DR1 Daily News - Dominican Republic

The 2026 World Baseball Classic is officially underway, with Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) defeating Australia in the tournament’s first game, played by Pool C. 20 nations across four global venues are competing. The tournament features four pools (A, B, C, and D) with five teams each, battling in a round-robin format. The top two teams from each pool will advance to the quarterfinals and then the finals in single-elimination rounds.

The series opens with the teams playing four games to decide the top two who will then move to the quarterfinals.

In its final pool-by-pool preview, MLB released its official forecasts predicting which nations will survive the opening round.• Pool A (Hiram Bithorn Stadium – San Juan, Puerto Rico): MLB predicts host nation Puerto Rico and Canada will advance over Colombia, Cuba, and Panama.• Pool B (Daikin Park – Houston, Texas): MLB forecasts the...