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 returned for its third season 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 were once again flown to St. Petersburg, FL as they competed for a share of a $12,000 CASH PRIZE in the Sunburst Invitational Championship.

• Qualifier #1: AlexGaKill def Frostie (W, L, W)
• Qualifier #2: Wilsy def Zazzi (W, W)
• Qualifier #3: Costa def Daine (W, L, W)
• Qualifier #4: Zazzi def Swerve (W, W)

On Thursday, July 17 the four (4) qualifier winners competed in-person for the Sunburst Invitational Championship, live from Coastal Creative in St. Petersburg, FL. The Semi-Finals featured Zazzi defeating AlexGaKill (W, W) in a sweep followed by Wilsy defeating Costa in a three-game set (W, L, W).

The nightcap featured a thrilling best-of-five Championship between Wilsy and Zazzi. Wilsy showed offensive dominance early on taking the first two games however Zazzi (2022 Champion) showed why he is the #1 player in Canada by winning the next two games. After a back and forth game 5, Wilsy proved to be the best player in 2025 by winning the Championship with a score of 8-7. He took home the Grand Prize of $8,000 and threw out the Ceremonial First Pitch the following game.

• 1st Place: Wilsy, $8,000 + Ceremonial First Pitch
• 2nd Place: Zazzi, $2,500
• 3rd Place: AlexGaKill, $1,000
• 4th Place: Costa, $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: Legend (Round of 16)
• Qualifier Day #3: Hitting/Pitching Difficulty: Legend (Qualifier Finals)
• LAN Finals Hitting/Pitching Difficulty: Legend
• 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.