Dashu, SHORA move on to Championship Game of ePremier12

The Championship Game for the HUGAN WBSC ePremier12 2024 has been set after a thrilling round robin stage in the Super Round held at the Konami headquarters in Tokyo on Thursday.

Dashu of Chinese Taipei earned a 2-1 record in the Super Round to make it to the championship, while defending champion SHORA of Japan also went 2-1 to punch his ticket to the final match, which will take place Saturday at 18:00 local time at the Tokyo Dome. 

Meanwhile, NEGRAY of Japan and Ben Zen of Mexico went 2-1 and 0-3 respectively to make it to the Third Place Game, which will take place at 17:00 local time, also at the Tokyo Dome.

Both games will be broadcast online on the WBSC YouTube channel, WBSC Facebook page, and the WBSC eSport Twitch channel (English commentary), as well as the NTV Sports YouTube channel (Japanese commentary). The Championship Game will also be shown on the giant 125-meter wrap around LED screen inside the Tokyo Dome.

In the Super Round, Dashu defeated fellow Group A qualifier Ben Zen in his first game by a score of 7-0, then played in back-to-back classic matches to end his day. In his next match, Dashu lost to NEGRAY in five innings by a score of 7-6. The game went into extra innings tied at 2-2, with Dashu capitalizing in the top of the inning with four runs to make it 6-2. NEGRAY would score four of his own in the bottom of the inning, then scoring the winning run in the bottom of the fifth after holding Dashu scoreless in the top half.

Dashu capped off his Super Round with the upset of the tournament in what would ultimately be a preview of the Championship Game, defeating SHORA 2-1 in four innings with a walkoff to give the defending champ his first loss in WBSC eBASEBALL™: POWER PROS international tournament play. 

“It’s a relief that I could last onto the final stage, especially defeating SHORA; he hasn’t lost in the past few years, especially in international games,” Dashu said, adding that it has been a dream to be able to compete against some of the best in the world. “I’m looking forward to the finals.” 

Prior to his loss, SHORA, in his journey to the championship game, defeated NEGRAY by a score of 2-1, then defeated Ben Zen 1-0.

With three players with a record of 2-1, SHORA made it to the Championship via a tiebreaker, based on his head-to-head victory against NEGRAY.

All four players in the Super Round will split a US$20,000 prize pool, with the champion taking home $10,000.

Want to get in on any future tournaments in the WBSC eBaseball™ Series? Get your copy of WBSC eBASEBALL™: POWER PROS for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation today, or apply for a coupon code HERE to forge your path to the world stage!