The Premier 12, a tournament between the top 12 ranked national teams in the world, is down to its super-round phase, with four remaining teams. USA, Venezuela, the top two teams in Group A, and Chinese Taipei and Japan in Group B are scheduled to compete in a round-robin set between November 21 and 24 at the Tokyo Dome, Japan.
The first game will be on November 21st in the daytime between Venezuela and Chinese Taipei, in which Venezuela will hit the bottom of the inning. The night game will be against Japan and the USA, in which Japan will hit the bottom of the inning, serving as the home team.
On November 22nd, the tournament again has two scheduled games. Chinese Taipei and Team USA will compete in the morning game, with Team USA batting at the bottom of the inning. The night game will feature Venezuela and Japan, with Team Japan once again batting at the bottom of the order.
On November 23rd, Team USA and Team Venezuela will face off in the morning game, with Team Venezuela batting in the bottom inning. The night game will feature two Asian countries, Chinese Taipei and Japan, with Team Japan batting in the bottom half of each inning.
On the final day of the tournament, in the morning, the 3rd and 4th place teams will compete in a bronze medal match. In the evening, the finals between the 1st and 2nd place teams will highlight the end of a remarkable journey for the eventual champion. Who will that be? All four remaining teams are incredibly talented, so any team at this point could win it. Will it be Team USA, Japan, Chinese Taipei, or Venezuela?
All-day games are scheduled at 12:00 local time, and all-night games are scheduled at 19:00 local time.
Premier 12 Is Still Gaining Popularity
The WBSC Premier 12 tournament is still quite young. It is still gaining ground over the more popular World Baseball Classic, or WBC. Perhaps, just like the WBC, it probably needs the participation of superstars like Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani or something. Part of the reason why the WBC became popular was solely because of the participation of major stars like Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani, Edwin Diaz, Jose Altuve, etc. In other words, it was star-studded. And who can forget that iconic battle between Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani? It's probably ingrained in our minds by now.
2027 16-team expansion
On October 24th, it was announced that the Premier 12 tournament would be expanded to 16 teams. The top 12 teams will automatically qualify, still keeping true to the Premier 12 name. While the top 12-ranked teams automatically qualify, there will be two qualifying tournaments held between the 13th and 18th-ranked teams to decide the last four teams, meaning the bottom finishers will be eliminated from participating in the upcoming event.
This is a great idea, as it gives the lower-ranked teams a chance to showcase their talented athletes at one of the highest of stages.
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