Little League World Series 2023: Updated US, International Brackets and Schedule
The field of 20 teams for the 2023 Little League World Series has been whittled down to the final four. Two elimination games were played on Thursday, with Pabao Little League of Curaçao (Caribbean Region) and El Segundo Little League of California (West Region) advancing.
Curaçao will take on Kuei-Shan Little League of Chinese Taipei (Asia Pacific Region) in the final of the international bracket. California will face Needville Little League of Needville, Texas (Southwest Region) in the United States bracket final.
The winners of the two brackets will then go head-to-head on Sunday in the LLWS Championship Game. The runners-up will play in the third-place game.
Here's a look at how to watch the remaining LLWS action, along with a quick preview and predictions for the next round.
Remaining LLWS Schedule
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Saturday, August 26
International Championship
Who: Asia-Pacific Region vs. Caribbean Region
Time: 12:30 p.m. ET
TV: ABC
United States Championship
Who: Southwest Region vs. West Region
Time: 5:30 p.m. ET
TV: ABC
Sunday, August 27
Third-Place Game
Who: TBD vs. TBD
Time: 11 a.m. ET
TV: ESPN
LLBB World Series
Who: TBD vs. TBD
Time: 3 p.m. ET
TV: ABC
International Bracket Championship
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Curaçao is back in a very familiar position after defeating Municipal de Tijuana Little League (Mexico Region) 4-2 on Thursday.
The 2022 international champion and Little League World Series runner-up advanced through four rounds in the lower bracket last year before reaching the international final. The Caribbean representatives spent much more time in the upper bracket this year before losing to Chinese Taipei in the upper final.
Yet again, though Curaçao has emerged from the lower bracket to be one of the last two international teams standing.
Curaçao's rematch with Chinese Taipei is a daunting one. While the Caribbean team has been the only team to score on the Asia-Pacific squad in this tournament, Wednesday's loss in the first meeting was still a one-sided affair.
Chinese Taipei rode a six-run fifth inning to pull away from Curaçao in a decisive 9-1 victory.
Round 2 may not go much differently. In addition to having a well-rounded squad and two days off, Chinese Taipei boasts the star of the tournament in two-way phenom Fan Chen-Jun.
"He has the speed, he has the coordination, he has the jumping ability," manager Lee Cheng-Ta said, per Max Ralph of the Associated Press. "...He has a lot of future to come in his baseball career."
Expect Curaçao to put up a fight, but this Asia-Pacific team may be too tough for anyone in the field to handle.
Prediction: Asia-Pacific Region 8. Caribbean Region 2
United States Bracket Championship
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Needville Little League earned its spot in the United States final with a 1-0 win over Washington on Wednesday.
Wednesday's game was the epitome of a defensive battle, as the two teams combined for 29 strikeouts and only nine hits in nine innings. A sacrifice fly from Easton Ondruch, who also pitched in relief, broke the 0-0 deadlock.
"Ondruch tonight was huge. If I was 12, I would consider that a heck of a game."coach Andy McRae said, per Adam Zuvanich of Houston Public Media.
Efficient pitching and strong defense has been Texas' key for most of the tournament, as the squad has won three of four games by a combined 6-3 margin.
Needville's 6-2 win over Fargo Little League in upper Round 2 was an outlier.
There will be no rematch of the upper final after California outlasted Washington's Northeast Seattle Little League (Northwest Region) 201 on Thursday. However, Texas did face California a mere two rounds ago.
That was another low-scoring contest, with Texas getting off to a fast start with a two-run first inning. From there, Needville leaned on its defense to eke out a 3-1 win.
Expect a similarly low-scoring game with both defenses settling in quickly. These are now familiar foes, and the team that makes the fewest mistakes is likely to hold an early advantage.
Prediction: West Region 3, Southwest Region 2
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