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The Little League World Series begins this afternoon with a 1 p.m. game at Volunteer Stadium between Nicaragua and Dominican Republic. The International field kicks off the 2026 Little League World Series and among the ten teams who qualified to get here, all of them want to make an impact for their respective regions and countries before the summer ends and they head back home.
All ten teams have talented players and hope to make their stay in South Williamsport a lengthy one.
Who's here this year? What teams are repeat qualifiers? A look at the ten squads who make up the International field:
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA
West Seoul (B) Little League of Seoul, South Korea went a perfect 6-0 at the Asia-Pacific Regional tournament to claim the regional title and head to the Little League World Series. South Korea knocked off perennially strong Chinese Taipei in the championship game, 3-1, showcasing South Korea's pitching and defensive talent to hold a good Chinese Taipei squad to just one run.
In the semifinals, South Korea cruised past the Phillippines, 10-0, and in total, South Korea outscored its opponents in its six regional games, 64-1. The Asia-Pacific champions can not only score runs at will, but defensively they're outstanding this year and the pitching depth has proven it can limit quality teams like it did throughout the regional tournament.
This year will be the eighth summer in which a South Korean team qualified for the Series and the first since 2019. South Korea has claimed three titles at the Series (2014, 1985, 1984) and is hoping 2026 will be the latest to add to that list.
This is the league's second trip to the Series in its history, the last coming in 2019.
SYDNEY, NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA
Ryde Little League didn't have to sweat it out in the Australia Regional championship game as the champions from Sydney, New South Wales, earned a convincing 9-3 win in the final over Central Firebirds, 9-3, to qualify this summer.
Ryde Little League went 6-1 at regionals and is heading to South Williamsport for the first time as a league.
Ryde Little League outscored its opponents at regionals, 47-25. The only team to hand Ryde Little League a loss at regionals was Cronulla Black, who beat the eventual champions in pool play, 10-0. Ryde shook that loss off and kept putting wins together en route to qualifying this year.
Ryde Little League had a tough pool competition wise this year, as no team in Pool A had less than three wins in a pool that featured Brisbane North (3-4), Canberra Rangers (3-4), Melbourne Rangers (3-4), Cronulla Black (4-3), Central Firebirds (5-2) and Ryde (6-1).
Wrap all that together, and it showed that Ryde Little League knew it had to battle every game in pool play if it wanted to advance.
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA
Little Mountain Little League of Vancouver, British Columbia is back at the Little League World Series for a second consecutive summer. The Canadian champions went 8-0 at the regional tournament and qualified for this year's World Series with a 4-0 win over Ottawa West Little League of Onatrio in the final.
At regionals, Vancouver, British Columbia outscored its opponents, 62-6. The Little Mountain Little Leaguers found themselves in a few close games at regionals despite that lopsided run differential, but those close games such as beating Quebec, 6-2; Alberta, 4-1; and Atlantic, 4-1, showed the team that they can compete in close games.
That's beneficial when the Series begins.
SANTIAGO,
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Los Nacionales Little League of Santiago, Dominican Republic claimed this summer's Caribbean Regional title with a tough 5-3 win against Aruba North Little League. Aruba qualified for last year's World Series and had a ton of success, reaching the Little League World Series International championship game.
Dominican Republic has been to the World Series ten times since 1978 and, despite being an extremely talented region for baseball at all levels, has never won the Little League World Series championship. The country finished runners-up in 1983, but has yet to win it all.
This year's team is hoping to be the one to break through.
Historically, the Caribbean Region has been strong with talented teams every summer. That means battling through the region itself is brutal.
The only team at regionals that beat Los Nacionales Little League was the Bahamas, 12-1, in the final game of pool play competition. After that, Santiago enacted revenge by beating the Bahamas in the semifinals a day later, 2-0, and then beat Aruba in the championship.
Dominican Republic throughout regionals showed it has a talented defense backing up its pitchers and that strength should shine through at the Series.
WILLEMSTAD, CURACAO
Paribea Little League is once again back at the Little League World Series. This is the fifth time the league has qualified, but the first time in 201 years after going 1-2 in 2016. This is also the 16th team from Curacao to make the trip to the World Series since its first appearance in 1980.
This year is the first summer that a team from Curacao has a direct entry to the World Series.
Pariba Little League won a best-of-seven championship series against Pabao Little League to secure a spot in South Williamsport in the International field.
The eventual Curacao champions went 5-3 in the three-team regional field overall. In the best-of-seven championship series, Pariba went 4-2. With the series tied up at 2-2 after Pabao earned a 4-2 win in the fourth game, Pariba rattled off back-to-back wins against Pabao, 6-2 and 5-2, to secure the championship.
Pariba Little League will be a team to keep an eye on in the international field coming from an always-strong region of Curacao. The league came to the Series in 2016, 2012, 2002 and 2001.
