A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
 Semi-final game between Japan and South Korea | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Countries | Japan Taiwan |
| Dates | November 8–21 |
| Teams | 12 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  South Korea (1st title) |
| Runner-up |  United States |
| Third place |  Japan |
| Fourth place |  Mexico |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Games played | 38 |
| Attendance | 235,951 (6,209 per game) |
| MVP | Kim Hyun-soo |
The 2015 WBSC Premier12 was an international baseball championship sponsored by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), the inaugural event of the WBSC Premier12. It was held from November 8 to 21 in Taiwan and Japan.[1] The South Korean national team won the championship, and split a US$1 million prize.[2][3]
The top twelve teams in the WBSC World Rankings qualified to participate in the tournament, which began with two groups of six teams playing in a round-robin format for the first round. The tournament then continued with the top four teams in each group playing in the knockout stage, leading to the championship game.[1] In the final, South Korea defeated United States 8–0 to win their first WBSC Premier12 title, and became the first nation to win the championship.[4][5][6] Japan finished in third place, while Mexico finished in fourth place.[7] South Korea's Hyun-soo Kim won the Most Valuable Player Award. Shohei Ohtani of Japan had the lowest earned run average of the tournament, and Hayato Sakamoto, also of Japan, was named the tournament's most outstanding defensive player.[5] The next edition 2019 WBSC Premier12 will be hosted in Japan[8]
Teams
| Top 12 Rankings as of November 22, 2014[9] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Team | Points | Confederation |
| 1 | Japan |
785.18 | BFA |
| 2 | United States |
766.02 | COPABE |
| 3 |  Cuba |
662.98 | COPABE |
| 4 |  Chinese Taipei |
605.48 | BFA |
| 5 |  Netherlands |
433.50 | CEB |
| 6 |  Dominican Republic |
379.18 | COPABE |
| 7 |  Canada |
353.52 | COPABE |
| 8 | South Korea |
340.90 | BFA |
| 9 |  Puerto Rico |
291.50 | COPABE |
| 10 |  Venezuela |
269.00 | COPABE |
| 11 |  Italy |
196.18 | CEB |
| 12 | Mexico |
136.78 | COPABE |
The twelve highest-ranked national teams (as of the 2014 end-of-the-year world rankings) qualified to participate in the inaugural 2015 WBSC Premier 12, based on the most recent WBSC World Rankings, which were updated on November 22, 2014.[10] The membership in the top twelve in the world rankings, which are updated only once every year, was unchanged from 2013. In fact, there was no movement at all between the 7th and 15th positions in the rankings.
Players
The majority of teams in the tournament missed the October 10 deadline for submitting rosters.[11] Major League Baseball (MLB), which sponsors the World Baseball Classic, declined to allow players on MLB 40-man rosters to participate in the tournament.[12] The final rosters included a mix of MLB prospects (such as Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Brett Phillips and Chicago White Sox outfielder Jacob May for the United States), former MLB veterans (such as Curaçaoan infielder Andruw Jones and Dominican infielder Pedro Feliz) and non-MLB stars (including Japanese pitchers Shohei Ohtani and South Korean infielder Park Byung-ho).[11]
Format
For the first stage, the twelve teams were divided into two groups of six. Each team played five games in a round robin format.[10] With the exception of the first game of the tournament, a contest between Japan and South Korea at the Sapporo Dome, Taiwan hosted all games in the group stage at four different ballparks.[13]
The top four teams from each group then advanced to a single-elimination tournament. The semifinal and final round were held in Japan while the location of the quarterfinal, the first round of the playoff stage, was initially undetermined.[14] Thirty-eight games were played over fourteen days, culminating in the consolation game and championship game at the Tokyo Dome on the final day of the tournament.[15]
Broadcast
Fox Sports was awarded broadcast rights in Cyprus, Greece, Israel, Italy, Malta, Netherlands and Turkey. Dutch public broadcast network NOS will also air the tournament in the Netherlands. Rights were also awarded to Eleven Sports Network in Belgium, Poland, Singapore and Malaysia; beIN Sports in Indonesia, Singapore and Oceania; LeTV and PPTV in China; Sky Net in Myanmar; Solar TV in the Philippines; i-CABLE in Hong Kong; OSN in the Middle East and North Africa; SBS in South Korea; Videoland in Taiwan; CIRT in Cuba; and Sportsnet in Canada. In Japan, Tokyo Broadcasting System Television, TV Asahi and J Sports will all be carrying the tournament.[16]
For areas not covered by the event's broadcast partners, the event will be livestreamed for free on the WBSC's YouTube channel.[16]
Venues
| Group A | Group A and Quarterfinals | Group B |
|---|---|---|
 Douliu, Taiwan
|
Taichung, Taiwan
|
Tianmu, Taiwan
|
| Douliu Baseball Stadium | Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium | Tianmu Baseball Stadium |
| Capacity: 15,000 | Capacity: 20,000 | Capacity: 10,500 |
|
|
|
| Group B and Quarterfinals | Group B | Semifinals and Finals |
|---|---|---|
| Taoyuan, Taiwan
|
Sapporo, Japan
|
Tokyo, Japan
|
| Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium | Sapporo Dome | Tokyo Dome |
| Capacity: 20,000 | Capacity: 40,467 | Capacity: 46,000 |
|
|
|
Group stage
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | RF | RA | RD | PCT | GB | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Canada
|
5 | 5 | 0 | 23 | 10 | +13 | 1.000 | — | Advance to playoff stage |
| 2 | Cuba
|
5 | 3 | 2 | 18 | 22 | −4 | .600[a] | 2 | |
| 3 | Netherlands
|
5 | 3 | 2 | 40 | 21 | +19 | .600[a] | 2 | |
| 4 | Puerto Rico
|
5 | 2 | 3 | 28 | 26 | +2 | .400[b] | 3 | |
| 5 | Chinese Taipei (H)
|
5 | 2 | 3 | 27 | 25 | +2 | .400[b] | 3 | |
| 6 | Italy
|
5 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 36 | −32 | .000 | 5 |