LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- The World Baseball Softball Confederation today unveiled the official game schedule for theÂ
WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup® 2017, which will be staged from 1-10 September in Thunder Bay, Canada.
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Baseball's 28th U-18 world championship will be contested over 50 games and three stages: Opening Round (Group Stage), Super Round and World Championship Medal Round.
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A record nine Top 10 countries have qualified into the 12-nation, premier youth baseball global tournament, which will feature the best 16- to 18-year-old baseball players and future stars/first-round draft picks from around the world.
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Opening Round - Day 1
Game 1: World No. 1 Japan, Asia's U-18 champions, and Americas powerhouse Mexico will collide to officially open the tournament. Japan has captured the silver medal in the last two U-18 Baseball World Cups (2015 and 2013).
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Game 2: European U-18 runners-up Italy will take on Central America's Nicaragua.
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Game 3: In a rematch of the U-18 Baseball World Cup 2015 bronze medal game, Oceania U-18 champions Australia and world No. 3 Korea will open together.
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Game 4: Three-time defending U-18 world champions United States will open against European U-18 champions Netherlands.
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Game 5: World No. 10 Canada and Asia U-18 runners-up/world No. 4 Chinese Taipei will meet on Day 1. In their last meeting at the U-18 Baseball World Cup 2015, Canada defeated Chinese Taipei, 6-2.
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Game 6: International baseball powerhouse Cuba will open against Africa's top-ranked baseball nation, South Africa. The Cuban U-18 National Baseball Team has won the junior world title a leading 11 times.
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Day 2 will feature the much-anticipated re-match of the last two U-18 Baseball World Cup Finals, Japan versus the United States -- the U.S. won the world championship contests both times by one run (2-1 in 2015 and 3-2 in 2013).
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Super Round
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Following the 30-game Opening Round, the top three finishers from Group A will battle the top three finishers from Group B in a three-day Super Round. A Consolation Round will be staged for 7th to 12th Place.
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World Championship Medal Round
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The two nations with the best records following the Super Round will play For the Title of World Champion on Sunday, 10 September, at 17:00. The 3rd/4th Place Bronze Medal Match will be staged at 12:00.
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At the last U-18 Baseball World Cup, the finale attracted over 15,000 fans to historic Koshien Stadium in Osaka and its prime-time broadcast was the day'sÂ
most watched TV programme in host nation Japan, while online viewers from 93 countries and territories followed via live-stream.
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Broadcast schedule/live-streaming details will be announced in an upcoming news release.
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