Olympic Esports Series 2023: Mori "SHORA" Shoma wins WBSC eBASEBALL™: POWER PROS event
The Japanese player, who also won the Olympic Virtual Series baseball event in 2021, is crowned the inaugural Olympic Esports Series 2023 winner in Singapore.
Mori "SHORA" Shoma has proven his dominance in the WBSC eBASEBALL™: POWER PROS scene after recording a one-sided victory in the baseball finals of the inaugural Olympic Esports Series 2023.
SHORA, who qualified for the finals of the Olympic Esports Series by virtue of having won the Olympic Virtual Series baseball event two years ago, faced off against fellow Japanese player Horiike "TAIJYU" Hiroki in the final Saturday after both won through semi-finals against Jacob "KangGang" Park and Wang "CMWANG" Chia-Ming respectively.
Batting first in the final, SHORA opened up a big lead on TAIJYU in the top of the first inning. An RBI double, a solo home run, and a two-run home run made the score 4–0 even before an out was recorded.
SHORA added another two-run shot in the top of the second inning, and although TAIJYU managed a solo home run of his own in the bottom of the third inning, there was to be no comeback as SHORA closed out the 6–1 win.
"It's a feeling of being at the top of the world," SHORA said after his win. "It has not been the easiest thing to win two titles," he added, referring to his 2021 win as well.
The bronze-trophy match was a thriller, going to extra innings.
CMWANG and KangGang traded solo home runs in the top of the second and bottom of the third respectively, forcing an extra fourth inning. Automatic runners were placed on first and second, and CMWANG cleared the bases with a three-run homer. KangGang was able to scratch a run across in reply, but left the bases loaded as CMWANG won the third-place match 4–2.