World Baseball Classic 2026 Kicks Off This Week

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The 2026 World Baseball Classic is set to begin this week, with the action kicking off on Thursday, March 5 and running through Tuesday, March 17. The tournament features many of the top MLB players representing their national teams, including 16 players from the Philadelphia Phillies. The United States will look to avenge its loss to Japan in the 2023 finals, with the US, Japan, the Dominican Republic, and Venezuela considered favorites to win the tournament. This year's WBC also has an added twist, with the top two finishers automatically qualifying for the 2028 Olympics.

Why it matters

The World Baseball Classic is a premier international baseball tournament that showcases the sport's top talent from around the world. With Olympic qualification on the line, this year's edition of the WBC carries even higher stakes for the participating teams and their fans.

The details

The World Baseball Classic will air in the United States on FOX, FS1, FS2, the FOX Sports App, FOX One and Tubi. The tournament will feature a pool play round-robin format, with the top two teams in each of the four pools advancing to the quarterfinals. The knockout round will last just under a week, with the WBC final taking place on March 17 in Miami.

• The 2026 World Baseball Classic begins Thursday, March 5 and lasts through Tuesday, March 17.
• The pool play round-robin portion gets underway on Wednesday, March 4, with Taiwan playing Australia in Tokyo at 10 p.m. ET to kick off the tournament.