Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) and Konami Digital Entertainment Co. said Thursday they will jointly stage a baseball tournament starting this autumn through an online computer game.
The eBaseball Pawapuro Pro League will be contested by 36 participants, who will be selected mainly through online elimination tournaments by the end of September. Each of the 12 NPB clubs in the Central and Pacific leagues will be represented by three of the participants.
From Nov. 10, the teams will compete in a pennant race that reflects the actual standings of the NPB 2018 regular season. On Jan. 12, the pennant winners will compete in their version of the Japan Series to decide the champion.
The total amount of prize money available for the participants is 12 million yen.
"The popularity of esports represents a huge opportunity," NPB Commissioner Atsushi Saito said at a press conference in Tokyo. "This provides a new way to enjoy baseball and we expect it to further expand baseball's fan base."
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
