ePremier12 2024 Super Round lineup complete after SHORA, NEGRAY win Group B finals
World champion SHORA and compatriot NEGRAY punched their ticket to the HUGAN WBSC ePremier12 2024 Super Round after finishing top of HUGAN WBSC ePremier12 2024 Group B, which was held at New Taipei City Esports Base in New Taipei City on Saturday and Sunday.
The Japanese pair join Ben Zen of Mexico and Dashu of Chinese Taipei as the four players who will compete in the Super Round of the HUGAN ePremier12, set to begin on Thursday, November 21 at the Konami Creative Center in Tokyo.
NEGRAY made it to the Super Round with a 5-4 comeback win over DOIYA in the first final of Group B bracket play, after finishing the group stage undefeated (2-0) to receive a bye to the final, defeating Tomokun 6-5 in six innings and CMWANG 7-0 in four innings.
Against DOIYA, NEGRAY was down 4-0 going into the bottom of the fifth and final inning before scoring five straight runs off reliever Maito Oda and only recording one out. The comeback was launched on the back of a bases-clearing double by Yutaro Hino, a game-tying RBI single by Shun Komasaka two batters later and a game-winning bases-loaded hit by Susumu Ikari three batters after that.
“Until the fourth inning, I couldn’t do what I wanted to do, but in the fifth inning, I wanted to show what I had been practicing and then I could focus on that so I could win at the end,” NEGRAY said through a translator.
Meanwhile, in the second final, the defending world champion SHORA made it to Tokyo with a close 3-2 win over Tomokun. He also finished the group stage undefeated, claiming a 6-3 comeback win over DOIYA and a comfortable 6-1 win over SHE SHE, to be the top seed in the group, therefore receiving a bye to the final.
After Tomokun grabbed an early 1-0 lead in the final in in the top of the second inning on an RBI single by Noboru Teramichi, SHORA responded with a two-run single by Taro Takimoto in the bottom of the second inning and another run in the bottom of the third on a sacrifice fly to make it 3-1. Tomokun got a run in the top of the fourth inning on a pinch-hit RBI single by Chihiro Bitou to bring him back to within one run, 3-2, but SHORA held on and got a 1-2-3 top of the fifth inning to move on to Tokyo.
“Yesterday and today, I actually lost the first run, but I knew I could defend as champion again, so I’m happy I could win again without losing any games,” SHORA said through a translator.
Action in the HUGAN WBSC ePremier12 Super Round will take place starting November 21 with round robin play at the Konami Creative Center. All four players will play each other, with the bottom two players playing a third-place game November 23 and the top two players playing in the Championship Game on November 23 at the world-famous Tokyo Dome as a prelude to the evening match of the WBSC Premier12 2024 presented by RAXUS.
All four players in the Super Round will split a US$20,000 prize pool, with the champion taking home $10,000.
HUGAN WBSC ePremier12 Prize Money
1st $10,000
2nd $5,000
3rd $3,500
4th $1,500
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