Viewers from 183 countries and territories watched the flagship global youth softball tournament online

Economic impact of WBSC’s World Championship in Prince Albert expected to top CAD$ 10 million for local community  

PRINCE ALBERT, Canada — The Australian Junior Men’s National Softball Team, behind a historic no-hit performance by pitcher Layton Reid, defeated defending champions Japan, 6-1, Sunday in the Final of the XII WBSC Junior Men’s Softball World Championship 2018.

Softball Australia has now been crowned World Champions a leading five times in the junior men’s softball category. Prior to Prince Albert, the last time Australia had won the world title was in 2008.

WBSC Softball Division Chairman Tommy Velazquez said: “Prince Albert will be forever part of softball history. During these exciting nine days of global competition, we discovered which country has the young best players and the best junior softball team in the world. Congratulations, Australia. And congratulations to all the players and teams making it to the WBSC World Championship — they are the best representations of our sport and best young players in their respective countries.”

Global Impact in Prince Albert

Drawing large crowds and creating a buzz to the final out, the WBSC Junior Men’s Softball World Championship in Prince Albert is being called “the biggest event to ever hit the city”.  The total economic impact of the global tournament is expected to surpass CAD$ 10 million for the local community, as reported by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). Attendance for Sunday’s Final was 2,800.

Global Viewership

All 54 games of the WBSC Junior Men’s Softball World Championship were live-streamed at www.youtube.com/wbsc, which generated an online viewership of 183 countries and territories, with 2.7 million minutes consumed. Canadian audiences registered the most watch time, followed by the U.S., Argentina, Australia, Mexico, New Zealand, Japan, India, South Africa and Guatemala rounding out the Top 10 viewership territories.

FINAL STANDINGS

1. Australia
2. Japan
3. New Zealand
4. Canada
5. Argentina
6. Mexico
7. Czech Republic
8. United States
9. India
10. South Africa
11. Guatemala
12. Hong Kong
13. Denmark

For full coverage and stats of the XII WBSC Junior Men’s Softball World Championship 2018, visit the official tournament website at https://jmswc.wbsc.org.