Global Baseball Esports Championship HUGAN WBSC ePremier12 2024:
Japan’s SHORA Wins Finals After Thrilling Japan-Taipei Match!
Winner Receives Toast From Award Ceremony Guest Ichiro Suzuki!

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Konami Digital Entertainment is thrilled to announce that SHORA has been crowned the first-ever ePremier12 champion at the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) global baseball esports championship, the HUGAN WBSC ePremier12 2024 (the “ePremier12”).

The ePremier12 is a global esports competition organized by the WBSC, featuring the official WBSC baseball game, "WBSC eBASEBALL™ Power Pros," as the competition title. This year's event marks the inaugural tournament.

The finals were held at Tokyo Dome, the same venue as the WBSC Premier12 tournament, with Dashu and SHORA, who emerged from regional qualifiers worldwide, competing for the title. The final match featured Chinese Taipei versus Japan, mirroring the Premier12 matchup on the same day. The audience cheered as SHORA led 4-0, but in the bottom of the 3rd inning, Dashu added two more runs, heating up an already thrilling match. In the end, SHORA struck out Dash looking to win the match and become the first-ever ePremier12 champion.

During the awards ceremony, Ichiro Suzuki, the guest of honor at the event, presented SHORA with a certificate along with a congratulatory message.

SHORA’s remarks
"I am overwhelmed with gratitude to receive this support from a packed audience. I grew up admiring Ichiro, so when he said, ‘You were amazing out there, kid,’ words can’t express how happy I was. Dashu is a heck of a hitter, so I was hoping to score a few more runs for insurance. I’m just glad I was able to do that in the 2nd and 3rd innings. It was my first time representing Japan, so I’m really proud to have won as a member of the national team."

Ichiro’s remarks
"First of all, the energy was incredible. It far exceeded my expectations. The skill level in terms of game mechanics and strategy was also impressive. Baseball is a sport that requires a lot of mental effort. In this game, as in real baseball, players use strategy and tactics to score more runs than the opponent and minimize errors. I believe this is the essence of baseball, and it, along with the enjoyment it brings, was fully captured here today. The competitors approached the game with serious dedication, just like in real baseball, and it was clear that they had worked hard to improve as players. It was a wonderful game that captivated the audience."

Photos from the Tournament

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The thrilling final match can be viewed at the following link:
https://youtube.com/live/itwv6SFgF1k?feature=share

Konami Digital Entertainment will continue to deliver the fun of esports to its customers through its esports initiatives.

About the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC)
Headquartered in Pully, Switzerland, in the outskirts of Lausanne, the WBSC is the world governing body for baseball and softball. At present it is made up of 207 national leagues (including full members and associate members) from 137 countries/regions in Asia, Africa, the Americas, Europe and Oceania. It is responsible for overseeing the baseball and softball activities of over 65 million athletes and mobilizing approximately 150 million spectators every year. The WBSC oversees all international competitions in which official national teams participate: the Premier 12, Baseball World Cup (U-12, U-15, U-18, U-23 and Women's), Softball World Cup (U-15 Women, U-18 Women, U-18 Men, U-23 Men, Women and Men), Baseball 5 (Senior and Youth World Cups), organizes the eSports World Championships and oversees the Baseball, Softball and Baseball 5 events at the Olympic Games.

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