2026 World Baseball Classic: Our Writers Make Samurai Japan the Consensus Pick In Pool C

Tonight’s the night – or for those of you in Tokyo, today’s the day.

On Thursday (or Wednesday if you’re behind the International Date Line), Chinese Taipei and Australia will open the 2026 World Baseball Classic, playing the first game of the Pool C schedule at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan.

World Baseball Network’s writers were asked to pick the two teams that would advance out of each pool, as well as which team would finish last in each pool, forcing them to play in the next World Baseball Classic Qualifier.

Here are the writers’ picks for Pool C, which features Japan, Chinese Taipei, South Korea, Australia, and Czechia, with all the games being played at the Tokyo Dome.

Picks to Win Pool C

Japan – There is not much to explain with this pick. Japan is loaded with MLB and NPB talent and has the single best player in the world. Their rotation is not as strong this year, but led by Yoshinobu Yamamoto, they figure to be more than good enough to win this pool. Munetaka Murakami and Kazuma Okamoto both signed MLB deals this offseason and are going to show the world why they made the jump to the big leagues as well. – Aaliyan Mohammed

Japan is clearly the class of Pool C, and they have a great mix of MLB and Nippon Professional Baseball players. Shohei Ohtani will return, although he won’t pitch this time around. Yoshinobu Yamamoto is one of the best pitchers on the planet, and he will be their ace. – Julian Guilarte

Samurai Japan are the defending champions, and it’s hard to imagine a team without Shohei Ohtani winning the pool. He can flip a game upside down with one swing. This group has years of experience together and is well-balanced. – Conor Liguori

Samurai Japan is not nearly as formidable as its 2023 super team, but should not struggle to top the pool. Yoshinobu Yamamoto spearheads a pitching staff comprised of both MLB talents and NPB stars, giving Hirokazu Ibata plenty of weapons at his disposal. The lineup has some question marks defensively, but the sheer firepower of names like Shohei Ohtani, Munetaka Murakami, Kazuma Okamoto, Seiya Suzuki, and Shugo Maki put Japan in strong position to defend their title. – Yuri Karasawa

Sure, Ohtani’s not pitching, and both Roki Sasaki and Yuki Matsui will miss the WBC, but this Japan team is still the best in this pool. A finish worse than 4-0 in Pool C for Japan would likely cost Hirokazu Ibata his job. – Leif Skodnick

They’re the No. 1-ranked national team in the World Baseball Rankings, the best team in the pool and the defending champion. Tough to pick against Japan. – Matt Tallarini

Picks to Finish Second in Pool C

South Korea – Korea and Chinese Taipei figure to be battling for this spot, but Korea seems to have a slight edge. Jyeseong Kim, Jahmai Jones and Jung Hoo Lee all had solid years in the big leagues, and Do-yeong Kim is a name fans will know by the time this tournament is over. The rotation has some question marks, but Tae-in Won is a solid starter and Riley O’Brien figures to be a great option in the backend of the bullpen after his breakout season. – Aaliyan Mohammed

South Korea will get second place because of a strong offense. Jung-hoo Lee, Jahmai Jones, and Hyesong Kim will provide a good offensive foundation. Their pitching is led by Hyun-jin Ryu, who was a solid MLB pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays, and is currently pitching in the Korea Baseball Organization. – Julian Guilarte

South Korea is naturally the second-most talented roster on paper, but their pitching depth is nonexistent and the team has struggled in many international competitions over the past decade. Chinese Taipei, on the other hand, has momentum after taking down Japan in the 2024 Premier12 gold medal game, albeit it with rosters that are very different from the WBC. The team will likely struggle to consistent put runs on the board, but their excellent rotation of Ruei-Yang Gu Lin, Jo-Hsi Hsu, Yu-Min Lin, and Wei-En Lin is incredibly underrated. – Yuri Karasawa

Chinese Taipei – Chinese Taipei is my pick for second place. Catcher Kungkuan Giljegiljaw may be one of the more underrated hitters in the tournament. Reui-Yang Gu Lin and Jo-Hsi Hsu are a nice one-two punch atop the rotation. – Conor Liguori

Chinese Taipei upset Japan in the championship game of the 2024 WBSC Premier12 at Tokyo Dome. They’re a better team than they were in 2023, when they lost the absurd five-way tiebreaker and had to qualify for this year’s WBC. They’ll finish 3-1 and advance to the quarterfinals. – Leif Skodnick

Chinese Taipei may have had to run the qualifying gauntlet, but that’s only because they lost a tiebreaker in 2023. They’ve since beaten Japan at the Tokyo Dome in the WBSC Premier12 Final and will beat Czechia and Australia and should be able to get by South Korea. – Matt Tallarini

Headed Back to the World Baseball Classic Qualifier

Czechia – As is the case with all of the last-place picks, Czechia’s roster just does not stack up. They could beat Australia, but Australia has more talent on their squad, headlined by Travis Bazzana. The only way Czechia does not finish last is if they pull off an upset against Australia. – Aaliyan Mohammed

Czechia will finish in last place because its offense and pitching won’t be able to keep up with the rest of Pool C. They have one really strong bat in Martin Červenka, but after that, it’s rough sledding. Their pitching staff also has no standouts. – Julian Guilarte

Czechia’s best opportunity for a win may be against Australia, but they probably don’t have enough firepower and talent to do much more. The loss of former Major League infielder Eric Sogard due to injury hurts their chances. Who knows, maybe they surprise everyone. – Conor Liguori

Czech baseball continues to make steady progress, and the team enters the tournament with fewer unknowns than in 2023. After completing multiple exhibition tours in Asia and building stronger ties with several NPB organizations, they are more battle-tested against high-level competition than ever before. Still, they face an uphill climb in a pool loaded with powerhouse nations and will likely be completely outclassed. – Conor Liguori

The Czech players sacrifice everything to play baseball, and my friend Michael Clair of MLB.com has written a book chronicling baseball in Czechia. But it’s tough for a team with only one player with MLB experience to compete, and they’re also missing the bat and leadership of Martin Červenka, as well as relying on a pitching staff that just doesn’t have the depth of the other teams in the pool. – Leif Skodnick 

Czechia just doesn’t have the depth to compete with the teams in Pool C. – Matt Tallarini

2026 World Baseball Classic Pool C Schedule
All times local

March 5
Noon JST – Chinese Taipei vs. Australia – Tokyo Dome – TV: FS1
7 p.m. JST – Czechia vs. South Korea – Tokyo Dome – TV: FS1

March 6
Noon JST – Australia vs. Czechia – Tokyo Dome – TV: FS1
7 p.m. JST – Japan vs. Chinese Taipei – Tokyo Dome – TV: FS1

March 7
Noon JST – Chinese Taipei vs. Czechia – Tokyo Dome – TV: FS2
7 p.m. JST – South Korea vs. Japan – Tokyo Dome – TV: FS1

March 8
Noon JST – Chinese Taipei vs. South Korea – Tokyo Dome – TV: FS2
7 p.m. JST – Australia vs. Japan – Tokyo Dome – TV: FS1

March 9 
Noon JST – South Korea vs. Australia – Tokyo Dome – TV: FS1
7 p.m. JST – Czechia vs. Japan – Tokyo Dome – TV: FS1

Photo: Shohei Ohtani of Japan, center, greets with team members after the exhibition game between Japan national team and Hanshin Tigers prior to the Pool C games at the World Baseball Classic on Tuesday, March 3, 2026 in Osaka, western Japan. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)