| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | November |
| Teams | 16 |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Games played | 44 |
The 2027 WBSC Premier12 will be the 4th edition of the WBSC Premier12, a baseball championship featuring the 16 top national teams in the world, held by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC). This tournament will be the first to include 16 teams, expanded from 12 in previous three editions. [1]
Chinese Taipei is the defending champion, won their first Premier12 championship, defeating final round hosts and defending champions Japan, 4–0, in the 2024 championship game. [2] The United States took third place after a 6–1 win over Venezuela. [3] WBSC president, Ricardo Ferrarri congratulated the champions and confirmed that the qualifier of 2027 edition would begin in 2026. [4]
Baseball was not included in the 2024 Paris Olympics, but it is expected that it will be included along with softball, in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics due to baseball's popularity in the United States. [5] Premier 12 will serve as the qualifier of the olympics tournament, number of teams will participate in 2028 and formatting remains unclear, so as the number of teams qualified through this competition. [6]
The 12 highest-ranked national teams qualified to participate in the Group Stage, based on the WBSC World Rankings, as of 31 December 2025. [7] The teams ranked 13-18 and two Wild Cards will play the Premier12 Qualifiers to define the other four participants in the Group Stage. The WBSC had originally wanted to expand 2023 edition but due to COVID-19, halted the plans for this edition. [8]
Africa (0)
Asia (0)
| Americas (0)
Europe (0)
Oceania (0)
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Participating nations had to submit their final 28-man rosters no later than October 2027. WBSC rules require teams to carry at least 13 pitchers and two catchers in their squads. [9]
The format will undergo several significant changes in format compared to 2023. The expansion to 16 teams and new format was approved on 24 October 2024.
The tournament begins with four groups of four teams each playing in the 16-team Opening Round. Each team plays three games, in a round robin format against each other in the group. The top two teams from each group advanced to the Second Round.
The tournament begins with two groups of four teams each playing in the 8-team Second Round. Each team plays three games, in a round robin format against each other in the group. The top two teams from each group advanced to the Super Round.
The four remaining teams who advanced to the Super Round, will travel to host of the Finals where they will play against the top two teams that advanced from the other group.
After completion, the teams who finish first and second will play the gold medal match, while the teams placed third and fourth will play for bronze.
Stadiums from unknown countries would host the event.
The groups will be announced in April 2027.
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The WBSC will give $5.2 million in prize money to participants, distributed as follows, with a minimum of half of a team's prize money to be distributed equally among its players: [10] [11]
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