15 days to WBSC Americas Baseball Qualifier in Florida. How they got here

The WBSC Baseball America Qualifier is 15 days away.

Eight of the top national baseball teams in the Americas will battle in Florida for a single ticket into the Tokyo 2020 Olympic baseball competition. The Olympic qualifier takes place from 31 May to 5 June at Clover Park and The Ballpark of the West Palm Beaches.

How they got here

Six national teams competed in the WBSC Premier12 2019 and received an automatic spot: Canada, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, USA and Venezuela. Nicaragua and Colombia earned their spots via the Pan Am Games Lima 2019, as the top two teams in the final standings among the countries that didn’t participate in the Premier12 2019.

The top ranked nation in the event is world No. 2 USA. The hosts of the Olympic Qualifier locked horns with Mexico in the bronze medal game of the Premier12 2019, with a direct ticket to Tokyo 2020 at stake. A 10th-inning RBI single by Efren Navarro gave Mexico the bronze medal and ticket to the Tokyo Olympics. USA finished the Premier12 2019 with an even record of 4-4.

World No. 7 Cuba did not get past the opening round of the Premier12 2019. Cuba finished their group 1-2 and on the losing end of a three-way tie with Canada and Australia.

At the Premier12 2019, No. 8 Venezuela finished with one win and two losses, failing to get out of the opening round.

World No. 10 Dominican Republic also came short of the Premier12 2019 Super Round, as the US knocked them out of the first round.

No. 11 Puerto Rico went winless at the Premier12 2019, going 0-3, which included a loss to Venezuela. The squad won the gold medal at the Pan American Games Lima 2019.

World No. 12 Canada didn't make it past the first round of the Premier12 2019. Canada took the silver medal in the Pan American Games Lima 2019, losing 6-1 in the final versus Puerto Rico.

No. 14 Colombia and No. 15 Nicaragua advanced from the Pan American Games Lima 2019 as the top two teams outside the six qualified nations from Premier12. They faced off in the bronze medal game, with Nicaragua grabbing the medal via a 6-0 shutdown win.

Road to Tokyo through Florida

The eight participating nations will be split into two groups to start the qualifier, with the top two teams of each Opening Round group advancing to the Super Round.

• Group A: World No. 2 USA, No. 10 Dominican Republic, No. 11 Puerto Rico and No. 15 Nicaragua.
• Group B: World No. 7 Cuba, No. 8 Venezuela, No. 13 Canada and No. 14 Colombia.

Each national team will play two games during the Super Round, facing the two teams advancing from the opposite group. Head-to-head contests among the qualified teams from the opening round will carry over into the Super Round standings.