BRNO, CZECHIA
In the late 2010s and early 2020s, it was Italy which made consistent trips to South Williamsport as the Europe and Africa champions. But in 2022, that script flipped and it's been Brno, Czechia which has dominated that region.
This is Brno's fourth consecutive trip to the Little League World Series. As a country, Czechia has been to the World Series a total of six times.
Like other countries in the International field, Czechia was undefeated at regionals as South Czech Republic Little League finished regionals 6-0. Czechia beat Ukraine (7-1), Germany (11-5), Croatia (15-0), Lithuania (15-0), Belgium (1-0) and Spain (4-2) en route to qualifying for this years Series.
Those last two games showed Czechia can win close contests. There was little room for error in a 1-0 semifinal win over Belgium and just as little room for error against a talented Spain team in a 4-2 game.
Czechia has shown in the past few years that baseball has grown in the country and its players are looking to keep building their league and get better with each trip ot the Series.
Czechia will have to face either Canada or South Korea in their opener as the Europe and Africa champions have a bye.
TOKYO, JAPAN
Joining Little Mountain Little League of Vancouver, British Columbia and South Czech Republic Little League of Czechia, Joto Little League of Tokyo, Japan is another league who's back for a consecutive summer this year.
Last year, Japan finished the Series by going 2-2 in South Williamsport and there's no doubt the players who are on the team this year want to build off what Japan did last year and make a deeper run in the tournament.
At regionals, Joto went 4-0 to win the Japanese title.
These last two summers are special for Joto Little League after the league got a charter in 2022 as part of the country's Little League restructuring. It shows the talent the league had from the get go to qualify just three summers later.
Joto won the Japan title by beating Chiba in a rout, 22-5. In the semifinals, Joto beat Shizouka, 5-1.
LEON, NICARAGUA
Nicaragua is making the country's fourth-ever appearance at the Series as they captured the Latin America Regional championship this year with a 7-0 mark at the regional tournament.
Ministerio Sobre Las Alas Del Aguila Little League of Leon, Nicaragua got a charter this year and is now at the Series.
The league secured Nicaragua's first trip to the Series since 2022. The only times the nation has come to the Series prior to 2022 was in 1968 and 1970.
Ministerio Sobre Las Alas Del Aguila Little League won the regional title by beating Chile, 3-1, in the final. Nicaragua cruised past Guatemala A in the semifinals, 20-4.
Nicaragua finished 3-2 in 2022 at the Series and hope to duplicate that success and push even further into the tournament.
TIJUANA, MEXICO
Municipal de Tijuana Little League defeated Matamoros Little League, who has previously qualified for the Series, to win the Mexico Regional championship and head to South Williamsport. Tijuana had a strong regional showing overall by going 7-1 and claimed the league's third ticket to the Series.
It's the first time since 2023 that TIjuana's Municipal de Tijuana Little League has qualified, and third overall as the league also came to the Series in 2013. That 2013 team went 4-2 and took third place.
Mexico has strong teams routinely at the Series, but hasn't claimed the World Series title since 1997.
The Mexico Region saw a number of talented and strong teams, including Matamoros, who went 6-1 in Pool A alongside Tijuana, and Mexicali (4-2 in Pool B), San Nicolas de los Garza (4-2) and Sabinas (4-1). That speaks to the depth of good teams the Mexico Region has and how tough of a region it is to battle through.
Tijuana defeated San Uriel (10-0), San Nicolas (7-2), Cardel (11-0), Kora (3-0) and once reaching the semifinals, allowed just three runs total in its final two games by beating Seguro Social, 3-1, and Matamoros, 8-2.
The Mexico Region tournament lasts just seven days, and Tijuana had to play games every day. That means the Mexico Regional champions have not only good pitchers, but a lot of depth to play seven games in seven days and have the success they did overall.
CHIRIQUI, PANAMA
David Doleguita Little League earned the first berth at this year's Little League World Series tournament, doing so almost five months to the date ago.
It's been a long time off for Chiriqui, Panama, but the Panama Region champions are no doubt eager to play baseball and get things rolling in South Williamsport.
The Panama Region saw David Doleguita Little League play 14 total games and go 11-3 en route to wining a three-game championship series against Barrio Colon Little League of Panama Oeste, Panama, for the regional title.
This is the league's second-ever trip to South Williamsport, the first coming back in 1993, and it's Panama's 14th total appearance as a country. That 1993 team finished as runners-up to eventual champion Long Beach, California.
In regionals, Chiriqui lost the first game of the best-of-three championship series to Panama Oeste, 3-2, and bounced back for a thrilling 8-7 win in game two to force the winner-take-all final.
Bouncing back from that loss to earn a win and force a game three showed the guts the kids have to battle with their backs against the wall and never quit. That's something coaches can't teach, but are more than glad to see their players have that reaction to adversity and rise up.