Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd. has announced that it will be participating in the finals of the baseball e-sports world tournament “Hughan WBSC e-Premier 12 2024” (hereinafter “e-Premier 12”) sponsored by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), a legend from the Japanese and American baseball world. We would like to inform you that Ichiro will appear as a special guest.
“ePremier 12” is an e-sports world sponsored by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) and is held using the WBSC official baseball game “WBSC eBASEBALL (TM) Powerful Professional Baseball” published by our company as the competition title. It’s a tournament. It will be held at the same time as the “World Baseball WBSC Premier 12” (hereinafter referred to as “Premier 12”), which will be held at Tokyo Dome from November 21st (Thursday), and “e Premier 12” will be held on November 23rd (Saturday). The final will be held at the same venue as the Premier 12, Tokyo Dome.
To commemorate the first e-Premier 12, it has been decided that Ichiro, a legend in the Japanese and American baseball world, will appear as a special guest. Ichiro will appear at the opening ceremony and awards ceremony to praise the players who competed for the title of e-Premier 12 inaugural champion.
In addition, on Wednesday, November 21st, at the esports Ginza studio (Ginza, Tokyo), we will be hosting four players, including Mexico’s Ben Zen, Chinese Taipei’s Dashu, Japan’s SHORA, and NEGRAY, who have passed the qualifying round from all over the world. The super round will begin. The matches will be played in a round-robin format, and the top two players will advance to the finals on Saturday, November 23rd.
Player name: SHORA
Birthplace: Japan/Osaka
Team used: Japan
Results from other tournaments:
2021 Olympic Virtual Series Baseball Competition Champion
Olympic esports series 2023 baseball competition championship
Tokyo eSports Festa 2024 Winner
WBSC eBASEBALL(TM) Series 2023 World Final Winner
Player name: NEGRAY
Birthplace: Japan/Kyoto
Team used: Australia
Results from other tournaments:
2021 Olympic Virtual Series Finals Participation
ePremier 12 1st Global Qualifying Winner
Player name: Ben Zen
Birthplace: Nuevo Leon/Mexico
Team used: Mexico
Results from other tournaments: –
Player name: Dashu
Birthplace: Chinese Taipei
Team used: Panama
Results from other tournaments: –
■Super round and finals distribution decided
The super round on November 21st (Thursday) and the final match on November 23rd (Saturday) can also be viewed via streaming. As broadcast guests, professional baseball alumni Seiichi Uchikawa, Kennobu Kawakami, Hisashi Iwakuma, and game commentator Taiji will appear. Please see below for details.
Delivery URL: https://youtube.com/live/YIncTqDDrro?feature=share
Distribution guests: Seiichi Uchikawa, Kennobu Kawakami, Taiji, Ichiro Tanaka, Hisatsugu Shimizu
Delivery URL:https://youtube.com/live/itwv6SFgF1k?feature=share
Distribution guests: Hisashi Iwakuma, Taiji, Ichiro Tanaka, Hisatsugu Shimizu
Hugan ePremier 12 | WBSC eBASEBALL(TM) Powerful Professional Baseball Official Site
https://www.konami.com/pawa/wbsc/ja/event/epremier12/final
Please support the passionate battle for the first e-Premier 12 champion that will be held at Tokyo Dome.
Konami Digital Entertainment will continue to work with its partners to spread the appeal of esports to the world and work to further expand the number of esports fans.
[What is the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC)]
The WBSC, the world governing body for baseball and softball, is headquartered in Puri, near Lausanne, Switzerland, and has 207 national federations and associate member organizations in 137 countries and regions across Asia, Africa, the Americas, Europe, and Oceania. The organization coordinates and promotes competitive baseball and softball activities that attract over 65 million athletes and approximately 150 million spectators annually to the stadium. The WBSC oversees all international competitions involving official national teams, including the Premier 12, Baseball World Cup (U-12, U-15, U-18, U-23, Women), and Softball World Cup. Cup (U-15 Women’s, U-18 Women’s, U-18 Men’s, U-23 Men’s, Women’s, Men’s), Baseball 5 (Senior Youth World Cup), and e-sports world championships, as well as the Olympic Games. It supervises baseball, softball, and five baseball sports at competitions.
[About our company’s efforts in e-sports related to baseball]
Since 2016, we have been continuously working to expand and revitalize e-sports, such as by holding a national tournament for the “Powerful Professional Baseball” series. In 2017, we are also working on regional development using e-sports, such as cooperating with the Ehime e-baseball tournament, a cultural program of the Ehime National Athletic Meet. Since 2018, we have been holding a professional e-sports league in collaboration with the Japan Baseball Organization (NPB), and we are also working with the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) to expand the number of baseball players around the world. In the international competitions “Olympic Virtual Series 2021” and “Olympic eSports Series 2023” sponsored by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the “Powerful Professional Baseball” series was selected as a competition title and competitions are being held.
l Title: WBSC eBASEBALL(TM) Powerful Professional Baseball
l Manufacturer name notation: KONAMI
l Manufacturer’s suggested retail price: 100 yen (tax included) *No additional charge elements
l Delivery language: Japanese, English
l Number of players: Nintendo Switch(TM): TV mode 1-4 people, tabletop mode 1-4 people, handheld mode 1 person (*One Joy-Con is required for each player. If playing with 3 or more people, Please prepare controllers for each person.)
PlayStation(R)4: 1 to 4 people (1 person when online)
l Note: To participate in the “Championship” mode within the game software on PS4(R), you must subscribe to PS Plus (paid). Participation from the Switch version requires a subscription to Nintendo Switch Online (paid).
l Rights notice: Officially licensed video game of the World Baseball Softball Confederation “eBaseball” and “eBASEBALL” are registered trademarks or trademarks of Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd. in Japan and other countries and regions. (C)Konami Digital Entertainment
l For reader inquiries: Customer Service Office TEL: 0570-086-573 *Weekdays 10:00-18:00 (Closed on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays)
