2020 Earth Water Baseball Classic Qualification

The 2020 Earth Water Baseball Classic will occur in October and November 2020, in Japan. 42 teams will qualify for it, based on qualifications levied out by their association.

Forty-two teams will qualify for this tournament. The host (Japan) and the defending champion (Sweden) automatically qualify, while the remaining 40 will be determined during the qualification period from April 2019 through April 2020.

The number of spots given to each association was determined by FIWBA.


 * North and Central America and the Carribbean: 9
 * Europe: 10 (plus Sweden automatically qualified as defending champion)
 * Broceania: 4
 * South America: 5
 * Asia: 6 (plus Japan automatically qualified as host)
 * Africa: 5

The final spot will be given to the winner of the Feeney Cup, a tourament held in April between the 10th place in North America, 11th place team in Europe, the 5th and 6th place teams in Broceania, the 6th place teams in South America, the 6th and 7th place teams in Africa, and the 7th place team Asia. Per tradition, the Feeney Cup is held in the same venue as the EWBC Final, which this year is in Tokyo.

Africa
There are 54 member associations of CAWB (the Confederation of African Water Baseball), which includes all of Africa, eha eha. Five qualify for the EWBC.

Qualification consists of a three Group Stages.

The First Group Stage features the teams ranked from 9-56 based on February 2019 FIWBA rankings. Teams are placed into eight groups - six groups of six and two groups of five. The team names were placed pots based on ranking (9-16, 17-24, 25-32, 33-40, 41-48, and 49-54) and one team from each pot was selected to place teams into groups. The Group stage featured a double round-robin tournament with each team playing one home game and one away game against each other team in its group. The eight group champions advance to the second group stage, while all other teams are eliminated.

The Second Group Stage features the eight champions from the First Group Stage, as well as the teams ranked 1-8. Teams are placed into four groups of four. Team names were placed into pots based on ranking (1-4, 5-8, and the 8 champions from the first group stage) and one team from each of the first two pots and two from the last pot were selected to be in each group. The Group stage featured a double round-robin tournament with each team playing one home game and one away game against each other team in its group. The four group champions qualify for the Earth Water Baseball Classic! The four second place teams qualify for the Third Group Stage. All other teams are eliminated.

The Third Group Stage feature the four group runners up from the Second Group Stage. There is only one group of four teams. These teams will play a double round-robin tournament with each team playing one home game and one away game against each other team. The group champion qualifies for the Earth Water Baseball Classic! The second and third place teams qualify for the Feeney Cup. The fourth place team is eliminated.

First Group Stage
The draw was held February 19, 2019. Matchdays were April 23, 25, 27, 29, May 1, 7, 9, 11, 13, and 15, with tiebreaker games on May 18 and 20.

* Central African Republic, Cape Verde, Mauritania, and Rwanda finished tied atop the group at 6-4. In the first round of tie-breaker games, CAR defeated Mauritania and Cape Verde defeated Rwanda. In the second round of tiebreakers, CAR defeated Cape Verde

* Uganda and Mali finished tied at 9-1. Uganda won a tiebreker game to win the group.

* Guinea and Kenya finished tied at 9-1. Guinea won a tiebreker game to win the group.

Second Group Stage
The draw was held May 21, 2019. Matchdays will be October 19, 21, 23, 26, 28, and 30, with tiebreaker games on November 1.

* Note: DR Congo and Egypt finished tied for 2nd. Egypt won a tie-breaker game. * Note: Central African Republic and The Gambia finished tied for 1st. Central African Republicwon a tie-breaker game.

Third Group Stage
The schedule for the Third Group Stage is announced on November 2. Matchdays will be November 7, 9, 11, 14, 16, and 18, with tiebreakers on November 20.

Asia
There are 46 members of the Super Cowboy USA Hot Dog Rocket Ship Asian Water Baseball Number One (SCUHDRSAWBNO). Japan automatically qualified for the EWBC as hosts. The remaining 45 nations must go through a gruelling qualifying process that consists of an Opening Round, two Group Rounds, and a Wild Card Round.

