Last week, the second qualifier tournament for the Tampa Bay Rays Sunburst Circuit MLB The Show 23 tournament ended. The finals came down to two MLB The Show veterans, Kriner and Zazzi. Both players have found tons of success in the MLB The Show eSports scene. In the end, Zazzi came out on top and punched his ticket to the finals in Orlando later this month.
Zazzi Wins 2nd Qualifier for Tampa Bay Rays MLB The Show Tournament
Qualifying Tournament 2
This tournament was the second of two qualifying tournaments to see who would face off in the finals in the in-person event on August 28th. More than 200 players competed in this qualifying tournament. The tournament took place over several weeks as players made their way through the double-elimination format.
Eventually, the vast player field was reduced to only two. The matchup of Zazzi vs Kriner is enough to get any MLB The Show eSport fan excited. These are two of the most successful and recognizable players in the community. Kriner won the MLB The Show 22 Summer Circuit last year, while Zazzi won last year’s Fall Circuit. This was possibly the best final matchup fans could ask for.
Zazzi vs Kriner
The finals for the qualifier came down to a best-of-three series that was broadcasted on the Tampa Bay Rays’ Twitch and YouTube channels. Kriner got the action going early in Game 1, as he sent a ball 426 feet to dead center in the 2nd inning with Isaac Paredes to make it a 2-0 game. Kriner kept it going in the 3rd with another Paredes home run and another by Brandon Lowe to make it 5-0.
However, with Zazzi holding the other controller, no lead is ever safe. In the bottom of the 3rd, Zazzi put up 5 runs, highlighted by a three-run homer by Randy Arozarena. Just like that, we were back to a tied game.
It wouldn’t stay tied for long. In the bottom of the 4th, Zazzi’s two-run shot with Francisco Mejia gave him his first lead at 7-5. Zazzi would not relinquish the lead again, as he took Game 1, 9-7.
It looked like Zazzi would keep the momentum early in Game 2. In the 1st inning, he hit another home run with Arozarena to take an early lead. Kriner would answer with three runs of his own. He followed it up with three homers that drove in 6 runs in the 2nd inning to make it 9-1. There would be no comeback for Zazzi this time, as Kriner cruised to a 12-7 to even the series.
Now it all came down to Game 3. Early on, it looked like Zazzi would run away with it. A Jose Siri home run in the 2nd and four runs in the 3rd had him sitting on an early 5-0 lead.
Kriner came roaring back quickly though. Luke Raley’s grand slam propelled Kriner to six runs in the top of the 4th to claim the lead. Sadly, that would be the end of the scoring for Kriner.
Zazzi would score 7 unanswered runs from that point on, 5 of which came in the bottom of the 8th to ice the game. Zazzi took home Game 3 and won what is probably the craziest best-of-three series we have ever seen in MLB The Show eSports.
“It’s everything you’d imagine it to be, there’s so many outside factors of going to Florida or a share of $10,000 and when an opponent of Kriner’s caliber doesn’t seem to go away, it feels like constant pressure to try and 1 up him,” Zazzi said about the competitive series. “It’s really all about staying confident that you can do that too, and can put that same pressure on him.”
Florida Bound
With this win, Zazzi secured his spot in the Sunburst Showdown in Orlando, Florida on August 28th. This will be the first-ever in-person LAN event for a major MLB The Show tournament. Zazzi will take on Bayko, who won the first qualifying tournament earlier this summer. The winner will take home the top prize of $8,000.
“No matter the money in the past I’ve won, this is the biggest tourney and most important tourney I’ve ever played in. It truly may very well be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Zazzi said on the historic opportunity. “ I feel like I’ve earned it, it feels like all my hard work has paid off and to say I’m one of 2 people to ever be part of this for MLB still is so surreal to me. I’m bringing my dad down to Tampa with me and I think that’s gonna make it even better that I get to share these moments with him, it’ll be something we will both never forget.”
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