The long-awaited World Baseball Classic 2023 is finally announced to return following a six-year-long hiatus. Read to know the latest information on the upcoming international baseball tournament.
Preview
The World Baseball Classic is an international-level baseball tournament organized by World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC). It was established by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) 17 years ago, in 2006, and has been only held 4 times since.
While the event was initially planned to be a triennial event, after the 2nd edition it was changed to a quadrennial like most international competitions. However, following the 4th tournament in 2017, it was canceled due to the covid-19 pandemic.
The long-awaited event is finally making a return with 20 international baseball teams this Wednesday. Japan, Taiwan, and the USA will co-host the latest edition of the World Baseball Classic. The event is featuring a $14.4 million prize pool for the participants.
World Baseball Classic 2023 will maintain a standard two-stage competition format. The first stage will be a group stage competition. Which will be later followed by the playoff stage with a knockout format.
Check below for more detailed information on the schedule, live stream, and other aspects of the upcoming international baseball event.
When will the event be held?
- Date: Thursday, March 9, 2023
- Time: 05:00 a.m. ET
The latest World Baseball Classic is scheduled to initiate this Thursday, March 9, 2023. First day competition will begin with the pot 1 game of Japan vs China at 05:00 a.m. ET.
World Baseball Classic 2023 Schedule:
| Stage | Date | Time (ET) |
| Group Stage | Thursday, March 9 – Wednesday, March 15 | 05:00 p.m. |
| Quarterfinals | Thursday, March 16 – Saturday, March 18 | TBD |
| Semifinals | Sunday, March 19 – Monday, March 20 | TBD |
| Final | Tuesday, March 21 | TBD |
World Baseball Classic 2023 Venue:
- Location: Japan, Taiwan, United States
A total of 4 venues from 3 different countries have been selected as the hosting ground of the latest World Baseball Classic. They are listed below –
| Venue | Round Host | Capacity | Location |
| Chase Field | Pool C | 46,686 | Miami, USA |
| LoanDepot Park | Pool D, Quarterfinals, Semifinals and Final | 36,742 | Phoenix, USA |
| Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium | Pool A | 20,000 | Taichung, Taiwan |
| Tokyo Dome | Pool B and Quarterfinal | 45,600 | Tokyo, Japan |
Where to Watch the event on TV?
- Fox Sports – US
- BT Sport – UK
Games from the World Baseball Classic 2023 will be broadcast live on FS1 and FS2 channel via Fox Sports in the United States. While fans in the United Kingdom will get to see the games on via BT Sport on TV.
Where to Live Stream World Baseball Classic 2023?
- Amazon Prime Video
- fuboTV
- MLB app
Amazon is announced as the digital distribution partner of the upcoming edition of World Baseball Classic. As such, international baseball fans will require prime video subscription to watch the latest international baseball competition. In America however, fuboTV will distribute the games online via Fox Sports channel live streams. Additionally, fans will be able to watch the games through the MLB mobile and TV app.
Group Distribution:
A total of 20 international teams are participating in the World Baseball Classic 2023. 10 teams are from the WSBC Americas confederation, 4 are from WSBC Asia, 5 are from WSBC Europe and 1 is from the Oceania region. Teams have been divided into groups of 4 for the group round. The officially announced pot list is listed below –
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 | Pot 5 |
| Japan | Netherlands | Venezuela | Canada | Panama |
| Chinese Taipei | South Korea | Cuba | Italy | Czech Republic |
| USA | Mexico | Australia | Israel | Nicaragua |
| Puerto Rico | Dominican Republic | Colombia | China | Great Britain |
World Baseball Classic 2023 Prize Money:
This year’s international baseball competition is set to feature a massive $15 million prize pool. Below is the prize pool allocation chart for the upcoming 5th WBC event –
| Stage | Prize money | No. of Teams | Total |
| Champions | $1,000,000 | 1 | $1,000,000 |
| Runners-up | $500,000 | 2 | $1,000,000 |
| Semifinalists | $500,000 | 4 | $2,000,000 |
| Quarterfinalists | $400,000 | 8 | $3,200,000 |
| Pool winners | $300,000 | 4 | $1,200,000 |
| Participants | $300,000 | 20 | $6,000,000 |
