WBSC Virtual Cup World Finals set for Sunday, 27 November in Korea

The scene is set for the inaugural WBSC Virtual Cup Finals where the first ever WBSC eSport champion will be determined on Sunday, 27 November in Seoul, Korea.

A total of 12 teams, featuring two players per team, will compete for the title in the World Finals after 47 teams (94 participants) played off in the Super Round following 4,073 teams (8,146 participants) featuring in the Opening Round.

The 12 teams, featuring two players per team, will be divided into four groups, competing in a round-robin format. The winner of each group will advance to the finals where the contest for the title and NFT awards will take place with US$10,000 in prize money also on the line.

From Korea, six division winners with three Wild Cards got through the preliminary rounds including the WBSC eSports official Tournament Ambassador of the WBSC Virtual Cup 2022 Jinhyoung Park (Parkco) whose team BaekRyu님의 팀 scored the highest in Division 1 to qualify for the final.

The winner of the Mexican division, Taco al Pastor is a team of Jesus Muñoz and Hector Garza. Jesus participated in the WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup in 2015 as a pitcher. 

The American team Bash Brothers scored the highest in the international Strike Zone venues.

The Japanese team 西内are the youngest participants with an average age of 14 and a 1/2 and play baseball at a middle school.

In December 2020, the WBSC approved the inclusion of eSport with all virtual/electronic versions of baseball and softball among its official disciplines. Subsequently, early in 2021, the WBSC presented its strategic approach to eSport, composed of three pillars (Mobile, Pro, Virtual). Today, with the virtual pillar, the WBSC presents the Virtual Cup, marking the WBSC’s first own eSport competition.