The Little League World Series is officially back. Twenty teams — 10 from the U.S., 10 from around the world — have earned the right to play on the biggest stage. Who will emerge as household names? We'll begin to find out on Wednesday, as the first round gets underway in both the United States and International brackets.
There are four games on tap in total, two in each bracket. Here's everything to know as the opening batch of games begins on Aug. 19.
Latin America (Leon, Nicaragua) vs. Caribbean (Santiago, Dominican Republic)
- When: 1 p.m. ET
- How to watch: ESPN
- Stream: ESPN+
This is just the fourth time that Nicaragua will be represented in Williamsport, and the first time they'll be represented by the city of Leon. Ministerio Sobre Las Alas Del Aguila Little League stormed through the Latin America region, scoring double-digit runs in each of its first six games before narrowly edging Chile in the final to advance to the Little League World Series.
The road was a bit bumpier for the team from the Dominican Republic, which avenged a blowout loss to the Bahamas in pool play with a 2-0 win in the final. Caribbean qualifying is always rugged, so you know Santiago will be a battle-tested team.
Northwest (Tacoma, Wash.) vs. Southeast (Phenix City, Ala.)
- When: 3 p.m. ET
- How to watch: ESPN
- Stream: ESPN+
Washington is back in Williamsport for the sixth year in a row and the ninth time in the last 13, as Soundview avenged an early loss to Idaho in the Northwest Region tournament to capture the final by a score of 8-5. Francis McCabe is the name to know as arguably both the best pitcher and hitter on the Tacoma squad.
They'll be facing a Phenix City team that didn't drop a single game in a deep Southeast Region tournament, allowing just 12 runs total across four wins. Head coach Case Rasmus watched his older brothers and his dad win the U.S. title back in 1999. Now he's made it himself, in large part thanks to his niece Kinley — who is set to become the 25th female to ever play at Williamsport after pitching a shutout in the Southeast Region championship game.
Canada (Vancouver, BC) vs. Asia-Pacific (Seoul, South Korea)
- When: 5 p.m. ET
- How to watch: ESPN
- Stream: ESPN+
For my money, this might be the game of the day. Vancouver's Little Mountain Little League has become a mainstay in Williamsport, returning to the LLWS for the third time in the last five years after romping through the Canada Region undefeated. They allowed six runs across those eight games while scoring double-digit runs three times.
They'll open their tournament against a team from Seoul that shocked defending champions Chinese Taipei to win the Asia-Pacific Region, allowing just a single run all tournament. These are two legit contenders to make it all the way to the title game, and this matchup will teach us a lot about both.
New England (Bridgewater, Mass.) vs. Metro (Bayonne, NJ)
- When: 7 p.m. ET
- How to watch: ESPN
- Stream: ESPN+
This will mark the LLWS debut for Bridgewater, which won its three games in the New England Region by a combined score of 26-1. How much of that was due to the level of competition? We'll begin to find out on Wednesday, when they face off against a team from Bayonne that needed a four-run rally late in the Metro Region final to make it to Williamsport.
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