The official competition schedule for this month’s Under-23 Baseball World Cup in Mexican city Monterrey has been announced by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC).
The inaugural edition of the event, which is due to take place from October 28 to November 6, is the top international baseball tournament of the year and will feature a total of 50 matches, starting with a 30-game group stage.
The opening day of action sees three matches played in both Group A and Group B.
In Group A, the top-ranked nation in Africa will meet South America's equivalent as South Africa go up against Venezuela.
South Korea, bronze medallists at the 2014 Under-21 Baseball World Cup, open up their campaign against Czech Republic, while hosts Mexico meet Panama.
Favourites Japan go up against Nicaragua in Group B, which also features a match between World Cup debutants Austria and Oceania’s highest-ranked nation Australia.
Completing the line-up is a clash between Chinese Taipei, who beat Japan to the gold medal at the 2014 Under-21 Baseball World Cup, and Argentina.
Following the opening round, the top three finishers from both Group A and Group B will battle it out in the nine-game super round.
Wins and losses against nations that have been eliminated in the opening round will not apply to the super round standings.
Alongside the super round, a consolation round will be staged to determine seventh to 12th place.
The top two teams emerging from the super round will meet for the title of world champion on November 6 with the bronze medal match taking place earlier that same day.
The winning nation will be awarded 690 world ranking points - the third-largest award, following the top-tier international flagship competitions the Premier12 and the World Baseball Classic.
The silver and bronze medallists will receive 551 points and 502 points respectively, with 453 going to fourth, 404 to fifth, 355 to sixth, 305 to seventh, 256 to eighth, 207 to ninth, 158 to 10th, 109 to 11th, and 60 to 12th.
The 16,000-seat Estadio Francisco I. Madero, home of Mexican Baseball League (LMB) club Saraperos de Saltillo, has been added to the line-up of venues for the Under-23 Baseball World Cup.
The venue was renovated in 2011 and features the largest high-definition video scoreboard in Latin America at 14 metres x 22m.
It will join the 27,000-seat Estadio de Béisbol Monterrey, home of LMB club Sultanes de Monterrey, and Estadio de Béisbol Polideportivo Tigres as the three sites.
The Under-23 Baseball World Cup is an expansion of the Under-21 Baseball World Cup, which was launched in 2014.
The full schedule can be accessed by clicking here.
The official microsite of the Under-23 Baseball World Cup has also been launched in five languages, including English, Japanese, Korean, Spanish and Traditional Chinese.
It can be accessed by clicking here.
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