Unlike other world tournaments, the World Baseball Classic is one that can actively say it is a world-spanning event.
The 20 competing nations are split into four pools of five teams, with pool play taking place across three countries and two continents.
Pool A will see its games played at Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan, Puerto Rico, with the host nation facing off against Panama, Cuba, Canada, and Colombia, with the top two heading into the knockout rounds - all of those games will be played in the United States.
Daikin Park, home of MLB side, the Houston Astros, will be the venue for Pool B. 2023's beaten finalists, Team USA, will feature alongside Mexico, Italy, Great Britain, and Brazil.
Reigning champions Japan will face South Korea, China, Chinese Taipei (Taiwan), Australia, and the Czech Republic in Pool C, which will take place at the Tokyo Dome in the Japanese capital.
Meanwhile, Pool D will be played in Miami at LoanDepot Park - the venue for the final on March 17th - with the Dominican Republic taking on Venezuela, Nicaragua, the Netherlands, and Israel for a spot in the quarter-finals.
Who will be playing in the World Baseball Classic?
Much like 2023, baseball's top stars will be taking to the field to participate in the tournament in what is increasingly becoming a bona fide tournament, rather than an exhibition event of yesteryear.
Team USA have brought the big guns, with Aaron Judge - a four-time American League (AL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) with the New York Yankees - leading their offense. He will have backup in the form of catcher Cal Raleigh, who won the 2025 AL MVP crown, along with Bryce Harper, Bobby Witt Jr., and Kyle Schwarber.
Their pitching staff is also frightening. Reigning Cy Young winners, Tarik Skubal and Paul Skenes, will both take to the mound for Team USA, whilst veteran Clayton Kershaw will be on hand in relief in what will be his final bow as a big league player. However, Skubal recently made it clear that he's only making one start during the WBC before returning to the Tigers' camp for spring training.
Japan are also bringing their A-listers to the party as they look to go back-to-back with 15 players returning from three years ago. Ohtani returns after winning in 2023, but he will not be pitching this time around. The two-way player, who has been baseball's most recognisable face over the last four years, will be Japan's designated hitter, something he does incredibly effectively for reigning World Series champions, the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The champions will also rely on 2025 World Series MVP, Yoshinobou Yamamoto, for great starting pitching, while Munetaka Murakami and Kazuma Okamoto will provide power with the bats. However, recent MLB rookie sensation Roki Sasaki has opted out of playing the WBC to save his arm for the upcoming MLB season.
Elsewhere, the Dominican Republic bring a strong contingent of MLB players to the tournament. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Juan Soto, Fernando Tatis Jr., and Julio Rodriguez are just a few of the names on their stacked roster.
Even the less recognised nations of baseball have lineups that can sting. New York Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. has elected to play for Great Britain this time around, whilst Italy will rely on Aaron Nola, and the Netherlands have Ozzie Albies and Xander Bogaerts, among others, on their roster.
One of the stories of 2023 was Czech Republic pitcher Ondrej Satoria striking out Ohtani in what became a viral sensation. The full-time electrician is back for more in 2026. Can he pull off another career moment this time around?
What are the rules of the World Baseball Classic?
With the tournament taking place ahead of the 2026 MLB season, there are some rules in place to manage workloads.
As per usual baseball rules, games will be nine innings in length. However, if a team is winning by 15 runs after the fifth inning or by 10 runs after the seventh inning, the game will end.
Pitchers also have a restricted workload to protect their arms ahead of the season. No pitcher can throw more than 65 pitches in a single game during the first round. In the quarter-finals, pitchers will be allowed 80, whilst that number increases to 95 for the championship round. However, they will be allowed to finish a batter's plate appearance if they do go over those numbers.
If a pitcher throws 50 or more pitches in one appearance, they will be required to rest for a minimum of four days; anyone who throws 30 or more pitches will have to take a seat for just one day. Anyone who throws less than 30 but does pitch on consecutive days will also have to sit for a day before returning to the mound.
Unlike previous tournaments, MLB's pitch clock will be in effect, meaning pitchers will have 15 seconds to throw the ball when the bases are empty. If there are runners on the base path, the time increases to 18 seconds.
There is no automatic ball-strike review system in effect during the tournament, although the review system will make its debut in MLB in 2026.
If a game is tied after nine innings, the extra-inning rule used in MLB will come into effect with a runner placed on second base to start any extra inning.
Two teams qualify from each pool and will head to the quarter-finals, with tie-breakers in place if teams are tied on points after all the games are played. The most important of those is the tied teams' head-to-head record. If more than two teams are tied, it will still be used.
If that doesn't split the sides, equations of fewest runs allowed, along with the number of defensive outs, will be used to determine who progresses.
What is the World Baseball Classic schedule?
A total of 47 games will be played across the 12 days of competition at this year's World Baseball Classic, with games taking place in Japan, Puerto Rico and the USA.
