Who goes through
The two clubs with the highest winning percentage in each first-round pool advance. A first-round game can also end early: a lead of 10 or more after seven innings, or 15 or more after five.
WBC
WBC
The 2026 World Baseball Classic: four pools of five, then a knockout round that ends in Miami.
History · Teams · Playoffs · 2026 tournament · Contact
A short history
MLB.com’s 2026 rules note says the Classic is played under the Official Rules of Major League Baseball, plus the tournament supplements on that page.
The media note on that page calls this the sixth World Baseball Classic: four cities, 20 countries, and a champion on March 17 in Miami.
Current teams
National teams are listed on the tournament desk.
Playoffs
They are playing for the World Baseball Classic championship. MLB.com says the first round is a round-robin in four pools. The two clubs with the highest winning percentage in each pool advance.
From there it is a knockout: quarterfinals, then semifinals and the final, which MLB.com set for March 17, 2026, in Miami. A loss in the knockout ends the tournament.
After the tournament, the 16 highest-ranked clubs are invited back automatically. The last-place club in each first-round pool has to play a qualifier to return.
2026 tournament
In the first round, the two clubs with the highest winning percentage in each pool advance to the quarterfinals. The pools on that page are San Juan, Houston, Tokyo, and Miami.
If clubs in a pool finish level, the first tie-break is the games those clubs played against each other. From the 10th inning, the batting club starts with a runner on second base.
The same page reports the 2026 final as Venezuela 3, United States 2.
Contact
Tournament
MLB.com
mlb.com/world-baseball-classic
How it works
The next field
After this tournament, the 16 highest-ranked clubs receive an automatic invitation to the next Classic. The last-place club in each first-round pool goes to the qualifier round.