World Baseball Classic 2023 venues, pools announced

By David Adler | July 7, 2022

Taichung, Tokyo, Phoenix and Miami will be the four host cities of the 2023 World Baseball Classic.

The World Baseball Classic announced the dates, stadiums and pools for the upcoming tournament on Thursday. WBC 2023 will open with pool play on March 8 in Taiwan, and it will end with the championship game on March 21 at loanDepot park in Miami.

The defending champion United States, which won the last Classic in 2017, will play in Pool C at Chase Field in Arizona against Canada, Mexico, Colombia and one to-be-determined team from the 2022 WBC Qualifiers.

Runner-up Puerto Rico will play in Pool D at loanDepot park against the 2013 champion Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Israel and a Qualifier winner. Two-time World Baseball Classic champion Japan will headline Pool B at the Tokyo Dome, which has been a host stadium for all four Classics.

The WBC 2023 field is expanding to 20 teams -- the 16 teams from the 2017 tournament plus four teams that advance from the Qualifiers.

Before WBC 2023 begins, the 2022 Qualifiers will determine the fifth team in each pool. The Qualifiers will be held at Armin-Wolf-Arena in Regensburg, Germany, from Sept. 16-21 and Rod Carew National Stadium in Panama City, Panama, from Sept. 30 to Oct. 5. Four teams will advance from the Qualifiers to the actual tournament.

Here's a breakdown of the four pools of the tournament.

POOL A (March 8-13)
Host: Taichung, Taiwan (Intercontinental Baseball Stadium)
Chinese Taipei
Cuba
Italy
The Kingdom of the Netherlands
TBD (winner of 2022 WBC Qualifier)

POOL B (March 9-13)
Host: Tokyo (Tokyo Dome)
Japan
Korea
China
Australia
TBD (winner of 2022 WBC Qualifier)

POOL C (March 11-15)
Host: Phoenix (Chase Field)
United States
Canada
Mexico
Colombia
TBD (winner of 2022 WBC Qualifier)

POOL D (March 11-15)
Host: Miami (loanDepot park)
Puerto Rico
Venezuela
Israel
Dominican Republic
TBD (winner of 2022 WBC Qualifier)

The top two teams from each pool will advance to the quarterfinals, which will be played at the Tokyo Dome and loanDepot park.

After that, the semifinals and finals will be played at loanDepot park from March 19-21.

QUARTERFINALS
Host 1: Tokyo (Tokyo Dome)
When: March 15-16
Teams: Top 2 teams from Pool A and B

Host 2: Miami (loanDepot park)
When: March 17-18
Teams: Top 2 teams from Pool C and D

SEMIFINALS AND FINALS
Host: Miami (loanDepot park)
When: March 19-21

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