U23 World Championship 2018: Groups announced
By winning the U23 European Championship last year, the Kingdom of the Netherlands qualified for the 2018 U23 World Championship. Today, the WBSC announced the groups of the upcoming tournament. The Kingdom of the Netherlands will play in group A.
The group the Dutch will play in is a tough one but not the toughest one. In Japan, Taiwan, Columbia and Mexico, the Dutch will have some formidable opponents with players from professional leagues. Only South Africa is an opponent that is certainly weaker than the Dutch (but let’s not underestimate them).
Group B contains the following countries: Korea, Australia, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela and the Czech Republic, the runner-up of the 2017 U23 European Championship.
Group A competitions will take place at the newly inaugurated US$ 33 million, 12,000-seat Edgar Renteria Baseball Stadium in Barranquilla.
¡Llegó el gran momento! Hoy la @alcaldiabquilla dará apertura al nuevo Estadio de Béisbol Édgar Rentería, homenajeando así al ‘Niño de Barranquilla’ @HitRenteria. Todos los barranquilleros estan listos para la gran historia que comienza en el béisbol. #BarranquillaEsGrandesLigas pic.twitter.com/x8UZqnzmjo
— Barranquilla 2018 (@Bquilla2018) May 31, 2018
Group B will play at June 18 Baseball Stadium (Estadio de Beisbol 18 de Junio), home of the Colombian Professional Baseball League’s Leones de Montería.
The winner of the U23 Baseball World Championship will be awarded 690 points for the world ranking. This is the largest number of points linked to a baseball tournament this year. It is the third largest after the World Baseball Classic and the Premier 12 tournament.