Sorashina Sopia Wins Takane Lui’s Minecraft Horse-Racing Event With 712,090 Yen

HOLOLIVE — Sorashina Sopia won the Holo One Grand Prix (ホロワングランプリ), a Minecraft horse-racing event hosted by Takane Lui of holoX on Sunday, finishing the four races with 712,090 in-game yen. Asked how she did it, Sopia said she bought six place bets (bets that pay if a horse finishes in the top three) in each race, a method she called the “science method.” Ookami Mio, who had also served as the event’s fortune-teller, finished second and said she had done nothing but save her money.

Billed as Hololive’s first big horse-racing event, the Grand Prix was held on a Minecraft racetrack that Lui said was built with the cooperation of Dozle. It had two turf races and two dirt races. Every participant received 100,000 yen for each race, and whoever held the most cash at the end won. Six kinds of tickets were on sale, from a simple win bet to picking the first three horses in exact order, and a single ticket could carry up to 9.99 million yen. Players watched the horses walk the paddock, looking for a sparkle as a sign of good form, and could buy a racing newspaper for 500 yen. Viewers voted in a survey on Holoplus before each race, and the results settled the odds. Rindo Chihaya, Omaru Polka and Tsunomaki Watame each gave their picks for the first three races, and Lui made the call for the last one.

“If you buy six place bets, one of them is sure to hit.” — Sorashina Sopia, explaining her winning method

Lui also invited a professional race announcer, Tom Suzuki, whose commentary was heard only on her stream. He called all four races, including the third, which was run as the Lui’s Stakes, and told Lui he had come straight from working at live racing in Tokyo that day. Chat called the commentary a tremendously good play-by-play and a luxurious production. In the first race, Rose Emerald, the viewers’ favorite, won comfortably.

Between races, participants played a carrot-collecting mini-game in the paddock that paid 100 yen per point. Red carrots exploded, and players reported collecting tens of thousands of yen. After the fourth race came awards for betting accuracy, the biggest payout and the carrot game, followed by the top three by cash. Many participants ended the day with little or nothing left, and the group posed for a photo in front of the track’s big screen.

Those who wanted more stayed for a second round with a shorter format. Money was reset, 100,000 yen was handed out before each race, and there was no survey or predictor corner. Lui joined in as a player. The round was won by a participant who finished on 4.83 million yen, with Anya Melfissa second on 1.9 million. Lui said she had planned the event since January because it is the year of the horse, and that she hoped viewers would take an interest in horse racing. She thanked Dozle, the staff and Suzuki, and said she could not yet say whether a similar event would be possible next year.