The 2021 World Baseball Classic, the fifth edition of the event which is sanctioned by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), will be played in five venues over two continents from 9-23 March.
The World Baseball Classic will open with the four groups of five teams for round-robin play. The top two finishers of each group will advance to the quarterfinals.
Marlins Park, the home of the Miami Marlins, will host one of the five-team groups, two quarterfinals, semifinals and the championship game. The Tokyo Dome will host one group and two quarterfinals. The third group will see action at Chase Field in Phoenix, the home of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Chinese Taipei will host the other group across two venues, Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium and Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium.
Group play will begin with A and B in Chinese Taipei and Japan, scheduled from 9 to 13 March. Group C in Phoenix is scheduled from 13 to 17 March, while group D in Miami will see action from 14 to 18 March.
The Tokyo Dome will host two quarterfinals on 16 and 17 March. The other two quarterfinals are scheduled in Miami on 19 and 20 March.
The semifinals and finals are scheduled from 21 to 23 March at the Marlins Park.
The World Baseball Classic 2021 will expand the number of participants to 20 National Teams. Australia, Canada, China, Chinese Taipei, Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Korea, Mexico, Puerto Rico, United States and Venezuela, that participated in the 2017 edition, have been invited to return. The last four National Teams will come out of the Qualifier, set to begin at the Kino Sports Complex in Tucson, Arizona, USA, on Thursday 12 March.