March 5th (all times CET)
Australia vs Chinese Taipei - 04:00 (Pool C, Tokyo Dome)
South Korea vs Czech Republic - 11:00 (Pool C, Tokyo Dome)
March 6th
Czech Republic vs Australia - 04:00 (Pool C, Tokyo Dome)
Chinese Taipei vs Japan - 11:00 (Pool C, Tokyo Dome)
Panama vs Cuba - 17:00 (Pool A, Hiram Bithorn Stadium)
Venezuela vs Netherlands - 18:00 (Pool D, LoanDepot Park)
Great Britain vs Mexico - 19:00 (Pool B, Daikin Park)
March 7th
Colombia vs Puerto Rico - 00:00 (Pool A, Hiram Bithorn Stadium)
Dominican Republic vs Nicaragua - 01:00 (Pool D, LoanDepot Park)
Brazil vs USA - 02:00 (Pool B, Daikin Park)
Czech Republic vs Chinese Taipei - 04:00 (Pool C, Tokyo Dome)
Japan vs South Korea - 11:00 (Pool C, Tokyo Dome)
Canada vs Colombia - 17:00 (Pool A, Hiram Bithorn Stadium)
Netherlands vs Nicaragua - 18:00 (Pool D, LoanDepot Park)
Italy vs Brazil - 19:00 (Pool B, Daikin Park)
March 8th
Puerto Rico vs Panama - 00:00 (Pool A, Hiram Bithorn Stadium)
Venezuela vs Israel - 01:00 (Pool D, LoanDepot Park)
USA vs Great Britain - 02:00 (Pool B, Daikin Park)
South Korea vs Chinese Taipei - 04:00 (Pool C, Tokyo Dome)
Japan vs Australia - 11:00 (Pool C, Tokyo Dome)
Cuba vs Colombia - 17:00 (Pool A, Hiram Bithorn Stadium)
Dominican Republic vs Netherlands - 17:00 (Pool D, LoanDepot Park)
Italy vs Great Britain - 18:00 (Pool B, Daikin Park)
March 9th
Canada vs Panama - 00:00 (Pool A, Hiram Bithorn Stadium)
Israel vs Nicaragua - 00:00 (Pool D, LoanDepot Park)
Mexico vs Brazil - 01:00 (Pool B, Daikin Park)
Australia vs South Korea - 11:00 (Pool C, Tokyo Dome)
Israel vs Dominican Republic - 17:00 (Pool D, LoanDepot Park)
Panama vs Colombia - 17:00 (Pool A, Hiram Bithorn Stadium)
Great Britain vs Brazil - 18:00 (Pool B, Daikin Park)
March 10th
Nicaragua vs Venezuela - 00:00 (Pool D, LoanDepot Park)
Puerto Rico vs Cuba - 00:00 (Pool A, Hiram Bithorn Stadium)
USA vs Mexico - 01:00 (Pool B, Daikin Park)
Japan vs Czech Republic - 11:00 (Pool C, Tokyo Dome)
March 11th
Netherlands vs Israel - 00:00 (Pool D, LoanDepot Park)
Puerto Rico vs Canada - 00:00 (Pool A, Hiram Bithorn Stadium)
USA vs Italy - 02:00 (Pool B, Daikin Park)
Cuba vs Canada - 20:00 (Pool A, Hiram Bithorn Stadium)
March 12th
Mexico vs Italy - 00:00 (Pool B, Daikin Park)
Venezuela vs Dominican Republic - 01:00 (Pool D, LoanDepot Park)
March 14th - quarter-finals begin
Group C runner-up vs Group D winner - 00:30 (LoanDepot Park)
Group A runner-up vs Group B winner - 02:00 (Daikin Park)
Group B runner-up vs Group A winner - 21:00 (Daikin Park)
March 15th
Group D runner-up vs Group C winner - 03:00 (LoanDepot Park)
March 16th
Semi-final 1 - 02:00 (LoanDepot Park)
March 17th
Semi-final 2 - 02:00 (LoanDepot Park)
March 18th
World Baseball Classic final - 02:00 (LoanDepot Park)
Where can I watch the 2026 World Baseball Classic?
The World Baseball Classic will be available to watch worldwide through a variety of different platforms.
Asia
China: BesTV, Douyin, MIGU, Tencent Video, Fujian TV, Youku
Israel: Sport5
Japan: Netflix
Malaysia: Astro
Oceania: ESPN
South Korea: tvN, tvN Sports, TVING, KBS, SBS, MBC
Southeast Asia: SpoTV
Taiwan: ELTA, EBC, Videoland, TTV
Europe
Czech Republic: CT Sport
France: beIN Sport
Germany: SportDigital+
Hungary: Sport 1
Netherlands: ESPN
Turkey: S Sport Plus
Middle East & Africa
MENA: beIN Sport
Sub-Saharan Africa: ESPN
North & South America
Canada: Sportsnet, TVA Sports
Caribbean and Latin America: ESPN, 1 Baseball Network
Cuba: Tele Rebelde
Dominican Republic: VTV32, Teleantillas 10, Coral 39
Mexico: TelevisaUnivision
Nicaragua: Viva 13
Panama: RPC, TV Max
Puerto Rico: WAPA Deportes
USA: Fox Sports
Venezuela: Televen, Venevision
Who are the favourites to win the World Baseball Classic?
With the betting markets, the USA are the favourites to regain the championship, whilst Japan are the second favourites. Dominican Republic and Venezuela are not far behind in the stakes.
At the wrong end, Brazil and Nicaragua are the biggest outsiders, alongside the Czech Republic and Australia.