Olympic Esports Series WBSC eBASEBALL™: POWER PROS Success: SHORA targets triple crown after claiming 2023 title

Japan's Shoma Mori – “SHORA” already has his eye on a third Olympic Esports Series WBSC eBASEBALL™: POWER PROS title after winning the hugely successful 2023 edition on Saturday following on from his title win at the inaugural Olympic Virtual Series in 2021.

SHORA finished first ahead of Hiroki Horiike – “TAIJYU” from Japan in second and Chia-Ming Wang – “CMWANG” from Chinese Taipei in third as 10 finalists battled for glory at the Suntec Centre after coming through qualifying involving nearly 30,000 players in March, April and May.

Winner SHORA said “I am happy beyond words. First of all, I want to share this joy to my family who have supported me. I was under a lot of pressure in this tournament to become the second consecutive winner, and I am already nervous about winning the third if there's going to be  one, but of course, I will do my best. During the game, I could see many people cheering me on from the audience. The view was especially special when I scored a home run and stood up.”

After featuring in the Olympic Virtual Series in 2021, The International Olympic Committee (IOC) selected once more baseball and WBSC eBASEBALL™: POWER PROS, published by Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd. (KONAMI), as one of the 10 virtual sports to form the inaugural Olympic Esports Series.

World Baseball Softball Confederation President Riccardo Fraccari was invited to Singapore as a member of the IOC’s Esports Liaison Group and congratulated Shoma Mori on their victory. He also thanked the IOC for the success of the world’s first Olympic Esports Series and Olympic Esports Week, as well as KONAMI for their continued partnership.

WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari commented:

“My first congratulations are to Shoma Mori for his tremendous play and for being crowned the eBASEBALL™ winner of the first Olympic Esports Series. Esports continue to grow across the globe. The IOC have put on a world-class event here in Singapore and their commitment to developing virtual sports within the Olympic Movement has been demonstrated here this week.

“KONAMI have been the perfect partner and they have always had the development of our sport at the forefront of their work. It is thanks to this that eBASEBALL™ has been so well received by both the Olympic Movement and the gaming & esports community, and we are looking to keep thriving in this space with more events coming soon."

Konami Digital Entertainment Representative Director, President Hideki Hayakawa commented:

“Congratulations to player Shoma Mori. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to IOC President Thomas Bach and WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari for providing us with this opportunity, and to all the players who participated from around the world, as well as everyone who watched and cheered on the competition. WBSC eBASEBALL™: POWER PROS was created as a competitive title to expand the baseball fan base globally, and I’m very delighted that the first competition using this title was a success. Utilizing the knowledge we gained from the Olympic Esports Series, we hope to continue to contribute to the promotion of baseball and softball with our games alongside IOC and the WBSC.”

At the closing ceremony, IOC Vice-President Ser Miang Ng hailed the success of the first Olympic Esports Week:

“The inaugural Olympic Esports Week here in Singapore has been a historic milestone, a celebration of the best of virtual sport and esports. We have built bridges between the physical and the virtual worlds of sport. We have seen the sports and esports communities meet and share ideas. Together, we have discussed opportunities and challenges. The first Olympic Esports Week was a remarkable celebration of inclusivity and diversity. New friendships have been formed, and old friends have been reunited. We hope these bonds continue to grow. While celebrating these successes, we will build on this new momentum to move forward.”

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