One of the top baseball leagues in Europe, the Hoofdklasse, will move to a new competition format for the 2022 season.
The Royal Netherlands Baseball and Softball Federation (KNBSB) announced that the nation's top-tier baseball league will expand to nine teams. The participants will play a single round robin made of eight rounds. Each club will play a total of 24 regular season games.
The top four (elite) will play a double round robin with a total of 18 games. The top two finishers will compete in a best-of-three series to determine the seeding of the playoffs.
The bottom five (second tier) will play a single round robin (12 games). In the end, the top two finishers will compete in a best-of-three series to determine the seeding of the Wild Card round.
The winner will face the number four seed of the elite round in a best-of-three series for Wild Card 1. The loser will face the number three seed of the elite group in a best-of-three series for Wild Card 2.
The best-of-five playoff series will see the winner of the elite play Wild Card 2 and the number two seed face Wild Card 1.
The playoff winners will compete in the best-of-seven Holland Series for the national crown.
The KNBSB Board stated through the official website that the new format is the first step towards a multi-year development process.
The format is meant to increase the number of meaningful games and attract more interest from fans and media outlets.
The format will go under revision after the season. The Board plans to launch a final version for the 2023 season.
The Dutch Hoofdklasse will open on 7 April. The Holland Series will take off on Thursday, 15 September, with game 4 scheduled for Saturday, 24 September, and eventual game 7 scheduled for Sunday, 2 October.
