahead of this weekend's action.

Where can I watch the Doha Masters?

Make sure you are following us on Twitter and Instagram for live updates in addition to Facebook and YouTube where we will be broadcasting live on both channels. Something new and very exciting this year: we will also be live on Twitch! We're also on TV all around the world. Check out our list of broadcasters. 

Who is competing in Doha?

A total of 14 teams: Liman, Riga, Ub, NY Harlem, Princeton, Novi Sad, Amsterdam Talent&Pro, Piran, Sakiai Gulbele, Edmonton, Lusail, Graz, Doha, Manila Chooks TM.

Note: following the success of 2020, all the health and safety measures requested by local and national authorities and the Guidelines for the Return to Basketball, developed by the FIBA Medical Advisory Group (MAG) will once again be implemented. Sadly no fans will be allowed in the venue but 3x3 enthusiasts worldwide were given a chance to be at the event with an innovative virtual fan experience.

What are the pools?

Who are the favorites?

Will we see a Doha three-peat for Riga? The Latvians are sure favorites, looking for their third straight World Tour win in Doha, following successful campaigns in 2019 and 2020. With the return of their entire squad, including  World Tour 2020 MVP Nauris Miezis, it’s hard to look at this team and see anything but the definite frontrunners.

There’s also an outside chance we see Ub win their first Masters title, with the additions of Dejan Majstorovic and Marko Savic. The former Novi Sad duo bring a winning pedigree and tremendous talent to the court, making the Serbian immediate contenders.

Don’t overlook the American teams in the field, including NY Harlem and Princeton, two former World Tour winners, coming to Doha with a renewed purpose and a chip on their shoulder. Expect to see both squads flying high (we see you Marcel Esonwune and Zahir Carrington).

Finally, we have the Liman and Novi Sad, two Serbian teams that have a lot of questions to answer coming into the event, but have a good enough track record to be amongst the elite. Liman, the number one seed, will be without ‘Mr. Robot’ Stefan Stojacic and Dusan Bulut will have to take his game back to MVP levels in order to get the new-look Novi Sad back into the winner’s circle.

Who are the players to watch?

With Stefan Stojacic out with an injury, it’s up to Stefan Kojic (Liman), the number three ranked player in the world to come up big once again. He starred at the Europe Masters 2020, leading all scorers and winning MVP. The man will have a green light all tournament long and ready to lead Liman in 2021 after a great 2020 campaign. 

There’s arguably no player you rather give the ball to with second remaining and a big shot to hit, than Nauris Miezis (Riga). The World Tour 2020 MVP might be nicknamed ‘Robin’, but he’s no sidekick. He strikes fear into his opponents and has us all wondering just how great Riga can be this year.

We’ll also be following former Novi Sad teammates, Dejan Majstorovic (Ub) and Dusan Bulut (Novi Sad) closely, each hoping to show that they are positioned to win in Doha and beyond. The ‘Maestro’ has shown that he can win big without Bulut, but it will be interesting to see if Novi Sad were greater than the sum of their parts or if Bulut can lead the powerhouse back to the top of the pack. This Doha Masters is slated to be full of more twists than a Christopher Nolan movie.

Rounding out the field includes 3x3 stars ‘Disco Domo’ Jones (NY Harlem), Kareem Maddox (Princeton), and Julian Jaring (Amsterdam Talent&Pro), all of whom are back, hoping to all round into 2019 form. 

FIBA