Little League World Series 2018: Bracket Schedule, TV Info, Round 1 Predictions

The field is set for the 2018 Little League World Series, and this year's event will begin from Williamsport, Pennsylvania, on Thursday.

The tournament is set up in a double-elimination format, with eight teams from the United States on one side of the bracket and eight international teams on the other side.

Here's a look at this year's participants:

U.S. Region/Team	Int. Region/Team
Great Lakes/Grosse Pointe Woods, MI	Asia-Pacific/Seoul, South Korea
Mid-Atlantic/Staten Island, NY	Australia/Gold Coast, Queensland
Midwest/Des Moines, IA	Canada/Surrey, British Columbia
New England/Coventry, RI	Caribbean/Guayama, Puerto Rico
Northwest/Couer d'Alene, ID	Europe-Africa/Barcelona, Spain
Southeast/Peachtree City, GA	Japan/Kawaguchi, Japan
Southwest/Houston, TX	Latin American/Arraijan, Panama
West/Honolulu, HI	Mexico/Matamoros, Tamaulipas

The tournament opens with four games on Thursday—two on the American side of the bracket and two on the international side of the bracket.

Here's all the necessary info for Thursday's action:

Matchup	Time (ET)	TV
Guyama, Puerto Rico vs. Seoul, South Korea	1 p.m.	ESPN
Staten Island, New York vs. Des Moines, Iowa	3 p.m.	ESPN
Matamoros, Tamaulipas vs. Gold Coast, Queensland	5 p.m.	ESPN
Coventry, Rhode Island vs. Houston, Texas	7 p.m.	ESPN2

Predictions

The first game of the tournament will feature the Radames Lopez Little League team from Guayama, Puerto Rico, squaring off against the South Seoul Little League team.

Minnesota Twins outfielder Eddie Rosario is an alumnus of the Radames Lopez team, which tallied three shutout wins during its 8-0 showing in the Caribbean Region Tournament. They'll take on a team from Seoul that also tossed three consecutive shutouts of their own during a 5-0 performance in the Asia-Pacific Region Tournament.

We'll say the team from Seoul, who won the title in 2014, comes out on top.

Next up will be the first game from the American side of the bracket, which pits the Mid-Island team from Staten Island, New York, against the Grandview team from Des Moines, Iowa.

Gregory Bruno tossed a perfect game in the Mid-Atlantic Regional final for the Staten Island squad. With him on the mound in the opener, and an offense that outscored opponents 138-16 in their 12-0 run to clinch their spot in Williamsport, the Mid-Island squad looks to have a leg up.

The third game pits Matamoros Little League from the Mexico Region against the Gold Coast Little League from the Australia Region in the second international matchup of the day.

Oscar Hyde twirled a no-hitter in an 11-0 victory for the Gold Coast team in the regional finals, and we'll project a win for the Australia team in opening-round action.

Thursday's matchups will conclude with Coventry Little League from the New England Region and Post Oak Little League from the Southwest Region battling it out.

Jack Marrion of the Houston Chronicle wrote: "POLL is hardly new to postseason success, including a Southwest championship from its 2013 Intermediate all-stars. During a 15-year span ending in 2017, the organization won 23 district titles, 17 section championships, two sub-section championships (9-and-under) and seven state championships."

So we'll give the team from Houston the advantage in the opener.