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2026 World Baseball Classic
Upcoming international baseball tournament From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The 2026 World Baseball Classic is an upcoming international professional baseball tournament, planned to be the sixth iteration of the World Baseball Classic (WBC).[1] The pool play rounds will be played in Miami, Florida; Houston, Texas; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Tokyo, Japan. The quarterfinals will be split between Miami and Houston, and the final round will be played in Miami.[2]
Japan are the defending champions after they defeated the United States in the 2023 championship game.[3] China failed to qualify for the first time in a major tournament after being eliminated in Pool B from the qualifiers, losing all three matches.
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Teams
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Qualification
16 teams qualified for the 2026 tournament by being in the top four of their pool in the 2023 tournament. Four other participants will be determined through the qualifying tournament.[4][5]
In January 2024, it was reported that WBCI officials were evaluating two stadiums in Colombia, Estadio Édgar Rentería in Barranquilla and Estadio Once de Noviembre in Cartagena, as potential hosts for the 2026 qualifiers.[6] If selected, it would have been the first time that Colombia hosted a World Baseball Classic-affiliated competition, and their first major international tournament since the 1970 Amateur World Series.
On September 24, 2024, Francys Romero reported that the qualifiers for the 2026 tournament would include 8 teams, downsizing from the 12 that participated in the 2023 qualifiers. Per Romero, the first pool will take place in Taipei from February 19-26, 2025, to include Chinese Taipei, Spain, Nicaragua, and South Africa; the second pool will take place in Tucson, Arizona from February 28 to March 7, 2025, to include Colombia, China, Brazil, Germany.[7] The German Baseball and Softball Federation confirmed the dates of the Tucson pool on October 26.[8][9] On November 12, 2024, WBCI officially announced the teams, format and schedule of the qualifiers, though with slightly different dates; the Taipei pool will run from February 21–25, and the Tucson pool from March 2-6.[10]
1 Ranking as of December 31st, 2024
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Venues
The main tournament will be held in four stadiums.[12]
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Draw
The pools and schedule were announced on August 21, 2024.[13] The teams that advanced from the qualifiers were added on April 9, 2025.[14]
Pool stage
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Scheduled locations and dates are as follows:[14]
Pool A
Pool B
Pool C
Pool D
First game(s) will be played: March 6, 2026. Source: MLB
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Knockout stage
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The top two teams from each pool will advance to the single elimination bracket. Houston will host two quarterfinal games, while the other two quarterfinals and the rest of the tournament will take place in Miami.[14]
Bracket
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Championship | ||||||||
| March 13 – Houston | ||||||||||
| Runner-up Pool A | ||||||||||
| March 15 – Miami | ||||||||||
| Winner Pool B | ||||||||||
| TBD | ||||||||||
| March 14 – Houston | ||||||||||
| TBD | ||||||||||
| Runner-up Pool B | ||||||||||
| March 17 – Miami | ||||||||||
| Winner Pool A | ||||||||||
| Winner SF1 | ||||||||||
| March 13 – Miami | ||||||||||
| Winner SF2 | ||||||||||
| Runner-up Pool C | ||||||||||
| March 16 – Miami | ||||||||||
| Winner Pool D | ||||||||||
| TBD | ||||||||||
| March 14 – Miami | ||||||||||
| TBD | ||||||||||
| Runner-up Pool D | ||||||||||
| Winner Pool C | ||||||||||
Quarterfinals
If the United States advances, they will play their quarterfinal game on March 13, while if Japan advances, they will play on March 14, both regardless of pool stage position.[14]
Semifinals
Final
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References
External links
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