WBSC, Tokyo 2020 reveal Olympic Baseball
groups and schedule
The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), in collaboration with Tokyo 2020 organizers, today 28 June 2021 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.”
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 12:00 p.m. Fukushima Azuma Baseball Stadium
Thu, 29 Jul: ISR vs. KOR 7:00 p.m. Yokohama Stadium
Fri, 30 Jul: MEX vs. DOM 12:00 p.m. Yokohama Stadium
USA vs ISR 7:00 p.m. Yokohama Stadium
Sat, 31 Jul: JPN vs. MEX 12:00 p.m. Yokohama Stadium
KOR vs. USA 7:00 p.m. Yokohama Stadium
The group stage results will only determine the seeding for the knockout stage.
The knockout stage (1-4 August) will feature a double-elimination format. The first-place teams from the group stage will skip the first round of games. Second- and third-place finishers will compete in the first round to access the winners' part of the draw.
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.
