Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
2026 World Baseball Classic
The 2026 World Baseball Classic was an international professional baseball tournament between 20 national baseball teams, and the sixth iteration of the World Baseball Classic (WBC). It ran from March 5 to 17, 2026. The pool-play rounds were played in LoanDepot Park in Miami, Florida; Daikin Park in Houston, Texas; Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico; and the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan. Two quarterfinals were played in Houston, while the remaining knockout stage games were played in Miami.
Japan was the defending champion, defeating the United States in the 2023 WBC championship game, but was eliminated by the eventual champion Venezuela in the quarterfinals. Japan's failure to reach the semifinals was its worst-ever finish in tournament history. The Dominican Republic and Italy, the tournament's last undefeated teams, were eliminated by the United States and Venezuela, respectively, in the semifinals, meaning that for the first time since 2017, no team finished the WBC with an undefeated record. The Dominican Republic and Venezuela, the top two teams from the Americas (alongside Olympic hosts United States), qualified for the 2028 Olympic baseball tournament, to be held in Los Angeles.
Venezuela won the World Baseball Classic for the first time, taking a 3–2 lead in the championship game with a run batted in double by Eugenio Suárez in the top of the ninth inning. Maikel García was named the most valuable player of the tournament.
16 teams qualified for the 2026 WBC tournament by virtue of having placed in the top four of their respective pools in the 2023 World Baseball Classic tournament.
Four additional teams qualified through the 2026 WBC qualifying tournament. The qualifying tournament included 8 teams, downsized from the 12 teams that had competed in the 2023 WBC qualifiers. The first pool took place in Taipei, and included Chinese Taipei, Spain, Nicaragua, and South Africa; the second pool took place in Tucson, Arizona, and included Colombia, China, Brazil, and Germany. The Taipei pool ran from February 21–25, 2025, and the Tucson pool ran from March 2–6, 2025.
Colombia, Nicaragua, Brazil, and Chinese Taipei all qualified for the 2026 WBC. Brazil qualified for the first time since 2013. China failed to qualify for the first time in the World Baseball Classic, as it was eliminated after it lost all three of its games in the qualifiers.
1 Ranking as of December 31, 2025
The pools and schedule were announced on August 21, 2024. Each pool contained an unspecified winner of a qualifier. The pool assignments of the teams that advanced from the qualifiers (pot 5) were announced on April 9, 2025. The pool assignments prioritized the hosts (Japan, Puerto Rico, and the United States). The remaining pool assignments were made based on WBSC World Rankings, competitive balance, and commercial and geographic interest.
Hub AI
2026 World Baseball Classic AI simulator
(@2026 World Baseball Classic_simulator)
2026 World Baseball Classic
The 2026 World Baseball Classic was an international professional baseball tournament between 20 national baseball teams, and the sixth iteration of the World Baseball Classic (WBC). It ran from March 5 to 17, 2026. The pool-play rounds were played in LoanDepot Park in Miami, Florida; Daikin Park in Houston, Texas; Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico; and the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan. Two quarterfinals were played in Houston, while the remaining knockout stage games were played in Miami.
Japan was the defending champion, defeating the United States in the 2023 WBC championship game, but was eliminated by the eventual champion Venezuela in the quarterfinals. Japan's failure to reach the semifinals was its worst-ever finish in tournament history. The Dominican Republic and Italy, the tournament's last undefeated teams, were eliminated by the United States and Venezuela, respectively, in the semifinals, meaning that for the first time since 2017, no team finished the WBC with an undefeated record. The Dominican Republic and Venezuela, the top two teams from the Americas (alongside Olympic hosts United States), qualified for the 2028 Olympic baseball tournament, to be held in Los Angeles.
Venezuela won the World Baseball Classic for the first time, taking a 3–2 lead in the championship game with a run batted in double by Eugenio Suárez in the top of the ninth inning. Maikel García was named the most valuable player of the tournament.
16 teams qualified for the 2026 WBC tournament by virtue of having placed in the top four of their respective pools in the 2023 World Baseball Classic tournament.
Four additional teams qualified through the 2026 WBC qualifying tournament. The qualifying tournament included 8 teams, downsized from the 12 teams that had competed in the 2023 WBC qualifiers. The first pool took place in Taipei, and included Chinese Taipei, Spain, Nicaragua, and South Africa; the second pool took place in Tucson, Arizona, and included Colombia, China, Brazil, and Germany. The Taipei pool ran from February 21–25, 2025, and the Tucson pool ran from March 2–6, 2025.
Colombia, Nicaragua, Brazil, and Chinese Taipei all qualified for the 2026 WBC. Brazil qualified for the first time since 2013. China failed to qualify for the first time in the World Baseball Classic, as it was eliminated after it lost all three of its games in the qualifiers.
1 Ranking as of December 31, 2025
The pools and schedule were announced on August 21, 2024. Each pool contained an unspecified winner of a qualifier. The pool assignments of the teams that advanced from the qualifiers (pot 5) were announced on April 9, 2025. The pool assignments prioritized the hosts (Japan, Puerto Rico, and the United States). The remaining pool assignments were made based on WBSC World Rankings, competitive balance, and commercial and geographic interest.