The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) today announced the Group A and Group B game schedules for the Premier12 2024 presented by RAXUS, the biggest international baseball event of the year.
World No. 2 Mexico will host Group A in Guadalajara and
Tepic where they will face No. 3 USA, No. 6 Venezuela, No. 7 Netherlands, No.
10 Panama and No. 12 Puerto Rico.
Group A will open with three games on Saturday, 9 November as
well as on 10 and 14 November. Two games are scheduled for 11, 12 and 13
November.
The opening game, Netherlands vs Panama, is scheduled for
13:00 at the Estadio Panamericano in Guadalajara. Puerto Rico and USA will take
the field at 16:00 at the Santa Teresita Stadium in Tepic. Mexico will take on Venezuela
at 20:00 in Guadalajara to complete the opening day’s play. All times are
local.
Mexico and USA will play Group A's final game at the Estadio Panamericano on Thursday, 14 November, at 20:00 (local time).
World No. 1 Japan and No. 5 Chinese Taipei will host Group B
in three different venues: the Vantelin Dome Nagoya, Tianmu Stadium and the
Taipei Dome in Taipei. They will face No. 4 Korea, No. 8 Cuba, No. 9 Dominican
Republic and No. 11 Australia.
Japan will host Australia for the inaugural game at the Vantelin
Dome Nagoya on Wednesday, 13 November, at 19:00 local time, 18:00 in Taiwan.
Two games are scheduled at 18:30 (Taiwan time): Dominican Republic vs. Cuba (Tianmu
Stadium) and Korea vs. Chinese Taipei (Taipei Dome).
Two games per day are scheduled for 14, 15 and 17 November
and three games will be played on 16 and 18 November.
"Today is another exciting day in the buildup to the Premier12 - the WBSC's flagship tournament," said WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari. "From the opening game between the Netherlands and Panama in Mexico to the final on 24 November in Tokyo, Japan, the pathway is now set for Premier12 glory, showcasing the best of international baseball along the way."
The full opening round schedule of the Premier12 2024 presented by RAXUS, consists of a total of 30 games — 15 games per group. After round-robin play, the top two finishers of each group will compete in the Super Round. The first and second-place teams of the Super Round will compete in the Premier12 Championship game, while the third and fourth-place finishers will play for the bronze medal.
The Tokyo Dome in Japan will host the Super Round (21-23 November) and the medal games on 24 November.
The Premier12, the WBSC's flagship event, is the most important baseball tournament of 2024. The 12 participants qualified through the WBSC/KONAMI World Rankings.