Eight out of 18 teams are qualified for the XVIII WBSC Men's Softball World Cup Group Stage. WBSC Americas will qualify five and WBSC Africa two further teams. Three Wild Cards will complete the set of participants.

The Dragons, one of the most storied franchises in CPBL history, defeated the Rakuten Monkeys 6-3 in the crucial Game Seven of the Taiwan Series 2023, to win their first title in 24 years, and their fifth in franchise history in front of 10,000 passionate fans at Tianmu Baseball Stadium. Dragons’ young ace Jo-Hsi Hsu who started Game One and Six was named Series MVP.

The WBSC U-18 Men’s Softball World Cup daily blog reviews all the action of the opening day in Hermosillo, Mexico where Canada, Japan, Australia, USA and Mexico all won. USA centre field Logan Boom (pictured) was named Player of the Day for his three-run home run against Venezuela.

The Central Harbourfront Event Space in Hong Kong will host the 12-team II WBSC Baseball5 World Cup in late 2024.

Australia is also looking to hold the world champion title at all three WBSC Men's Softball World Cups, having won the WBSC Men's Softball World Cup 2022 in New Zealand and the U-23 edition in Argentina in April earlier this year.

The Philippines, Singapore and Hong Kong were the best improvers while Italy climbed to a record high position of No. 6. The latest WBSC Women's Softball World Rankings includes 65 programmes.

The WBSC's flagship baseball tournament will open in the Americas (location TBC) and Taipei City (TPE) before closing at the Tokyo Dome in Japan. The WBSC launched the concept of the event in 2013. The first edition was played from 8 to 21 November, 2015. The second edition took place from 2 to 17 November, 2019.

The Blacktown International Sportspark hosted the WBSC Oceania qualifying series. The hosts prevailed in the first game (1-0) after a thrilling pitching duel and swept the series with a dominating 15-2 effort in the second.

"I’m hoping the kids can spend their days happily with a lot of energy through baseball," the two-way phenom wrote on his Instagram account.

The best men's U-18 softball teams in the world will play in Hermosillo, Mexico. Newly renovated venues will be the stage and part of the legacy of the WBSC U-18 Men's Softball World Cup.