Coming This July: MLB to Host Second Annual Virtual HR Derby Tournament at PLAY BALL PARK in Cleveland

After Inaugural Tournament's Record-Setting Viewership on Twitch, Popular Competitive Virtual Reality Video Game Championship Returns to MLB All-Star Week

Qualifying Open to All Fans Attending PLAY BALL PARK beginning July 5

News provided by

MLB

Jun 21, 2019, 12:28 ET

NEW YORK, June 21, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- PLAY BALL PARK will host the second annual All-Star Week MLB Home Run Derby VR Championship competition on Monday, July 8 in Cleveland. Thousands of fans of all ages attending PLAY BALL PARK from July 5-7 will have the opportunity to qualify for the tournament competition simply by playing the Home Run Derby VR video game experience.

THE GAME
A special 2019 All-Star version of the VR video game featuring Cleveland's Progressive Field will be used for all qualifying attempts and championship competitions. Fans will have 90 seconds to hit as many home runs as possible using a proprietary VR bat controller. The VR experience combines the VIVE tracker to bring a real All-Star bat into fans' hands, amplifying the experience into an authentic athletic one. This game was developed by the award-winning MLB Games and VR team and will be powered by HTC's VIVE Pro VR system, delivering participants a premium VR video game experience. Engine Shop again will collaborate with MLB on the unique VR-visualized production and tournament competition logistics.

Fans planning to visit PLAY BALL PARK can get in some key batting practice at home to prepare for the qualifiers by playing Home Run Derby VR through Viveport.

THE TOURNAMENT
After three full days of fun and furious qualifying attempts, the championship tournament, held at PLAY BALL PARK beginning at 2pm (ET), will feature the top 32 qualifying home run hitters in a bracket-style competition. All three hours will be streamed live to Twitch and will feature commentary from MLB Network's Jackie Redmond (@Jackie_Redmond) and gamers RealShelfy (@RealShelfy) and Fuzzy (@fuzzyfromyt) as well as special viewer giveaways.

At the conclusion, Redmond, RealShelfy, and Fuzzy also will present the grand prize winner, MLB's Home Run Derby VR Champion, with a custom Tiffany & Co. Official Derby trophy as well as a grand prize package that includes four (4) tickets to the 2019 MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard, an official 2019 Commemorative Louisville Slugger bat featuring custom Lizard Skins grip, a custom 2019 All-Star Game jersey, an official 2019 MLB All-Star Game on-field cap for any MLB team, a one-year subscription to MLB.TV and more prizes from MLB partners such as Topps, Franklin and New Era.

DAILY SCHEDULE (All times are Eastern)
Friday, July 5 – Qualifying (10am-8pm)
Saturday, July 6 – Qualifying (10am-8pm)
Sunday, July 7 – Qualifying (10am-8pm)
Monday, July 8 – Championship Competition (2-5pm)

Watch Live: Twitch.TV/MLB_Games (July 8, 2-5pm)

PLAY BALL PARK
PLAY BALL PARK at the Malls and Huntington Convention Center, which opens on Friday, July 5^th and runs through Tuesday, July 9^th, is a baseball and softball festival with more than 50 indoor and outdoor attractions for fans of all ages. Indoor PLAY BALL PARK attractions, such as Home Run Derby Virtual Reality, are included in the price of admission, with tickets available at AllStarGame.com, and the only additional costs are for concessions and memorabilia. Access to the outdoor sections of PLAY BALL PARK on the malls next to the convention center is free for everyone.

2018 ALL-STAR TOURNAMENT RECAP
Last July, MLB held its first-ever video game competition as part of All-Star Week in Washington, D.C., where Chuck Smolka, a nine-year-old from Staten Island, NY, won the title after outlasting more than 5,000 qualifiers. A live Twitch audience of more than 120,500 concurrent viewers were watching as Smolka, one of four kids younger than 12 years old to advance to the semifinals, won the championship in a dramatic back-and-forth final round where both players held multiple leads and his last second home run decided the title. At the time, the competition was the #1 most viewed live stream on Twitch. Overall, the entire final 90 minutes of the All-Star competition sustained a concurrent viewership higher than 100,000, ultimately leading to 2.5 million views on the popular video game streaming platform.

FOLLOW THE ACTION - #HRDVR
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HRDerbyGame
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hrderbygame
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/mlb_games

SOURCE MLB