Eliminated International teams had great runs to get to LLWS
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Only two teams remain in contention for the International crown this year at the Little League World Series and a berth in Sunday's Little League World Series championship game.
There have to be winners and losers at the Series when it comes to the standings, and Santiago, Dominican Republic; Sydney, Australia; Chiriqui, Panama; and Brno, Czechia were all eliminated after 0-2 campaigns in South Williamsport.
But those respective regional champions all go back home as winners in the sense they got to reach the mountain top of youth baseball by competing at Volunteer Stadium as part of the Little League World Series, and they've had great stories they've written for their respective leagues.
Among them, Czechia wrote a great story for their hometown South Czech Republic Little League in Brno.
Historically, the Europe and Africa Region hasn't been strong at the Little League World Series and unfortunately has suffered early exits in late August. While this team also suffered an 0-2 fate, a closer look shows just how much Czechia has improved.
In 2025, this same Brno, Czechia league came to the Series and had just one hit through two games. On Monday in an elimination game against Tokyo, Japan, the Europe and Africa Regional champions collected five hits alone against a talented Joto Little League squad from Tokyo, Japan.
Czechia fell, but the team showed it can battle with good teams.
"That was what we were trying to teach our kids: the game ends with the last pitch, not before that. We think they played with their hearts and they really cared about the game," Czechia manager Michal Klimes said. "So we're happy about that."
Czechia fell to Japan by just one run, 3-2, and that comes just a few days after a tough 5-2 loss to a strong Seoul, South Korea team which Czechia pushed until the sixth inning against.
That momentum from the South Korea game carried into the game against Japan in terms of offensive production.
"We think we kindof built off of that moment from the first game against Korea. We were really focused about our hitting approach during all the practices we had," Klimes said. "But we kind of knew what to expect from this level fo pitching and it helped us. The kids knew what they would face against."
This is the fourth consecutive summer in whcih South Czech Republic Little League from Brno has come to the World Series as the Europe and Africa Regional. The league has become a power in Czechia and they're hoping to come back for a fifth summer next year.
And, if Brno returns, expect the league to get even better and build off 2026's successes.
"For sure we're going to bring more confidence (if we come back next year). We played against two powerhouses in the world and we were not that far away from winning one, maybe two games. So we think that we're going to bring home some of the confidence here," Klimes said. "But we strong believe when Czechia gets here next time, that they're going to win a game, at least one."
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
Ryde Little League didn't earn a victory this summer in South Williamsport, but the Australia Regional champions got to represent their hometown in Sydney and more importantly, represent their former 2021 team.
That squad in 2021 from Ryde Little league qualified for the tournament early in the year before it was announced the World Series would be a United States-only field. That meant Australia couldn't come and play despite qualifying.
Australia manager Paul Jones mentioned the day before the Series that this year's team played for that 2021 team and was representing them here as well.
Australia fell to a tough Mexico team, 7-1, in their opener before being eliminated by Canada, 4-0.
Jones noted this year that Ryde Little League is becoming a strong league in the Sydney region, so don't be surprised in the next few years to see them back here in South Williamsport.
SANTIAGO,
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
The Curacao Regional champions had a great game to open the Series this year by facing a strong Latin America Regional champion from Leon, Nicaragua and fell in that matchup, 2-1.
That game saw the Dominican Republic rally with a fifth-inning run to cut the deficit to 2-1 and the Curacao Regional champions kept battling, only to come up shy in the very end.
But that was a good matchup to open the Series on the first day of the tournament at Volunteer Stadium and it gave the fans in attendance a great game to watch.
Solid pitching stole the show as Clemente Sevilla Pichardo of Nicaragua threw 5 2/3 innings with 12 strikeouts and just four hits allowed while Jostin Vega Nunez relieved Christofer Pichardo and went 3 2/3 innings with seven strikeouts and just one hit allowed.
It may have been an early exit for the Dominican Republic, but nonetheless they had a great showdown with Nicaragua to be proud of.
CHIRIQUI, PANAMA
This was the first time in 33 years that David Doleguita Little League from Chiriqui, Panama qualified for the World Series. That's a long time between qualifications, but this year's squad was happy to get here and compete on the grandest stage.
The Panama champions suffered an elimination loss to Canada, but give credit to Panama, they had a great performance all around from its pitching.
Chiriqui, Panama's pitchers threw an outstanding game, yielding just one hit as Obed Fuentes was lights out, throwing six complete innings of no-hit baseball with 12 strikeouts and just two walks.
In relief, Dominick M. Saavedra Arauz had two strikeouts in one inning. But the seventh inning meant a runner started at second, and that led to three Canada runs and a loss.
But despite that elimination loss, Panama has nothing to be ashamed of and went out fighting tough.
