By Rick Cordes, CN correspondent
THREE RIVERS — Robert Tomlinson plays a pretty mean video game—so good that his skills have landed him a starring role in next week’s Olympic Esports Series in Singapore.
Tomlinson, news director for the Three Rivers Commercial-News, will be the English-speaking broadcaster for the finals of the WBSC eBASEBALL Power Pros competition at the Olympic Esports Series, and is being awarded an all-expense paid excursion to play his role in the international competition. Can you imagine that?!
“I’m really excited and a little bit nervous,” Tomlinson said in an interview this week.
The Singapore competition is an official Olympic event, featuring the world’s best gamers in a baseball game simulation scenario, in collaboration with the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC). Tomlinson will be on-site, observing the action and calling the play-by-play as the contests unfold.
“My job is going to be describing what goes on, and to give insightful comments,” Tomlinson said. “I’m going to be the guy on the microphone.”
This is a big deal and a tremendous honor for Tomlinson, giving him the chance of a lifetime to experience a different culture half-way around the world while participating in an activity that he’s passionate about—and really good at.
So, how did he land this gig? Quite simply, by pouring his talents into the game, competing with US and international players, and occasionally providing his own content to the livestream platform Twitch.
“I’ve made content for (it) on Twitch,” Tomlinson said. “They (WBSC) noticed the videos and asked if we could do a collaboration.”
Tomlinson entered into video chats with the WBSC media and communications team in April, and soon there was an invitation for him to travel to Singapore and become the English broadcaster.
After a brief time considering the offer, Tomlinson was all in. “I accepted pretty much right away,” he said. “I never expected to be reached out to,” he added.
The event will be held in Singapore’s Suntec Convention Centre and is the culmination of many rounds of competition in Japan and with global qualifiers, resulting in a field of nine finalists and an open slot to be filled by a Singaporean champion next week.
The championship event will be held Friday, June 23 at 11:45 p.m. EST and will be streamed live on the Olympics’ YouTube channel.
Olympic eSports are fairly new, evolving into a global virtual simulated sports competition created by the International Olympic Committee in collaboration with international federations and game publishers such as Konami, whose game the WBSC is featured on.
Tomlinson is not going into this competition as a neophyte. He’s been baseball gaming for the past 16 years. The games are played on Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 consoles, with Tomlinson active in the Switch universe.
When this year’s contest was announced, Tomlinson was on board. “I actually participated in the global qualifiers—I was in the top 15,” he reports. “I had fun. I had a few runs!”
As a Japanese-based game developed by Komani, the WBSC featured a separate Japanese qualification, yielding four of the contest’s finalists. (One other Japanese player who won a previous competition is another finalist, and three of the other four are from Taipei, and one is from the US.)
Tomlinson said that a game, which is fast paced, usually last 15 to 30 minutes, and goes three innings. It is action packed, with little time between plays.
Great hand-eye coordination is key to success, Tomlinson said. In the run up to the Olympics you’re competing with “the best of the best,” he notes. “They know how (and when) to push the button.”
“It’s very fun!”
Teams are created from a cast of about 300 characters, each with characteristics that distinguish them from others. The most “talented” players are “costly,” and can’t be stacked onto a team.
Tomlinson knows the parameters well. “I’ve been playing this particular series since 2007,” he said.
During his years of baseball gaming, Tomlinson has become part of an online community that includes Americans, Japanese, Indonesians and some Europeans. “It’s fun to interact with the community,” he said.
Is there a language barrier? “It’s definitely a big thing,” Tomlinson said. “I kind of get around that by setting up Google Translate on a tripod by my computer screen.”
The WBSC game was just released in February, and is the first Power Pros game with an English translation since 2008, exciting the Power Pros community, Tomlinson said.
He’s been enjoying the new platform immensely, and has posted live video of the action to over 1,000 followers on Twitch, with 20 to 30 viewing on any given day. “I was in the top 2% on Twitch for streaming the Japanese games last year,” he said.
Tomlinson leaves on Sunday, June 18 and is in for some major travel to reach his destination. He returns on June 26.
“I’m looking forward to it,” he said. He has his tickets in hand, his currency exchanged, and has been coached by the WBSC team on wardrobe choices. He thanks friend and fellow content creator Markus Frieske for being “very helpful” in introducing him to the WBSC.
Musing, Tomlinson said he notes that sometimes local folks say that Three Rivers is the center of the universe. “It’s kind of interesting being from a small community and getting an opportunity like this. It kind of proves that Three Rivers IS the center of the universe!”
thanks for info