The Little League World Series returns with a 20-team field that will compete for the international title.
It’s almost time to play ball in Williamsport, Pa.
The Little League World Series is back for the second edition of a 20-team tournament. It marks another year of normalcy for the event after it was canceled in 2020 and turned into a U.S.-exclusive tournament in 2021.
Though the tournament expanded to 20 teams in 2022, no team was a match for Hawaii. The Honolulu team steamrolled its way to the title and beat Curaçao to capture the Little League World Series crown.
Here is a look at the 10 U.S. teams, 10 international teams, game schedule and everything else to know ahead of this year’s Little League World Series.
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When is the 2023 Little League World Series?
The 2023 Little League World Series will go from Aug. 16-27.
Along with the championship game on Aug. 27, there are two other notable events over the course of the 12-day tournament. The Philadelphia Phillies and Washington Nationals will meet up in the MLB Little League Classic at Historic Bowman Field on Sunday, Aug. 20, and the Little League Home Run Derby will take place on Thursday, Aug. 24.
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Where is the 2023 Little League World Series?
Williamsport will host the 2023 tournament, just like it has for all previous editions of the Little League World Series.
The competition will feature two venues that are right next to one another: Howard J. Lamade Stadium and Volunteer Stadium. Lamade Stadium is the site for all games between U.S. teams, two games between international teams, the consolation third-place game and the Little League World Series Final. Volunteer Stadium will play host to all other matchups between international teams, as well as the Little League Home Run Derby.
What channel is the Little League World Series on?
All games will be broadcast on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC. Matchups can also be streamed on Watch ESPN and the ESPN app.
What is the format for the 2023 Little League World Series?
The Little League World Series introduced a 20-team bracket in 2022, and it is not nearly as neat as the former 16-team one.
Metro and Mountain Regions were added on the U.S. side, but the international side is a bit more complicated.
Cuba, Panama and Puerto Rico are now part of a rotation where two of the teams receive an automatic bid, while the other competes in its respective regional tournament. Cuba and Panama have automatic bids for the 2023 tournament. Puerto Rico competed as part of the Caribbean Region in 2023 and did not earn a trip to Williamsport.
Not every team starts the Little League World Series in the same position as part of the 20-team bracket. Four teams on each side of the bracket will play an additional game, while two other teams from each side will have to await the results of those games to figure out their first opponent.
From there, the tournament follows a double-elimination format until the U.S. Final and the International Final. The winners of those two games will meet up for the LLWS title.
The full bracket can be found here.
Which teams are in the 2023 Little League World Series?
Here's a look at the full LLWS field:
United States
- Great Lakes: New Albany, Ohio
- Metro: Smithfield, Rhode Island
- Mid-Atlantic: Media, Pennsylvania
- Midwest: Fargo, North Dakota
- Mountain: Henderson, Nevada
- New England: Gray, Maine
- Northwest: Seattle, Washington
- Southeast: Nolensville, Tennessee
- Southwest: Needville, Texas
- West: El Segundo, California
International
- Asia-Pacific: Taoyuan, Chinese Taipei
- Australia: Sydney, Australia
- Canada: Regina, Canada
- Caribbean: Willemstad, Curaçao
- Cuba: Bayamo, Cuba
- Europe-Africa: Brno, Czech Republic
- Japan: Tokyo, Japan
- Latin America: Maracaibo, Venezuela
- Mexico: Tijuana, Mexico
- Panama: Santiago de Veraguas, Panama
2023 Little League World Series schedule
Here are the dates, times and networks for every game at the 2023 Little League World Series (all times ET):
Wednesday, Aug. 16
- Game 1: Europe-Africa vs. Panama, 1 p.m., ESPN
- Game 2: Mountain vs. Metro, 3 p.m., ESPN
- Game 3: Japan vs. Cuba, 5 p.m., ESPN
- Game 4: Southwest vs. Mid-Atlantic, 7 p.m., ESPN
Thursday, Aug. 17
- Game 5: Caribbean vs. Australia, 1 p.m., ESPN
- Game 6: Northwest vs. New England, 3 p.m., ESPN
- Game 7: Canada vs. Asia-Pacific, 5 p.m., ESPN
- Game 8: West vs. Great Lakes, 7 p.m., ESPN2
Friday, Aug. 18
- Game 9: Winner G1 vs. Latin America, 1 p.m., ESPN
- Game 10: Winner G2 vs. Southeast, 3 p.m., ESPN
- Game 11: Winner G3 vs. Mexico, 5 p.m., ESPN
- Game 12: Winner G4 vs. Midwest, 7 p.m., ESPN
Saturday, Aug. 19
- Game 13: Game 3 loser vs. Game 5 loser, 12 p.m., ESPN
- Game 14: Game 4 loser vs. Game 6 loser, 2 p.m., ESPN
- Game 15: Game 1 loser vs. Game 7 loser, 4 p.m., ESPN
- Game 16: Game 2 loser vs. Game 8 loser, 6 p.m., ESPN
Sunday, Aug. 20
- Game 17: Game 9 loser vs. Game 13 winner, 9 a.m., ESPN
- Game 18: Game 10 loser vs. Game 14 winner, 11 a.m., ESPN
- Game 19: Game 11 loser vs. Game 15 winner, 1 p.m., ESPN
- Game 20: Game 12 loser vs. Game 16 winner, 2 p.m., ABC
Monday, Aug. 21
- Game 21: Game 5 winner vs. Game 9 winner, 1 p.m., ESPN
- Game 22: Game 6 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 3 p.m., ESPN
- Game 23: Game 11 winner vs. Game 7 winner, 5 p.m., ESPN
- Game 24: Game 12 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 7 p.m., ESPN2
Tuesday, Aug. 22
- Game 25: Game 21 loser vs. Game 19 winner, 1 p.m., ESPN
- Game 26: Game 22 loser vs. Game 20 winner, 3 p.m. ESPN
- Game 27: Game 23 loser vs. Game 17 winner, 5 p.m., ESPN
- Game 28: Game 24 loser vs. Game 18 winner, 7 p.m., ESPN
Wednesday, Aug. 23
- Game 29: Game 21 winner vs. Game 23 winner, 1 p.m., ESPN
- Game 30: Game 22 winner vs. Game 24 winner, 3 p.m., ESPN
- Game 31: Game 27 winner vs. Game 25 winner, 5 p.m., ESPN
- Game 32: Game 28 winner vs. Game 26 winner, 7 p.m., ESPN
Thursday, Aug. 24
- Game 33: Game 29 loser vs. Game 31 winner, 3 p.m., ESPN
- Game 34: Game 30 loser vs. Game 32 winner, 7 p.m., ESPN
Saturday, Aug. 26
- International Final: Game 29 winner vs. Game 33 winner, 12:30 p.m., ABC
- U.S. Final: Game 30 winner vs. Game 34 winner, 3:30 p.m., ABC
Sunday, Aug. 27
- Third-place consolation game: International Final loser vs. U.S. Final loser, 11 a.m., ESPN
- Little League World Series Final: International Final winner vs. U.S. Final winner, 3 p.m., ABC
