It was the first edition of the tournament to be held in three countries, as well as the first since 1967 with games held in Belgium.[1]
The Netherlands won the tournament, beating Italy in the championship 6–5 in Rotterdam after beating defending champion Spain in the semifinal. It was the 25th European championship for the Dutch and 27th time facing Italy in the final game. The Czech Republic defeated Spain in the third-place game, their first-ever medal in the tournament. Two Dutch players won the top individual awards, with Didi Gregorius named the MVP and Kevin Kelly the best pitcher.
Hungary and Lithuania, which both lost all their games, were relegated during the tournament.
Four groups of four teams competed in a round robin to begin the tournament. The top two teams from groups A and B qualified for the quarterfinals, the second round of the tournament stage. The first round of the tournament, called the crossover playoff, included the bottom two teams from groups A and B and top two teams from groups C and D. The bottom two teams from groups C and D competed in an best-of-three relegation series.[6][7][8]
One week before the start of the tournament, Group C games were moved from a stadium in Senago to the Stadio Marco Provini[it] in Novara due to poor conditions at the Senago field. The Italian team's federation agreed to pay for additional transportation costs from Milan.[9][10]
Fan entrance to games in Rotterdam on 20 September were affected by pro-Palestinian protests regarding the Gaza war and Israel's participation in the tournament.[11][12][13] Protesters returned for subsequent Israel games.[14] Rain also delayed some of the 20 September games in Rotterdam.[15]
Two of the three host countries, the Netherlands and Italy, went undefeated in group play while Belgium managed one win and was eliminated from the final round.[8][16]
The relegation round was a best-of-three series, and the loser was relegated. The result of the Group stage game is the result of Game 1 in the series. Both Lithuania and Hungary were winless in the tournament.
The Netherlands won the tournament, going undefeated. Against Spain in the semifinals, a rematch of a Spanish win in the 2023 championship, Dutch pitcher Kevin Kelly relieved the injured Tom de Blok in the first inning and got 16 strikeouts in 8+1⁄3 innings.[17][18] That performance, and two saves earlier in the tournament, won Kelly the best pitcher award.[19] The Netherlands beat Italy, which had been the only other undefeated team, in the championship game, 6–5. Giaconino Lasaracina, who hit a tournament-leading six home runs, homered for Italy in the loss, while Sharlon Schoop hit a home run for the Dutch and had 2 runs batted in.[20][21][22]
Spain then lost in the third place game, 9–2 to the Czech Republic, giving the Czechs their first medal in the European tournament.[23]
Gregorius, playing shortstop, batted .321 with 3 doubles and one home run.[24] Kelly led the tournament with two saves and had 21 strikeouts, tied for the most with Noah Zavolas. He also won a semifinal game and allowed no walks.[19][25] Martini batted .480 with 2 doubles, 1 triple, and four walks.[26]
Broadcasting
The tournament was broadcast on WBSC Europe's paid streaming platform, baseballeurope.tv.[27]
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Spain 
Netherlands (25th title)
Italy 
Czech Republic 
