Back in April, Major League Baseball (MLB) launched a new virtual reality (VR) app called MLB Home Run Derby VR, which let baseball fans feel what it was like to step onto the diamond and play in virtual games. Now players will have a chance to claim a place in history as the first ever Home Run Derby VR Champion.
Fans who are attending the GEICO All-Star Fanfest or Play Ball Park between 13th-15th July, 2018 will have the opportunity to qualify for the inaugural MLB Home Run Derby Championship competition, which will be help on 16th July.
A special All-Star version of Home Run Derby VR featuring Nationals Park will be used for all qualifying and championship competitions. Fans will have 90 seconds to try and hit as many home runs as they can, using a specially designed VR bat controller which combines the Vive Tracker with a real baseball bat.
The championship tournament will be held at GEICO All-Star Fan Fest starting at 2pm (ET). It will feature the top 32 home run hitters from the previous days of qualifying in a bracket-style competition. All three hours of the tournament will be streamed to multiple platforms, including Twitch, YouTube, Facebook and Mixer. Commentary will be provided by MLB Network Alexa Datt, videogamers Realshelfy and Fuzzy along with nine-times MLB all-star Fred Lynn. During the broadcast viewers can expect special prize giveaways.
The grand prize winner will receive the honour of being the first ever MLB Home Run Derby VR Champion, and will also be given a custom Tiffany & Co official Derby trophy along with a grand prize package that includes four tickets to the 2018 MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard, a custom 2018 All-Star Game jersey, a Commemorative Louisville slugger bat, an official on-field cap and a years subscription to MLB TV.
For future coverage of developments regarding VR in sports, keep checking back with VRFocus.