Today begins the 2025 Little League World Series, in which 20 teams from around the globe will gather in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, to compete for the highest honor in youth baseball. The tournament will feature 10 teams from the United States and 10 international teams, with each region featuring the best Little League club from that area.
So what's the deal? Why do teams spanning all corners of this massive planet congregate in Williamsport, of all places? Well, it's simple: That's where it all started.
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Why is the LLWS in Williamsport?
The Little League program was founded in 1939 right in Williamsport by Carl E. Stotz, a local oil clerk. The first-ever Little League World Series, held eight years after the league's inception in 1947, featured only Pennsylvania-based teams, and was played at Original Field at Memorial Park in Williamsport, per the LLWS official website.
A few years after the initial World Series tournament, won by a local Williamsport-area team, the Little League program had spread like wildfire across 48 U.S. states. In 1950, the first non-U.S. Little League teams were established in Panama, Canada and Hawai'i.
Now there are Little League teams in 80 countries on six continents, made up of approximately two million boys and girls worldwide, per the website. And every summer, around this time, the best of the best still migrate to Williamsport for the high-stakes tournament.
When's the last time an international team won the LLWS?
Teams from 44 U.S. States and 29 countries have sent teams to participate in the LLWS. The United States has won 40 of the 77 LLWS tournaments to date, with 2025 marking the 78th annual edition. That means 37 belong to the following countries, per the LLWS website: Curaçao, South Korea, Mexico, Venezuela, Japan, Chinese Taipei.
Taiwan claims the most international LLWS victories (17), with Japan a close second (11).
The last international team to win the LLWS was Tokyo-Kitasuna, Japan, which beat Lufkin, Texas, in the 2017 championship game.
Complete list of past LLWS winners
Here the full list of winning teams from the LLWS, dating back to 1947.
Year | LLWS Champion |
|---|---|
2024 | Lake Mary, Florida |
2023 | El Segundo, California |
2022 | Honolulu, Hawai'i |
2021 | Taylor, Michigan |
2020 | N/A (COVID-19) |
2019 | River Ridge, Louisiana |
2018 | Honolulu, Hawai'i |
2017 | Tokyo-Kitasuna, Japan |
2016 | Maine-Endwell, New York |
2015 | Tokyo-Kitasuna, Japan |
2014 | Seoul, South Korea |
2013 | Tokyo-Kitasuna, Japan |
2012 | Tokyo-Kitasuna, Japan |
2011 | Huntington Beach, California |
2010 | Edogawa Minami, Tokyo, Japan |
2009 | Chula Vista, California |
2008 | Waipahu, Hawai'i |
2007 | Warner Robins, Georgia |
2006 | Columbus, Georgia |
2005 | 'Ewa Beach, Hawai'i |
2004 | Willemstad, Curaçao |
2003 | Musashi-Fushū, Tokyo, Japan |
2002 | Louisville, Kentucky |
2001 | Tokyo-Kitasuna, Japan |
2000 | Maracaibo, Venezuela |
1999 | Hirakata, Osaka, Japan |
1998 | Toms River, New Jersey |
1997 | Guadalupe, Neuvo León, Mexico |
1996 | Koahsiung, Taiwan |
1995 | Tainan, Taiwan |
1994 | Maracaibo, Venezuela |
1993 | Long Beach, California |
1992 | Long Beach, California |
1991 | Taichung, Taiwan |
1990 | Tainan, Taiwan |
1989 | Trumbull, Connecticut |
1988 | Taichung, Taiwan |
1987 | Hualien, Taiwan |
1986 | Tainan, Taiwan |
1985 | Seoul, South Korea |
1984 | Seoul, South Korea |
1983 | Marietta, Georgia |
1982 | Kirkland, Washington |
1981 | Taichung, Taiwan |
1980 | Hualien, Taiwan |
1979 | Taipei, Taiwan |
1978 | Pingtung, Taiwan |
1977 | Koahsiung, Taiwan |
1976 | Chōfu, Tokyo, Japan |
1975 | Lakewood, New Jersey |
1974 | Kaohsiung, Taiwan |
1973 | Tainan, Taiwan |
1972 | Taipei, Taiwan |
1971 | Tainan, Taiwan |
1970 | Wayne, New Jersey |
1969 | Taichung, Taiwan |
1968 | Wakayama, Osaka, Japan |
1967 | West Tokyo, Japan |
1966 | Houston, Texas |
1965 | Windsor Locks, Connecticut |
1964 | Staten Island, New York |
1963 | Granada Hills, California |
1962 | San Jose, California |
1961 | El Cajon, California |
1960 | Levittown, Pennsylvania |
1959 | Hamtramck, Michigan |
1958 | Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico |
1957 | Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico |
1956 | Roswell, New Mexico |
1955 | Morrisville, Pennsylvania |
1954 | Schenectady, New York |
1953 | Birmingham, Alabama |
1952 | Norwalk, Connecticut |
1951 | Stamford, Connecticut |
1950 | Houston, Texas |
1949 | Hammonton, New Jersey |
1948 | Lock Haven, Pennsylvania |
1947 | Williamsport, Pennsylvania |
The United States (40) claims the most victories of any country, of course. If we break it down into non-U.S. countries and U.S. states, Taiwan takes the crown with 17, followed by Japan with 11 and California with eight. Pennsylvania, Connecticut, New Jersey and Hawai'i make up the next tier with four a piece, while Mexico, South Korea, (the state of) Georgia and New York all have three.