World Baseball Classic 2013 TV Schedule, Latest Info on Qualifying Championships

The third annual World Baseball Classic is approaching and qualifying games are underway to determine who will join the 12 teams that have already accepted bids or won spots to join the tournament next year.

The WBC committee decided to expand the 12-man field to 16, and there are four qualifying tournaments that include four teams. Each team in their four-man group is vying for one of the last spots. The four winners of these qualifiers move on to the World Baseball Classic, to be held in March 2013.

All games can be streamed live via the World Baseball Classic website, which runs on the support of MLB.com, and you can also find full game replays and highlights from each contest.

Below, we'll look at the field in contention for these four tournaments, including the championship game schedule and what each bracket has to offer for fans.

Each tournament is a modified double elimination format, which means seeding for the final two games are based on how you do in the early part of your games.

Note: All game times are Eastern Standard Time (ET) unless otherwise noted in the text.

The Four Qualifying Tournaments

Qualifier 1: Jupiter, Florida - Roger Dean Stadium

Teams: Israel, South Africa, Spain, France

Championship Game: 

Sunday, Sept. 23, South Africa vs. Israel, 5 p.m.

Israel has already punched their ticket to the championship game, putting themselves in a nice position to be the 13th team in the final bracket. France and South Africa took their game to extra innings in pursuit of a bid for the championship

Qualifier 2: Regensburg, Germany - Armin-Wolf Baseball Arena

Teams: Great Britain, Germany, Czech Republic, Canada

Championship Game:

Monday, Sept. . 24 TBD vs. TBD, 1 p.m.

Germany has the inside track on the championship game, but will have to get through Great Britain and Canada to take home the last spot in this four-pack of action. Big time prospects for the Phillies (Tyson Gillies) and Rangers (Kellin Deglin) lead the way for Canada as they try to survive.

Qualifier 3: Panama City, Panama - Rod Carew National Stadium

Teams: Panama, Columbia, Brazil, Nicaragua

Championship Game:

Sunday, Nov. 18 TBD vs. TBD, 7 p.m.

The Panama region has some serious talent, and will kick off right before you start craving some Thanksgiving turkey. Brazil has announced that Barry Larkin, the former Reds shortstop and current MLB analyst, will be their manager for the qualifying round.

Qualifier 4: New Taipei City, Taiwan - Xinzhuang Stadium

Teams: Phillipines, New Zealand, Chinese Taipei, Thailand

Championship Game:

Sunday, Nov. 18 TBD vs. TBD 1 a.m.

Many expect Chinese Taipei to run away with this division, as they're ranked No. 8 in the world and boast talent no one has really seen much of, though we know that many baseball players of Asian descent have paved the way for successful careers in MLB.