Iconic Tokyo Dome to host WBSC flagship baseball tournament

Article posted by Coliseum, September 1^st, 2026

Image: Tokyo Dome, IQRemix, CC BY-SA 2.0

The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier12 will expand to 16 teams for the first time in 2027 thus introducing a new four-stage competition format culminating with the Super Round and the Medal Games at the iconic Tokyo Dome (Japan).

‘WORLD BASEBALL SOFTBALL CONFEDERATION’ stated that the Taipei City will play a major role in the opening two rounds while two coveted places at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games will also be at stake.

Pully (Switzerland)-based the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) is the international governing body for the sports of baseball, softball, baseball5, and blind baseball.

The WBSC Premier12 is a top-tier international baseball tournament organized by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC). It features the leading national baseball teams of the world and serves as one of the sport’s most prestigious global championships.

The 57,000-seat Tokyo Dome is an indoor stadium in Bunkyō, Tokyo (Japan).

The 2028 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXXIV Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 2028 or LA28, is an upcoming international multisport event scheduled to take place from July 14^th-30^th, 2028, in the United States. Los Angeles will be the host city with various events also scheduled to be held at the other cities spread across the Greater Los Angeles area plus two subsites in Oklahoma City.

Setting the Stage

‘WORLD BASEBALL SOFTBALL CONFEDERATION’ further stated that the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) unveiled the new competition format and key hosting details for the WBSC Premier12 2027 presented by RAXUS during a Premier12 presser held at the Grand Hilai Taipei (a luxury 26-story, five-star hotel in Taiwan) recently thus setting the stage for the biggest edition yet of the WBSC’s flagship baseball tournament.

Four-stage Format

With the Premier12 expanding from 12 to 16 teams for the first time the 2027 edition will introduce a new four-stage format featuring an Opening Round, the Second Round, the Super Round, and the Medal Round thus creating an expanded pathway for the world’s leading national teams to compete for one of international baseball’s most prestigious titles.

Major Hubs

Taipei City (Taiwan) and Tokyo will serve as two major hubs on that journey. The Chinese Taipei Baseball Association (CTBA) will host one Opening Round Group and one Second Round group in Taipei while the competition will culminate at the iconic Tokyo Dome with the four-team Super Round and the Medal Games.

Expanded Format

The expanded format will see the 16 participating teams divided into four Opening Round groups of four with the top two teams from each group advancing to the Second Round where they will then compete in two groups of four with the top two from each progressing to the Super Round in Tokyo.

Super Round

The journey will culminate at the Tokyo Dome where the world’s leading national teams will compete in the Super Round before the champions of the IV WBSC Premier12 are crowned on November 21^st, 2027.

The Rounds

The Opening Round will be played across two sets of dates with the TPE (Chinese Taipei [the designation used for the teams representing Taiwan/Republic of China]) groups scheduled from November 8^th-12^th and dates for the remaining groups to be confirmed. The Second Round will follow from November 13^th-15^th before the competition moves to Tokyo for the Super Round on November 18^th, 19^th and 20^th and the Medal Games on November 21^st, 2027.

Baseball Global Reach

Remarked Riccardo Fraccari, WBSC President, “The Premier12 is the flagship tournament of the WBSC and one of the most prestigious international tournaments in global baseball. We are extremely proud to see the Premier12 continue to grow with every edition. In 2027, the tournament will expand from 12 to 16 teams for the first time. This is an important milestone for the Premier12 and for our sport thus reflecting the growing strength, depth and global reach of baseball.”

Opening Round – Four Groups of Four

The IV WBSC Premier12 will feature 16 teams in the Opening Round. The field includes the top 12 teams in the WBSC/SHARP Men’s Baseball World Ranking as of December 31^st, 2025 – Japan, Chinese Taipei, USA, Korea, Venezuela, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Panama, the Netherlands, Cuba, Australia, and the Dominican Republic – along with the four teams advancing from the two qualifying tournaments.

Barcelona, Spain, will host the first qualifying tournament from October 9^th-11^th, 2026 with World No. 13 Colombia, No. 14 Italy, No. 17 Germany, and No. 26 Spain competing for two places in the Premier12.

The second qualifier will take place in Zhongshan, China, from November 26^th-28^th, 2026. The World No. 15 Nicaragua, No. 16 Czechia, No. 18 China, and No. 20 Great Britain will compete for the remaining two spots.

The 16 teams will then be divided into four Opening Round groups of four with the top two finishers from each group advancing to the Second Round. The Chinese Taipei Baseball Association (CTBA) will host one of the Opening Round groups at the Taipei Dome with the venues for the other three groups to be announced by the WBSC at a later date.

Second Round – Two Groups of Four

The CTBA will continue to play a key hosting role in the tournament staging one of the two Second Round groups with the host and the venue for the other group to be announced by the WBSC at a later date.

Every game in the Opening Round will be important with the result between the two teams advancing from the same Opening Round group carrying over and counting towards the Second Round standings.

Super Round and Medal Games at the Tokyo Dome

The top four Second Round teams will advance to the Super Round at the iconic Tokyo Dome where they will face each other once in a round-robin format. The final standings will determine the Medal Round with the top two teams competing for the Premier12 title and the third- and the fourth-place finishers playing for the bronze medal.

Olympic Qualifier

The WBSC Premier12 2027 presented by RAXUS will also award two tickets to the Men’s Baseball Tournament at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games to:

The highest-placed Asian team; and
The top team from Europe or Oceania.

Three teams have already qualified for the six-team Olympic Tournament.

The World No. 5 Venezuela, the new Baseball World Champions, and No. 12 the Dominican Republic earned their spot through the 2026 World Baseball Classic while No. 3 USA qualified automatically as the host country.

A six-team Final Qualifying Tournament will award the sixth and the final spot.

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