Little League World Series 2023: Bracket Dates, Teams, TV Schedule and Format
Regional qualifying for the 2023 Little League World Series began back in February, and the field has been trimmed to a final 20 teams.
These are the best teams from around the world that youth baseball has to offer, and they'll face off in Williamsport, Pennsylvania in a bracket-style tournament. with the first games taking place on Wednesday, August 16.
The bracket finals are scheduled to take place on August 26 with the world championship game the following day.
Here's everything else you need to know about the 2023 Little League World Series.
2023 Little League World Series
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When: August 16-27
Where: South Williamsport, Pennsylvania
Teams: 20
TV: ESPN, ESPN2, ABC
2022 Champion: Honolulu Little League from Honolulu, Hawai'i
Key Dates
August 16: Round 1 Begins
August 17: Round 2 Begins
August 21: Round 3 Begins
August 23: Round 4 Begins
August 26: Bracket Finals
August 27: Championship Game, Third Place Game
Opening Round Schedule
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August 16
Africa vs. Panama, 1 p.m. ET, ESPN
Mountain vs. Metro, 3 p.m. ET, ESPN
Japan vs. Cuba, 5 p.m. ET, ESPN
Southwest vs. Mid-Atlantic, ESPN
August 17
Caribbean vs. Australia, 1 p.m. ET, ESPN
Northwest vs. New England, 3 p.m. ET, ESPN
Canada vs. Asia-Pacific, 5 p.m. ET, ESPN
West vs. Great Lakes, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2
August 18
Latin America vs. TBD, 1 p.m. ET, ESPN
Southeast vs. TBD, 3 p.m. ET, ESPN
Mexico vs. TBD, 5 p.m. ET, ESPN
Midwest vs. TBD, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN
*Full scheduling information can be found at LittleLeague.org
Format and Preview
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The 20-team double-elimination tournament features 10 teams from the United States and another 10 international teams. After the four-game opening round is played, teams will be separated into upper and lower brackets with winners remaining in the upper bracket.
Africa and Panama will kick off the action at 1 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Tennessee (representing the Southeast region), North Dakota (Midwest), Venezuela (Latin America) and Tijuana (Mexico) will receive byes into the upper second round.
In last year's tournament, Hawai'i defeated Curaçao for the championship. While the team from Hawai'i isn't back in the tournament, Pabao Little League of Willemstad Curaçao is back to make another run at a world title.
The 2022 tournament also saw the number of teams increase from 16 to 20.
Teams from the United States have won each of the last four tournaments—the 2020 edition was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and no international teams competed in 2021—with Tokyo Kitasuna Little League of Japan being the last non-American team to win in 2017.
Teams from the United States have won 38 editions of the 12-and-under tournament, with teams from California winning seven of them. Of the international teams, Chinese Taipei has the most with 17 wins, while Japan is second with 11 tournament victories.
The first iteration of the Little League World Series took place in 1947.
This year's tournament will be played at two stadiums in the Williamsport area. Howard J. Lamade Stadium is the primary venue and will host the championship game, while Volunteer Stadium will also host games.
It all gets underway on Wednesday, and baseball fans around the world can look forward to what should be another thrilling tournament.
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