World Baseball Classic: Every previous champion ahead of 2026 tournament

The 2026 World Baseball Classic is about to get underway with a star-studded Team USA, a Japanese team once again led by Shohei Ohtani, a Dominican Republic roster looking for revenge and more international clubs full of talent. 

We won’t know the winner until March 17, but there’s plenty of history to look back on. Team Japan held off the United States in the championship game of the 2023 tournament, securing its third WBC title. Japan went unbeaten in the tournament, coming from behind to beat Mexico in the semifinals before a 3-2 win over the U.S. in the final on Tuesday.

This year’s WBC was the fifth installment of the tournament, and Japan has now won 60% of WBC titles. Here’s a full list of the event’s winners, the runner-up and tournament MVP. (Note: The 2021 World Baseball Classic was pushed back to this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.)

List of World Baseball Classic winners

2006

• Winner: Japan
• Runner-up: Cuba
• World Baseball Classic MVP: Daisuke Matsuzaka

2009

• Winner: Japan
• Runner-up: South Korea
• World Baseball Classic MVP: Daisuke Matsuzaka

2013

• Winner: Dominican Republic
• Runner-up: Puerto Rico
• World Baseball Classic MVP: Robinson Canó

2017

• Winner: United States
• Runner-up: Puerto Rico
• World Baseball Classic MVP: Marcus Stroman

2023

• Winner: Japan
• Runner-up: United States
• World Baseball Classic MVP: Shohei Ohtani