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Baseball's finest talents are set to descend upon Houston, Miami, Tokyo and San Juan for the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
The stars will be out when the tournament's 20 sides trawl onto the diamond. MVP candidates are en vogue during this year's spectacle; Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge, Ronald Acuna Jr. and Bobby Witt Jr. are the headliners of a cast and crew like few others in the tourney's recent history.
The 2023 iteration of the competition was an eye-catching one. Japan downed Team USA in a famous championship final, with Ohtani whiffing Mike Trout with a scorcher to send Samurai Japan in raptures. Ohtani won't deliver any tosses this time around. Still, he'll look to propel his team to a third-straight title and cement himself as the tourney's most decorated player.
With that, here's a look at the "bracket" for the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC HQ: Live scores | Updated standings | Full TV schedule
World Baseball Classic 2026 bracket
The 2026 World Baseball Classic does not feature a bracket, at least not in the traditional sense.
The 20 sides will be divided into four groups. Each team will face off with the other four teams in their group, with the two sides with the most wins in each group advancing to the quarterfinals.
The bracket then comes into the fore, with matchups whittling down the field until there are just two teams left in the field. They'll face off with one another at loanDepot Park in Miami, with the winner of the matchup being declared the World Baseball Classic champion.
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World Baseball Classic 2026 schedule
The World Baseball Classic kicks off on March 6 with a matchup between Cuba and Panama from San Juan, Puerto Rico. Each contest will be aired on the Fox family of networks. (All times listed are Eastern in the United States.)
Pool A (San Juan, Puerto Rico)
| Date | Time | Matchup | TV |
| March 6 | 11 a.m. | Cuba 3, Panama 0 | FS2 |
| March 6 | 6 p.m. | Puerto Rico 5, Colombia 0 | FS1 |
| March 7 | 11 a.m. | Colombia vs. Canada | FS2 |
| March 7 | 6 p.m. | Panama vs. Puerto Rico | FS1 |
| March 8 | 12 p.m. | Colombia vs. Cuba | FS2 |
| March 8 | 7 p.m. | Panama vs. Canada | FS2 |
| March 9 | 12 p.m. | Colombia vs. Panama | FS2 |
| March 9 | 12 p.m. | Cuba vs. Puerto Rico | FS1 |
| March 10 | 7 p.m. | Canada vs. Puerto Rico | Tubi |
| March 11 | 3 p.m. | Canada vs. Cuba | FS2 |
Pool B (Houston, Texas)
| Date | Time | Matchup | TV |
| March 6 | 1 p.m. | Mexico 8, Great Britain 2 | FS1 |
| March 6 | 8 p.m. | USA 15, Brazil 5 | Fox |
| March 7 | 1 p.m. | Brazil vs. Italy | App |
| March 7 | 8 p.m. | Great Britain vs. USA | Fox |
| March 8 | 1 p.m. | Great Britain vs. Italy | Tubi |
| March 8 | 8 p.m. | Brazil vs. Mexico | FS1 |
| March 9 | 1 p.m. | Brazil vs. Great Britain | Tubi |
| March 9 | 8 p.m. | Mexico vs. USA | Fox |
| March 10 | 9 p.m. | Italy vs. USA | FS1 |
| March 11 | 7 p.m. | Italy vs. Mexico | Tubi |
Pool C (Tokyo, Japan)
| Date | Time | Matchup | TV |
| March 4 | FINAL | Australia 3, Chinese Taipei 0 | FS1 |
| March 5 | FINAL | South Korea 11, Czechia 4 | FS1 |
| March 5 | FINAL | Australia 5, Czechia 1 | FS1 |
| March 6 | FINAL | Japan 13, Chinese Taipei 0 | FS1 |
| March 6 | 10 p.m. | Chinese Taipei vs. Czechia | FS2 |
| March 7 | 5 a.m. | South Korea vs. Japan | FS1 |
| March 7 | 10 p.m. | Chinese Taipei vs. South Korea | FS2 |
| March 8 | 6 a.m. | Australia vs. Japan | FS1 |
| March 9 | 6 a.m. | South Korea vs. Australia | FS1 |
| March 10 | 6 a.m. | Czechia vs. Japan | FS1 |
Pool D (Miami, Florida)
| Date | Time | Matchup | TV |
| March 6 | 10 p.m. | Venezuela 6, Netherlands 2 | Tubi |
| March 6 | 7 p.m. | Dominican Republic 12, Nicaragua 3 | FS2 |
| March 7 | 12 p.m. | Nicaragua vs. Netherlands | Tubi |
| March 7 | 7 p.m. | Israel vs. Venezuela | FS2 |
| March 8 | 12 p.m. | Netherlands vs. Dominican Republic | Fox |
| March 8 | 7 p.m. | Nicaragua vs. Israel | Tubi |
| March 9 | 12 p.m. | Dominican Republic vs. Israel | FS1 |
| March 9 | 7 p.m. | Venezuela vs. Nicaragua | FS2 |
| March 10 | 7 p.m. | Israel vs. Netherlands | Fox Sports App |
| March 11 | 8 p.m. | Dominican Republic vs. Venezuela | FS1 |
Quarterfinals
| Date | Time | Venue | Matchup | TV |
| March 13 | 6:30 p.m. | Miami | Tokyo Pool Runner-Up vs. Miami Pool Winner | FS2 |
| March 13 | 8 p.m. | Houston | San Juan Pool Runner-Up vs. Houston Pool Winner | Fox |
| March 14 | 3 p.m. | Houston | Houston Pool Runner-Up vs. San Juan Pool Winner | FS1 |
| March 14 | 9 p.m. | Miami | Miami Pool Runner-Up vs. Tokyo Pool Winner | Fox |
Semifinals
| Date | Time | Venue | Matchup | TV |
| March 15 | 8 p.m. | Miami | Semifinal 1 | FS1 |
| March 16 | 8 p.m. | Miami | Semifinal 2 | FS1 |
Championship
| Date | Time | Venue | Matchup | TV |
| March 17 | 8 p.m. | Miami | Championship | Fox |
MORE WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC 2026:
- The biggest differences between WBC vs. MLB
- Why WBC games can end early with mercy rule
- How many innings in World Baseball Classic games?
- How qualifying, pool play, standings and more work in the WBC
World Baseball Classic channels
- TV channels: Fox, FS1, FS2, Tubi
- Live stream: FoxSports.com, Fox Sports app, fubo
The 2026 World Baseball Classic will air on Fox's family of network in the United States. Contests will be held on Fox, FS1 and FS2, as well as Tubi.
Cord-cutters can follow the action on FoxSports.com, the Fox Sports App or fubo, which offers a free trial to new users.
English (US)