In 2023, the Tampa Bay Rays hosted the inaugural ‘Sunburst Invitational’. An MLB The Show series featuring two (2) online tournaments, eligible for players of age 13+ in the US and Canada. With nearly 1,000 competitors, Zach Phillips (Zazzi) was crowned the 2023 Champion after winning the finals LAN event in Orlando, Fl.

In 2024, the ‘Sunburst Invitational’ featured four (4) online tournaments, with all four winners being flown to St. Petersburg, FL and competing in the second annual LAN event. GOAT_RP was crowned the Champion after defeating Frostie (semis) and AlexGaKill in the Championship.

This year, the Sunburst Invitational will once again return with FOUR (4) online tournaments, free to enter and eligible for players of age 13+ in the US and Canada. The winners of each of the four qualifier tournaments will once again be flown to St. Petersburg, FL as they compete for a share of a $12,000 CASH PRIZE in the Sunburst Invitational Championship.

Qualifier #1

• Day 1: Thursday, April 3: 7-11 PM ET

• Day 2: Saturday, April 5: 7-11 PM ET

• Day 3: Sunday, April 6: 2-6 PM ET

• Qualifier Finals: Monday, April 7: 7-10 PM ET

Qualifier #2

• Day 1: Thursday, April 24: 7-11 PM ET

• Day 2: Saturday, April 26: 7-11 PM ET

• Day 3: Sunday, April 27: 2-6 PM ET

• Qualifier Finals: Monday, April 28: 7-11 PM ET

Qualifier #3

• Day 1: Thursday, May 8: 7-11 PM ET

• Day 2: Saturday, May 10: 7-11 PM ET

• Day 3: Sunday, May 11: 7-11 PM ET

• Qualifier Finals: Monday, May 12: 7-10 PM ET

Qualifier #4

• Day 1: Thursday, June 19: 7-11 PM ET

• Day 2: Saturday, June 21: 7-11 PM ET

• Day 3: Sunday, June 22: 7-11 PM ET

• Qualifier Finals: Monday, June 23: 7-10 PM ET

Registrations open on Tuesday, March 25 at 12 PM.

• Qualifier #1: Monday, April 7
• Qualifier #2: Monday, April 28
• Qualifier #3: Monday, May 12
• Qualifier #4: Monday, June 23

All Qualifier finals and Championship events are hosted by ‘MLB The Show’ streamers Rich Veit (@ScuffyMcgee) and Tyler Dimmu (@DaddyDimmuTV) live on the Rays Baseball Gaming Twitch and TikTok channels. To stay up to date with the latest tournament news and 2025 updates, join the Rays Gaming Discord server.

The Four (4) winners of the Qualifiers will be flown to St. Petersburg and compete in the LAN Finals held on Thursday, July 17. The Semi-Finals will be a best-of-three beginning at 12 PM ET with the losers playing in a single 9-inning third place match. The Winners of the semis will compete in a best-of-five Championship beginning at 7 PM ET. First place will take home the Grand Prize of $8,000 and throw out the ‘Ceremonial First Pitch’ on Friday, July 18 as the Rays take on the Orioles.

• First Place: $8,000
• Second Place: $2,500
• Third Place: $1,000
• Fourth Place: $500

Format: All registered and eligible participants will be entered into this MLB The Show 25 tournament. All games are 9 innings with a 10-run mercy after 5 innings. The finals of the Sunburst Invitational Qualifier along with the Sunburst Invitational Championship (LAN Event) SEMIS will be a best-of-three match to determine the winner. The Sunburst Invitational LAN Championship Finals will be a best-of-five match.

All day 1 and 2 matchups will be single elimination games played on ‘Hall of Fame’ difficulty. Players who advance to day 3 will be entered into a double-elimination format played on ‘Legend’ difficulty. All Qualifier Finals will be a best-of-three played on ‘Legend’ difficulty. All Qualifier finalists will be required to use a different starting pitcher for each of the best-of-three matches.

The following settings are to be used in all Match play during the Online Qualifier Rounds and Finals Event:

• Cross play: ON (network setting)
• Add friends: ON (network setting)
• Messaging: ON (network setting)
• Mode: Exhibition
• Team: Tampa Bay Rays Live Roster
• Qualifier Day #1: Hitting/Pitching Difficulty: Hall of Fame
• Qualifier Day #2: Hitting/Pitching Difficulty: Hall of Fame
• Qualifier Day #3: Hitting/Pitching Difficulty: Legend
• Qualifier Day #4: Hitting/Pitching Difficulty: Legend
• LAN Finals Hitting/Pitching Difficulty: G.O.A.T
• Qualifier #1 Stadium: Laughing Mountain (Higher “seed” in bracket will be home)
• Qualifier #2 Stadium: Shippett Stadium (Higher “seed” in bracket will be home)
• Qualifier #3 Stadium: Laughing Mountain (Higher “seed” in bracket will be home)
• Qualifier #4 Stadium: Shippett Stadium (Higher “seed” in bracket will be home)
• All Qualifier Finals Stadium: George Steinbrenner
• LAN Finals Stadium: George Steinbrenner
• Guess Pitch: OFF
• Quick Counts: OFF
• Strike Zone: ON
• Hot Zone: OFF
• Balks: OFF
• Umpire Accuracy: Perfect
• Umpire close plays: OFF
• Ejections: OFF
• Injuries: OFF
• Presentation mode: Fast Play
• Created ballplayers are not permitted.