NEGRAY clinches berth in ePremier12 with win in First Global Qualifier Play-Off
In what was a heated battle throughout the entire day of the 1st Global Qualifier, with a couple of upsets mixed in, NEGRAY clinched their spot in this year’s ePremier12 tournament with a 3-2 win over the Olympic Esports Series 2023 runner-up and Olympic Virtual Series 2021 participant TAIJYU in the finals.
NEGRAY’s victory comes after defeating a gauntlet of some of the best WBSC eBASEBALL™: POWER PROS players in Saturday’s 16-player tournament, made up of the top 16 players from the four weeks of online global qualifier tournaments in the game held in April and May.
The ninth-seeded player, NEGRAY defeated eighth-seeded DOIYA in the first round 1-0, then defeated the 16th-seeded SUCHO – who defeated top overall seed antimon 2-1 in Round 1 – in the quarterfinals 2-1. NEGRAY then made it to the finals with a 4-2 win over 12th-seeded Tomokun. TAIJYU was the second-seeded player in the tournament.
“I’m really happy that I could win the championship,” NEGRAY said. “Most of today's games were also by one point, and I won low games and was on the edge all the way, including the online qualifier.”
Both players were tied at 1 going into the fourth inning, as NEGRAY scored a run in the bottom of the second inning and TAIJYU got a run in the top of the third inning to tie it up and send it to extra innings. Both players traded runs in the fourth inning to keep it tied at 2-2, but NEGRAY left the bases loaded with two outs to send it to the fifth inning.
In the bottom of the fifth, after holding TAIJYU scoreless in the top of the inning, NEGRAY would capitalize with the bases loaded and one out on an RBI groundout by Reiri Kirisaki, whose short floater on the infield off the bat could not be caught by TAIJYU’s first baseman, Taiga Nagase, on a dive.
With NEGRAY’s victory, he become the second WBSC eBASEBALL™: POWER PROS player to qualify for inaugural ePremier12, joining SHORA in the 12-player field, who qualified by winning March’s WBSC eBaseball™ Series 2023 World Finals in Lausanne, Switzerland.
NEGRAY said after the game he was excited to qualify for the field of 12, and looks forward to the challenge of facing off against SHORA in the upcoming ePremier12.
“SHORA is a really strong player and I'm very much looking forward to if I can play against him in the ePremier12, and I will practice hard to win by then,” NEGRAY said.
NEGRAY, who is from Japan, played in the eBaseball Pro League in 2020 as a representative of Nippon Professional Baseball’s Hiroshima Toyo Carp. He said with the 1st Global Qualifier, he got “a bit of luck” to win the Play-Off, and to even make it to the tournament in the first place.
“In Week 4 of the online qualifier, I was in a situation where I had to finish second or higher, and I finished second and qualified for the Play-Off,” NEGRAY said.
Looking ahead, the next chance to qualify for the ePremier12 is coming up with the 2nd Global Qualifiertournament, which begins with the first week of qualifier tournaments happening from 24-30 June. The other three qualifier weeks will take place from 8-14 July, 22-28 July and 5-11 August. The top 16 players in cumulative Qualifying Points (QP) after the four qualifying weeks will make the second Global Qualifier Play-Off, to take place on a date still to be determined.
The points and standings for the Global Qualifiers can be tracked by visiting KONAMI’s website.
Do you have what it takes to qualify for the ePremier12? Get your copy of WBSC eBASEBALL™: POWER PROS for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4/5 today, or apply for a coupon code HERE to forge your path to the world stage!