The SCUHDRSAWBNO is divided into the West Asian League and East Asian League, each consisting of 23 nations. In the West Asian League, the top 9 teams receive a bye for the opening round, while teams ranked 10-23 will be drawn into a 3-game qualifying series. Teams ranked 10-16 will be "seeded," while teams ranked 17-23 will be "unseeded." The unseeded team hosts Game 1, while the seeded team hosts Games 2 and 3.

The East Asian League usually follows this exact practice, however, as Japan automatically qualifies as the host, there are only 22 teams attempting to qualify, rather than the standard 23. Therefore, the top 10 teams receive a bye for the opening round, while teams ranked 11-22 will be drawn into a 3-game qualifying series. Teams ranked 11-16 will be "seeded," while teams ranked 17-22 will be "unseeded." The unseeded team hosts Game 1, while the seeded team hosts Games 2 and 3.

16 teams from each league enter into a Group Round, in which teams are ranked 1-16 based on FIWBA rankings. Odd ranked nations are in groups WA (west) and EA (east), while even-ranked nations are in groups WB (west) and EB (east). A double-round-robin tournament is employed. The top team in each group qualifies for the Earth Water Baseball Classic! The second- and third-place teams are placed into a second group stage. All others are eliminated.

The second group round features two groups of four teams. Group A is second place from WA and EB and third place from EA and WB. Group B is all other teams. A double round-robin tournament is employed. The top team from each group qualifies for the Earth Water Baseball Classic! The two second place teams qualify for the Wild Card round. All others are eliminated.

The Wild Card Round features the two second-place teams from the Second Group Round. They play a best-of-3 series with the lower ranked team hosting Game 1 and the higher ranked team hosting Games 2 and 3. The winner qualifies for the Feeney Cup. The loser is eliminated.

Opening Round
The draw was held on February 19, 2019. For all series, Game 1 was played April 3, Game 2 on April 5, and Game 6 on April 7.

West Asian League

On the table below, the seeded team's score is listed first for all games. East Asian League

On the table below, the seeded team's score is listed first for all games.

First Group Round
First Group Round games were played on April 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 30, May 2, 4, 6, and 8, with tiebreaker games scheduled for May 10.

West Asian League

East Asian League

* Thailand and China were tied for first place at 11-3. Thailand won a tiebreaker game. Myanmar and Chinese Taipai were tied for third place at 8-6. Myanmar won a tiebreaker game.

Second Group Round
Second Group Round games will be played October 26, 29, November 1, 4, 7, 16, 19, 22, 25, and 28.


 * Kyrgyzstan and North Korea were tied for first place at 4-2.  Kyrgyzstan won a tiebreaker game.

Wild Card Round
The Wild Card Round will be played December 1, 4, and 5.

China qualifies for the Feeney Cup

Broceana
There are 12 members of BWBBF (the Broceana Water Baseball Federation), which includes Australia and many Pacific Island nations. Qualification consists of the Group Round and the Wild Card Round.

The Group Round occured from late April through early June 2019. The 12 nations were ranked 1-12 (based on April 2019 FIWBA rankings), with odd-numbered countries in Group A and even-numbered countries in Group B. The Group Round is a quadruple-round robin turnament in which each nation plays two two-game series against each rival nation (one home, one away). If a Group Round game was tied after 12 innings, the Group Round game would be declared a draw and count as half-win, half-loss in the standings. The top nation from each group qualified for the Earth Water Baseball Classic! The second-and third-place nations qualified for the Wild Card Round.

The Wild Card Round will occur in November 2019 and feature the second-and third- placed teams from each group. The second-placed team from Group A will battle the third-placed team from Group B, and vice-versa, in a best-of-7 series. The second-place teams will have home advantage, hosting games 1, 2, 6, and 7, while the third-placed team will host games 3, 4, and 5. The winners of these two series will qualify for the Earth Water Baseball Classic! The losers will qualify for the Feeney Cup.

