TOKYO -- The All Japan High School esports Championship's semifinals and finals will be livestreamed on YouTube, Twitch, and Twitter on Dec. 19 and Dec. 25-26.

       The Fortnite Division final is up first at 12:00 p.m. Dec. 19 (10:00 p.m. Dec. 18 EST). Rocket League and League of Legends semifinals begin at 12:30 p.m. Dec. 25 (10:30 p.m. Dec. 24 EST) and 11:00 a.m. Dec. 26 (9:00 p.m. Dec. 25 EST), respectively.

       The All Japan High School esports Championship's official YouTube, Twitch, and Twitter will broadcast all three days' competition, and the action will be archived on YouTube. Pro-gamer trainee and model Miyu Otomo, a two-time League of Legends champion with N High School, will join as a special reporter.

       The Fortnite finals will see the 40 remaining teams battle over five last-man-standing games, with the title going to the highest-scoring team. As in the quarter and semifinals, pro-player Shiras will commentate, former pro KilluA will provide analysis, and Taiga Kishi, who is active across several titles in Japanese esports, will cover the play-by-play.

       All Japan High School esports Championship MC OooDa (left) and newly appointed alum reporter Miyu Otomo host the semifinal bracket lottery for the Rocket League and League of Legend divisions on Dec. 7, 2021, in Tokyo's Toshima Ward. (Mainichi/Shusaku Sugimoto)

       The Rocket League division's four remaining teams will face off tournament-style in a best-of-five format for the semifinals, with the final two teams competing in the same format. In the Dec. 7 bracket lottery, N High School (Okinawa) drew Kani Technical High School (Gifu), and Anan Technical High School (Tokushima) was matched with Fukui Senior High School (Fukui). Another N High School team is the reigning champion. Kokken, Wave, and ValtaN will return as play-by-play, commentator, and gameplay analysist, respectively.

       Finally, for the League of Legends division semifinals, Renaissance High School Osaka (Osaka) and Art College Kobe (Hyogo), along with N High School and Clark Memorial International High School Clark Next Akihabara (Tokyo), will play one game to decide who advances. The winners will then play best-of-three games for the title. Third edition finalists N High School and Art College Kobe could face each other again for the championship. Play-by-play will be provided by eyes and commentary by Revol, both top casters for official esports tournaments in Japan. Former pro-player iSeNN will deliver game analysis.

       Tournament MC OooDa will be joined by alumna Miyu Otomo, who will offer competition insights for the Rocket League and League of Legends divisions as a former champion. The event will be held in Japanese.

       The All Japan High School esports Championship is organized by the Japan High School esports Federation and The Mainichi Newspapers Co. First held in 2018, the competition aims to promote a new esports culture in Japan and foster student growth through teamwork. From the third championship onward, it has been backed by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT).

       Participant numbers have grown annually, with roughly 2,400 students in 773 teams from 367 schools competing in the tournament's fourth edition.

       (By Alina Kordesch and Yusuke Kiyono, Sports Project Department)

       YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2OpRCMIYRYGjnIt-Fv32kA

       Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/ajhs_esports

       Twitter: https://twitter.com/ajhs_esports

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