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Miami Marlins home park loanDepot Park hosted the World Baseball Classic a few years ago. Attendance was very high for those games and there was a lot of excitement for those games. I remember those games and it was quite fun to watch, though I didn't actually attend any of the games themselves. The World Baseball Classic is now coming back in 2026.
loanDepot Park will host the World Baseball Classic in 2026.
The Miami Marlins don't sell out games usually, probably due to the team generally not being competitive enough for the fanbase. World Baseball Classic games on the other hand seem to draw a pretty good attendance as it's a major tournament. It certainly brings fans and proves that there is definitely a market for the game in Miami.
Two of the quarterfinals, both of the semifinals and the final will in fact be played in loanDepot Park in Miami. This is certainly exciting news. The quarterfinals will take place on March 13, 2026. The semifinals will take place on March 15, 2026 and March 16, 2026.
The final will take place on March 17, 2026. The tournament will of course take place weeks before the season will begin. It will be fun to see which of the players will participate, and which teams will be good this time around. There are four "pools" that have already been announced by the way.
Pool A consists of Cuba, Canada, Colombia, Puerto Rico and Panama. Pool B consists of the United States, Italy, Great Britain, Mexico and Brazil. Pool C consists of Australia, Czechia, Japan, South Korea and Chinese Taipei. Pool D consists of the Netherlands, Israel, Venezuela, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic.
We can already predicted that the USA and Japan will be two of the favorites to win the tournament. Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic will be the other favorites for sure as well. The other teams don't really have much of a chance, though Cuba should at least be somewhat competitive. Miami is of course the perfect city to host this tournament. Who do you think will win?