Group Round
Matchdays occurred on April 27-28, 30-May 1, May 4-5, 7-8, 11-12, 18-19, 21-22, 25-26, 28-29, and June 1-2. A tiebreaker game in Group B was held on June 4.

* Cook Islands and Vanatu tied at 12-8-0 for second place. Cook Islands won the tiebreaker game to take second place, relegating Vanuatu to 3rd place

Wild Card Round
The Wild Card is scheduled to have games played November 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 16, and 17.

Tahiti and Vanuatu qualify for the EWBC! Cook Islands and Australia qualify for the Feeney Cup.

Europe
There are 54 countries in UEWBA. Sweden automatically qualified as defending champion, meaning 53 teams are qualifying for 10 spots in the EWBC. Qualifying consists of a Play-in Round for Embarassingly Bad Teams, a Group Stage, and a Play-off Round.

In the Play-in Round for Embarrassingly Bad Teams, teams ranked 44-53 (normally 43-54, but Sweden automatically qualify) will battle in best-of-3 series created by random draw. Teams 44-48 are seeded and teams 49-53 are unseeded. The unseeded team hosts game 1, while the seeded team hosts games 2 and 3.

The Group Stage consists of the top 43 teams plus the 5 winners of the Play-In Round. Teams are placed into 8 groups of 6. Groups are determined by placing like-ranked teams into pots (1-8, 9-16, 17-24, 25-32, 39-40, and 41-48) and selecting one team from each pot for each group. The group stage consists of a full double-round-robin tournament with one home and one away game against each rival nation. The winner of each group qualifies for the Earth Water Baseball Classic! The runner-up of each group qualifies for the Play-off round. All others are eliminated.

The Play-off round consists of the runner-up nations from each group. They are ranked 1-8 based on Group Stage record, with February 2019 FIWBA ranking used as the tie-breaker. First round is 1 vs 8, 2 vs 7, 3 vs 6, and 4 vs 5 in best-of-3  series. The better ranked team gets games 2 and 3 at home. Second round is best remaining seed vs worst remaining seed and the two other teams vs each other. Again, best-of-3 with better seed hosting games 2 and 3. The winners of these two series qualify for the Earth Water Baseball Classic! The losers of this series play a best-of-3 series against each other, with the better ranked team hosting games 2 and 3. The winner of this series qualifies for the Feeney Cup.

Play-In Round for Embarrassingly Bad Teams
The draw for the play-in round was March 5. Games were held April 4, 6, and 7.

Group Stage
The draw for the Group Stage was on April 9. Games tied after 10 innings are considered ties in the standings. Group Stage matches are played on April 20, 23, 25, 27, and 30, and October 12, 15, 17, 19, and 22. Europe does not use tiebreaker games. Instead, ties are broken via the following method:
 * 1) Head-to-head record
 * 2) Overall run differential
 * 3) Overall runs scored
 * 4) Head-to-head run differential
 * 5) Head-to-head runs scored
 * 6) Head-to-head runs scored away from home
 * 7) If exactly two teams are tied on the above criteria for either first or second, AND they play each other on the final matchday, each team will select one player to swim a lap around the bases. Whoever swims faster will win the tiebreaker.
 * 8) Fewest number of ejections in head-to-head matches
 * 9) Fewest number of ejections in all matches
 * 10) Drawing of lots

* Israel and Germany finished tied for first place. Israel won the group based on overall run differential.

* Switzerland and Hungary finished tied for second place. Switzerland won the group based on overall run differential.

(note that the Ukraine home game against Kosovo was insteld held in Krakow, Poland, because Ukraine does not recognize Kosovo and does not admit Kosovar nationals to its territory)

Play-Off Round
Games for the first play-off round will be held October 26, 28, and 29. The second play-off round is held October 31 and November 2 and 3. The third play-off round is held November 5, 7, and 8. Scotland and Romania qualify for the Earth Water Baseball Classic! Ukraine qualifies for the Feeney Cup.

