WBSC, Tokyo 2020 reveal Olympic Baseball groups and schedule

WBSC, Tokyo 2020 reveal Olympic Baseball groups and schedule
28/06/2021
The national teams of the Dominican Republic (visitors) and Japan (home) will officially open the competition at Fukushima Azuma Baseball Stadium on Wednesday, 28 July, at 12:00 p.m. JST.

PULLY, Switzerland -- The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), in collaboration with Tokyo 2020 organizers, today revealed the official groups and six-game opening round schedule of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic baseball tournament, following the latest update of the WBSC Baseball World Rankings and conclusion of the WBSC Baseball Final Qualifier in Puebla, Mexico.

World No. 1 Japan, No. 5 Mexico and No. 7 Dominican Republic will start the Tokyo 2020 tournament in Group A.

  • A1 Japan
  • A2 Mexico
  • A3 Dominican Republic

The 2008 defending Olympic gold medallists, world No. 3 Korea, as well as No. 4 USA and No. 24 Israel will compete in Group B.

  • B1 Korea
  • B2 USA
  • B3 Israel

“With less than 30 days to the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, the six national teams now know their road to gold and their path to realise their Olympic dreams,” said WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari. “The return of Olympic baseball, and that in a baseball capital like Japan, promises to shine a spectacular spotlight on these Olympic Games, our sport and our talented athletes.”

Tokyo 2020 – Olympic Baseball

TOKYO 2020 BASEBALL SCHEDULE

The national teams of the Dominican Republic (visitors) and Japan (home) will officially open the competition at Fukushima Azuma Baseball Stadium on Wednesday, 28 July, at 12:00 p.m. JST. The tournament will then shift to the main venue, Yokohama Stadium, which is home to the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).

DATE                     Game                    Time                      Venue

  • Wed, 28 Jul: DOM vs. JPN at 12:00 p.m. - Fukushima Azuma Baseball Stadium
  • Thu, 29 Jul: ISR vs. KOR at 7:00 p.m. - Yokohama Stadium
  • Fri, 30 Jul: MEX vs. DOM at 12:00 p.m. - Yokohama Stadium
  • Fri, 30 Jul USA vs ISR at 7:00 p.m. - Yokohama Stadium
  • Sat, 31 Jul: JPN vs. MEX at 12:00 p.m. - Yokohama Stadium
  • Sat, 31 Jul: KOR vs. USA at 7:00 p.m. - Yokohama Stadium

The group stage results will only determine the seeding for the knockout stage.

Tokyo 2020 – Olympic Baseball

Knockout Stage

The knockout stage will take place from 1-4 August and have a double-elimination format. The first-place teams from the group stage will advance directly into what is essentially a quarterfinal on Monday, 2 August. The two second-place finishers from the opening round and the two third-place finishers will play each other on Sunday, 1 August, to open the knockout stage, with the winners of those two contests advancing to the other quarterfinal. The losers' bracket will give another chance for teams to advance.

Semifinals

Winners of the two quarterfinals will meet in the first semifinal game on Wednesday, 4 August, which will send one team to the gold medal game, while the loser will be placed in the second semifinal on Thursday, 5 August. The teams advancing from losers' bracket will determine the other semifinalist.

The medal games are scheduled for Saturday, 7 August.