ESPN3 broadcasted New England’s victory against Japan live in Little League International’s first ever virtual home run derby tournament.
ESPN3 was the channel to watch yesterday as Major League Baseball debuted its inaugural Home Run Derby VR Little League Challenge, a bold new tournament that brought together 16 teams from across the world for a home run derby competition unlike any you’ve seen before.
Developed by the MLB in collaboration with Little League International and ESPN, the two-plus hour tournament challenged baseball’s brightest young stars to hit dingers at PLAY BALL park in South Williamsport, PA, using a combination of HTC Vive headsets and proprietary bat controllers. Players had a total of 90 seconds to score as many homers as they could before time ran out. The bracket-style tournament consisted of four rounds in total, with the New England team ultimately claiming victory after a well-fought battle against Japan.
The tournament, which featured the All-Star Multiplayer Edition of the Home Run Derby VR experience, was broadcasted live on ESPN3 and the ESPN app yesterday and featured real-time commentary from MLB Network’s Alexa Datt, as well as gaming personalities RealShelfy (@RealShelfy) and Fuzzy.
If you happen to have missed the action, a 30-minute highlight reel will air on ESPN and the ESPN app Sunday, August 19, at 4:30 p.m. (ET). You can also head to the official streams of yesterdays matchups via the ESPN website, so long as you’re able to provide information regarding your cable provider.
Interested in seeing how you stack up against these VR pro’s? The same Home Run Derby VR experience featured in the tournament is open to the public at DICK’S Sporting Goods within the Williamsport Family Fun Zone now until August 23rd.
Home Run Derby VR All-Star Multiplayer Edition was developed by both MLB’s Games and VR teams and is presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods.
Image Credit: Major League Baseball