North America
There are 41 members of NAWBBF (the North American Water Baseball Federation), which also includes Central America and the Carribbean.

The 41 members are divided into the Good Teams (teams ranked 1-16) and the Bad Teams (17-41).

The qualification path for the Good Teams is much less grueling. The teams are placed into four groups of 4 (teams are placed in pots based on ranking: 1-4, 5-8, 9-12, 13-16 and one from each pot goes into each group) and play a double round-robin tournament. The top two teams from each group qualify for the Earth Water Baseball Classic! The third place team from each group qualifies for the Knock-Out Stage for Bad Teams tournament. The fourth place team from each group is eliminated.

For the Bad Teams, teams ranked #40 and #41 play a best-of-3 play-in series with #41 hosting Game 1 and #40 hosting Games 2 and 3. The winner qualifies for the Group Stage for Bad Teams. In the Group Stage for Bad Teams, the teams are placed into six groups of four teams (teams are placed in pots based on ranking: 17-22, 23-28, 29-34, and 35-40/41 and one from each pot goes into each group). and play a double round-robin tournament. The top two teams from each group qualify for the Knock-Out Stage for Bad Teams, while the other teams are eliminated.

The Knock-Out Stage for Bad Teams consists of 16 teams: 4 third place teams from the Group Stage for Good Teams, 6 first place teams from the Group Stage for Bad Teams, and 6 second place teams from the Group Stage for Bad Teams. The draw for matches features 8 seeded teams (the 4 teams from the Group Stage for Good teams and the four highest ranked group champions from the Group Stage for Bad Teams). and 8 unseeded teams (everyone else). A seeded team is drawn against an unseeded team for the Round-of-16 matches. Teams can not be drawn against a fellow team from their own group. These matches are best-of-3 series in which the seeded team hosts games 2 and 3.

The Round-of-16 winners go onto the quarter-final, then the semi-final, then the final. All are best-of-3 series in which the team with the higher FIWBA ranking hosts games 2 and 3. The winner of the Final qualifies for the Earth Water Baseball Classic! The loser of the Final qualifies for the Feeney Cup.

Group Stage for Good Teams
The Draw was held on Febrary 19, 2019. Games were played on April 23, 25, 27, and 30 and May 2 and 4. Tiebreaker games played on May 7.

Qualifier for Awful Teams
Games were played on April 9, 12, and 13.

Group Stage for Bad Teams
* Antigua and Barbuda and Nicaragua finished tied for 2nd place. Antigua and Barbuda won the tiebreaker game.

* All four teams finished tied at 3-3. Therefore, tiebreaker games were held between Belize vs. Turks and Caicos and Saint Martin vs. Bermuda. Turks and Caicos and Saint Martin were victorious.

* Grenada and Dominica and Nicaragua finished tied for 2nd place. Grenada won the tiebreaker game.

Knock-out Stage for Bad Teams
The Draw was held on May 2, 2019. The round of 16 was played on May 11, 14, and 15. The quarter-finals were held on October 22, 25, and 26; The semi-finals on October 29 and November 1 and 2; and the Final on November 5, 8, and 9.

For the Round of 16, the "seeded" team hosted games 2 and 3. For all other rounds, the team with the higher FIWBA ranking hosted games 2 and 3.

Round of 16

Quarter-Finals

Semi-Finals

Final Canada qualifies for the EWBC. Guatemala qualifies for the Feeney Cup.

South America
There are 10 teams in CONMEBOLUA (the Confederación Sudamericana de beisbol agua). In the only qualifying round, the 10 nations play a full double-round-robin schedule. The top five teams qualify for the Earth Water Baseball Classic! The sixth place team qualifies for the Feeney Cup. All other teams are eliminated. Games tied after 10 innings count as a tie in the standings.

The schedule was announced February 26. Matchdays are May 4, 8, 11, 15, 18, 22, 25, and 28, June 1, October 19, 23, 26, and 30, and November 2, 6, 9, 13, and 16. Any tiebreaker will be played November 19.