The 2025 Asian Winter Baseball League wrapped up on Sunday, December 7, in Taiwan, with the Japan Amateur Baseball Association capturing the championship title.
This year’s tournament, which ran from November 15, brought together prospects from across Asia’s premier leagues, including the Chinese Professional Baseball League, the Korean Baseball Organization, and Nippon Professional Baseball. The majority of the participating players have yet to make an impact at the top level in their respective leagues.
The field featured five teams in total: two CPBL squads, one NPB team, one KBO team, and one from JABA, Japan’s top industrial league circuit. This marked the 10th installment of the AWB since its debut in 2012.
The JABA team topped the regular season standings with a 14-4-1 record, followed by the NPB team at 11-8. The Taiwan Seas placed third at 9-10, while the KBO team finished fourth at 4-7-1. The Taiwan Mountains rounded out the table at 5-14.
Each team played 19 games, with the exception of the KBO side, which only participated in 12 contests and departed before the December portion of the schedule.
JABA and NPB both won their playoff matchups on December 6, setting up an all-Japanese final. JABA went on to defeat NPB, 5-2, securing its first AWB title since 2019. First baseman Kenta Yamada was named MVP after a 3 for 4 performance, driving in two runs. In the third-place decider, the Taiwan Mountains upset the Taiwan Seas, 5-4.
Tzu-Chieh Tien of the Uni-President Lions captured the batting title with a .417 average, while Takumi Aono of the Rakuten Eagles led the league with two home runs. Ryousuke Fujisawa of Tokyo Gas drove in a tournament-best 13 runs.
Seibu Lions southpaw Yamato Fuji posted the league’s lowest ERA at 0.59 over 15 ⅓ innings. JFE West Japan’s Kenta Nagano led all pitchers with five wins and 19 strikeouts.
