The Swiss Baseball and Softball Federation (SBSF) is set to launch what is believed to be Europe’s first esports baseball league next month. The SBSF Twitch Channel will stream one game every Wednesday at 8pm CET.
It comes after the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) approved the inclusion of esports as a discipline of baseball and softball earlier this month.
The new online baseball competition, named the Swiss Baseball E-Sports League (SBEL), is the result of cooperation between SBSF and Senior esports, a platform for gamers over the age of 35.
The SBEL will feature two tournaments. The Junior League, or Under-34, will have 12 participating teams. The Senior League, or over-35, will see eight teams competing. A total of 40 players representing 14 SBSF-affiliated clubs will be involved. This includes former Swiss pole vault champion Marquis Richard, currently playing for the Therwil Flyers.
Regular-season competitions are scheduled to take place on 11, 17, 18, 24, 25 and 31 January. The quarter finals are scheduled for 1 and 7 February. The semi finals are scheduled on 10 February.
The medal games are scheduled on two consecutive Wednesdays: the bronze medal match-up will take place on 17 February, while the championship match will take place on 24 February.