"He was our No.1 pitcher in the rotation. I think it didn't go too well in his first outing (at Series), but he gave it a second chance today and he demonstrated how good of a pitcher he really is," Panama manager Edward Del Cid Peren said about Fuentes.
"I thin it was a matter of less nerves today," Peren said of the difference between the team's first game and second. "Nothing about concentration, just a little bit less nerves this game."
TIJUANA, MEXICO
Municpal De Tijuana Little League had a 1-2 run at the Series this year, beating Australia in its opener 7-1 before falling in back-to-back games.
First Mexico lost to a talented Nicaragua team in the winners' bracket, 8-4, before suffering a 3-1 loss to Japan in an elimination game on Tuesday in whcih Japan used eight singles and small-ball to get runs across the plate.
:It was a really good experience, congrats to team of Japan, they did it really well," Mexico manager Francisco Fimbres said. "We didn't hit very well, but congrats to Japan. It was a good experience and we're happy to be here."
Speaking to a few reporters following the elimination loss, including one from Mexico, Fimbres spoke about how proud he was of the team for getting them to the Series this year.
"I'm always so, so proud of the boys," Fimbres said. "They brought us here, so I'm so proud of them."
It didn't end with a long stay in South Williamsport, but Fimbres and Municipal De Tijuana Little League had a fantastic summer.
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA
South Korea competes in a very tough Asia-Pacific Regional tournament every year, battling other good teams including the always outstanding Chinese Taipei.
This year, South Korea got to the World Series and many had them as a favorite to get to the International final. South Korea ended up shy of that goal, however, after being upset by Canada in an elimination game on Tuesday at Volunteer Stadium, 5-1.
South Korea went 2-2 this summer, beating Canada (7-0) and Czechia (5-0) before falling in back-to-back games to Curacao, 1-0, and then Canada in a rematch.
"The game with Curacao, at that game there was some mistakes with pitching changes and our pitch count, but it didn't go well" South Korea assistant coach Jung Hwan Yoon said. "So we started to change pitchers (vs. Curacao)."
South Korea had some good arms in the tournament, but in the end they couldn't get some timely hits when needed, including twice leaving the bases loaded against Canada in the fourth and sixth innings, failing to bring in a run in those situations.
No matter what, however, Yoon and his coaches are glad with what South Korea's Little Leaguers accomplished.
"Me and the kids, this is our first time to be here to experience this amazing Series," Yoon said. "It was really good."
"We were eliminated earlier than we thought, but this is a positive experience and really amazing thing," Yoon continued. "We can practice more in Korea and do a better job when we get back to Korea."
VANCOUVER, CANADA
Just two times in Little League World Series tournament history has a team from Canada collected three or more wins. The first time happened in 1998. The second? This summer.
Little Mountain Little League made an outstanding mark this year for its league and solidied itself as one of the best Canada Regional champions to ever come to the Series. They finished as one of the Final Four in the International field and upset Panama and South Korea in back-to-back elimination games.
It was an outstanding summer, no matter how you wanna look at it.
"One big thing they really understand is yes, getting three wins is awesome, but at our organization, we put up a big plaque that goes onto the side of our clubhouse," Canada manager Brad Dorwart said. "They're so excited to see it go up and their names on it. They want to have their names up there with other names forever, as long as the build stands."
This year was Canada's best finish since 2017 when Canada reached the International semifinals. And Canada's Final Four berth is the third-best finish since 2000 after the 2017 and 2005 teams both reached the international semifinals with 2-2 records.
This was Little Mountain Little League's third appearance at the Series since 2022, and the program keeps producing talent year after year. Dorwart has been with the organization and league for 16 years, so don't be surprised if he finds his way back to the Series again.
LEON, NICARAGUA
The Latin America Regional champions had a strong start at the Series this year, but dropped their final two games, losing to the eventual two teams who reached the International final in Curacao and Japan.
It didn't end the way Leon, Nicaragua had hoped, especially after the Latin America Regional champions had a strong Series opener with a dominating pitching performance.
"It's a special experience for the team. They went hard and wanted to go further, but they played hard," Nicaragua manager Jose Gabriel Rodriguez Mayorga said.
Nicaragua opened the tournament beating the Dominican Republic (2-1), Panama (6-4) and Mexico (12-4) before Curacao cruised to a 12-3 win and Japan won a close game thanks to a three-run ffith inning, 4-1, to eliminate the Latin America Regional champions.
But Mayorga is glad to see his team reach these heights and get to the Series, something only a few kids can accomplish each summer.
"This is a very special group of kids," Mayorga said. "They could have been hitting better, but we fought hard and it was a great experience for them."
He also spoke of the fact youth baseball in Nicaragua keeps improving.
"Youth baseball in Nicaragua is really coming on (strong)," Mayorga said. "This tournament shows how it could have been different, but we're proud of this team. Youth baseball is coming up."