2026 WBC Tournament
After Shohei Ohtani thrillingly struck out Mike Trout to end the last tournament and clinch the championship for Japan, the next tournament is taking shape.
Qualifiers occurred in early 2025, with the winner of the round-robin advancing automatically to the main tournament while the next two highest teams played a one-game playoff, with the winner of that game also moving on.
The main tournament will then take place in 2026 with group play in San Juan (A), Houston (B), Tokyo (C) and Miami (D), followed by quarterfinals in Houston and Miami and a "final four" in Miami.
Qualifying tournaments
Group A was played in Taipei City while Group B was played in Tucson.
Thursday 2/20
(A) South Africa vs. Nicaragua, 11:00, MLB.com/YouTube - Tyler Maun, Ryan Rowland-Smith
Friday 2/21
(A) Spain vs. Chinese Taipei, 6:00AM, MLBN/MLB.com/YouTube - Tyler Maun, Ryan Rowland-Smith
(A) Spain vs. Nicaragua, 11:00, MLB.com/YouTube - Tyler Maun, Ryan Rowland-Smith
Saturday 2/22
(A) Chinese Taipei vs. South Africa, 6:00AM, MLBN/MLB.com/YouTube - Tyler Maun, Ryan Rowland-Smith
(A) South Africa vs. Spain, 11:00, MLB.com/YouTube - Tyler Maun, Ryan Rowland-Smith
Sunday 2/23
(A) Nicaragua vs. Chinese Taipei, 6:00AM, MLB.com/YouTube - Tyler Maun, Ryan Rowland-Smith
Tuesday 2/25
(A) Chinese Taipei vs. Spain, 6:00AM, FS2/MLBN/MLB.com/YouTube - Tyler Maun, Ryan Rowland-Smith
Winner qualified for full tournament, joining Nicaragua
Sunday 3/2
(B) China vs. Germany, 1:00, MLB.com/YouTube - Gregg Caserta, Steven Brault
(B) Brazil vs. Colombia, 8:00, FS2/MLB.com/YouTube - Gregg Caserta, Steven Brault
Monday 3/3
(B) Brazil vs. Germany, 1:00, FS2/MLBN/MLB.com/YouTube - Gregg Caserta, Steven Brault
(B) Colombia vs. China, 8:00, FS2/MLB.com/YouTube - Gregg Caserta, Steven Brault
Tuesday 3/4
(B) China vs. Brazil, 1:00, MLBN/MLB.com/YouTube - Gregg Caserta, Steven Brault
(B) Germany vs. Colombia, 8:00, MLB.com/YouTube - Gregg Caserta, Steven Brault
Thursday 3/6
(B) Germany vs. Brazil, 8:00, MLB.com/YouTube - Gregg Caserta, Steven Brault
Winner qualified for full tournament, joining Colombia
Warmup games
Prior to the tournament, teams played warmup games as thus:
- Teams in pools A, B, and D played MLB teams at their spring training sites.
- Teams in pool C played teams in the KBO League (South Korea), CPBL (Taiwan), and NPB (Japan).
The following games were to be shown live throughout the United States.
Tuesday 3/3
Canada vs. Toronto Blue Jays, 1:00, MLBN
USA vs. San Francisco Giants, 3:00, ESPN
Detroit Tigers vs. Dominican Republic (Santo Domingo), 6:00 p.m., MLBN
Wednesday 3/4
Detroit Tigers vs. Dominican Republic (Santo Domingo), 2:00 p.m., MLBN
Main tournament
Here are the game sites:
- Pool D, two quarterfinals, both semifinals, championship game - Miami
- Pool B, two quarterfinals - Houston
- Pool A - San Juan
- Pool C - Tokyo
Wednesday 3/4
(C) Chinese Taipei vs. Australia, 10:00, FS1
Thursday 3/5
(C) Czech Republic vs. South Korea, 5:00AM, FS1
(C) Australia vs. Czech Republic, 10:00, FS1
Friday 3/6
(C) Japan vs. Chinese Taipei, 5:00AM, FS1
(A) Cuba vs. Panama, 11:00AM, FS2
(D) Netherlands vs. Venezuela, 12:00, Tubi
(B) Mexico vs. Great Britian, 1:00, FS1
(A) Puerto Rico vs. Colombia, 6:00, FS1
(D) Nicaragua vs. Dominican Republic, 7:00, FS2
(B) United States vs. Brazil, 8:00, FOX
(C) Chinese Taipei vs. Czech Republic, 10:00, FS2
Saturday 3/7
(C) South Korea vs. Japan, 5:00AM, FS1
(A) Colombia vs. Canada, 11:00AM, FS2
(D) Nicaragua vs. Netherlands, 12:00, Tubi
(B) Brazil vs. Italy, 1:00, Fox Sports App
(A) Panama vs. Puerto Rico, 6:00, FS1
(D) Israel vs. Venezuela, 7:00, FS2
(B) Great Britain vs. United States, 8:00, FOX
(C) Chinese Taipei vs. South Korea, 10:00, FS2
Sunday 3/8
(C) Australia vs. Japan, 6:00AM, FS1
(A) Colombia vs. Cuba, 12:00, FOX
(D) Netherlands vs. Dominican Republic, 12:00, FS2
(B) Great Britain vs. Italy, 1:00, Tubi
(D) Nicaragua vs. Israel, 7:00, Tubi
(A) Panama vs. Canada, 7:00, FS2
(C) Brazil vs. Mexico, 8:00, FS1
Monday 3/9
(C) South Korea vs. Australia, 6:00AM, FS1
(D) Dominican Republic vs. Israel, 12:00, FS1
(A) Colombia vs. Panama, 12:00, FS2
(B) Brazil vs. Great Britain, 1:00, Tubi
(A) Cuba vs. Puerto Rico, 7:00, FS1
(D) Venezuela vs. Nicaragua, 7:00, FS2
(C) Mexico vs. United States, 8:00, FOX
Tuesday 3/10
(C) Czech Republic vs. Japan, 6:00AM, FS1
(D) Israel vs. Netherlands, 7:00, Fox Sports App
(A) Canada vs. Puerto Rico, 7:00, Tubi
(C) Italy vs. United States, 8:00, FS1
Wednesday 3/11
(A) Canada vs. Cuba, 3:00, FS2
(C) Italy vs. Mexico, 7:00, Tubi
(D) Dominican Republic vs. Venezuela, 8:00, FS1
Friday 3/13
Qtr. (Miami), 6:30, FS2
Qtr. (Houston), 8:00, FOX
Saturday 3/14
Qtr. (Miami), 3:00, FS1
Qtr. (Houston), 9:00, FOX
Sunday 3/15
Semi. 1, 8:00, FS1
Monday 3/16
Semi. 2, 8:00, FS1
Tuesday 3/17
Semifinal winners, 8:00, FOX