2022 Earth Water Baseball Classic

The 2022 FIWBA Earth Water Baseball Classic Classic (EWBC) will be an international professional water baseball competition, held from November 3 - November 27, 2022 in South Africa. This was the twelfth edition of the Earth Water Baseball Classic, a biannual event that dates back to 2000.

This was the first EWBC to be held in South Africa and Africa as a whole.

Host Selection Process
The Deadline for Bids was November 30, 2017. According to The Rules, the official rule book for International Water Baseball, bids were not allowed from a region that was set to host either of the two previous classics. Therefore, bids were not accepted from and Europe (as Hungary hosted the 2018 Earth Water Baseball Classic) and Asia (as the 2020 edition was held in Japan).

Bids were submitted by Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, and a joint bid between Algeria and Morocco to host the games. On November 19, 2018, after three rounds of voting, South Africa was selected as the host nation.

Stadiums
Eight stadiums in South Africa shared hosting duties.


 * Johannesberg (Water Baseball City) - Gang C, R16-1, Final
 * Johannesberg (Ellis Burks Park), MQ1, R16-6, SF-2
 * Pretoria - Gang A, R16-2, SF-1
 * Port Elizabeth - Gang B, R16-7, QF-2
 * Nelspruit-  Gang E, MQ2, R16-5
 * Durban- Gang D, R16-8, QF-3,
 * Cape Town- Gang G, R16-3, QF-4
 * Bloemfontein - Gang F, R16-4, QF-1

Teams and Qualification
Forty-two teams will qualify for this tournament. The host (South Africa) and the defending champion (United States) automatically qualify, while the remaining 40 will be determined during the qualification period from December 2021 through October 2022.

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

North and Central America and the Carribbean: 9 (plus USA ad defending champion)

Europe: 10

Broceania: 4

South America: 4.5

Asia: 6

Africa: 5.5 (plus South Africa as host)

One team From Africa plays one team from South America in an Intercontinental Playoff

Qualification based on Association

 * North America: United States (defending champion), Canada, Costa Rica, Curaco, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico,
 * Europe: Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey
 * Broceania: Australia, New Zealand, Palau, Vanuatu
 * South America: Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Uruguay
 * Asia: Iran, Japan, Laos, North Korea, Singapore, South Korea, UAE
 * Africa: South Africa (host) Algeria, Egypt, Nigeria, Senegal, The Gambia, Morocco (via intercontinental playoff)

Intercontinental Playoff

 * Morocco beat Ecuador 3 games to 1.

Draw
The was held in Akron, Ohio on October 24, 2022. Teams will be divided into six pools of 7 based on several factors


 * Gang A
 * South Africa, Switzerland, Morocco, Jamaica, New Zealand, Czech Republic
 * Gang B
 * Dominican Republic, Germany, Australia, El Salvador, UAE, Egypt
 * Gang C
 * Mexico, Vanuatu, Turkey, Senegal, Trinidad and Tobago, Iran
 * Gang D
 * Palau, Canada, Argentina, Singapore, Algeria, Slovenia
 * Gang E
 * Japan, Curaco, Brazil, Belgium, South Korea, Spain
 * This is the "Gang of Death"
 * Gang F
 * France, Portugal, Costa Rica, North Korea, Uruguay, The Gambia
 * Gang G
 * United States, Laos, Netherlands, Honduras, Nigeria, Peru



Format
The tournament was set up similar to the World Cup and most football (soccer) tournaments, in that it contains a Gang Stage and a Knockout Stage. It is illegal to refer to the Gang Stage as the "Group Stage," and violators will be suspended for one international WBB game and one club WBB game for each offense starting with their second offense. The author of this article was given special permission from FIWBA president Jimenez Li.

The Tournament opens on November 3 with host South Africa battling Switzerland. All other teams begin play on November 4, with the Gang Stage running through November 8 (with any tiebreakers taking place November 9).

The top 2 in each gang advance to the knock-out stage, with third-place teams entering the mini-qualifiers, each consisting of two rounds. The mini-qualifiers are held November 10 and 11. Mini-qualifier A features three teams: Team AA gets a bye and is determined based on the following order of precedence: host, defending champ, best gang stage record, best team ERA. Teams AB and AC are the 3rd place teams from the next two gangs alphabetically (circling back to gang A if necessary). Mini qualifier B features BA vs. BB (the next two gangs alphabetically, circling back to Gang A if necessary) and BC vs BD (same). Two teams advance from the mini-qualifiers to the knockout stage. Each round of the mini-qualifiers is a single game.

The draw for the knockout stage is November 10. The seven gang winners and one gang runner-up (selected via the following order of precedence: host, defending champ, best gang stage record, best team ERA) are "seeded" and all others are "unseeded." Teams can not be drawn against a fellow team from its federation or gang in the eighth-finals, there are no restrictions from the quarterfinals onward. Mini-qualifier winners will be unknown at the time of the draw and just referred to as "MQA winner" and "MQB winner."

Mini-qualifiers will be held November 9 and 10. All rounds of the knockout stage are best-of-three. The eighth-finals are November 13-15, quarter-finals November 17-19, Semi-finals November 21-23, and Final November 25-27.

Gang Stage

 * Gang A
 * New Zealand 5-0
 * South Africa 3-2
 * Switzerland 2-2-1
 * Czech Republic 2-3
 * Jamaica 1-3-1
 * Morocco 1-4
 * New Zealand and South Africa qualified for the Knockout Stage. Switzerland qualified for mini-qualifier
 * Gang B
 * Dominican Republic 5-0
 * Australia 4-1
 * Germany 2-2-1*
 * Egypt 2-2-1
 * El Salvador 1-4
 * UAE 1-4
 * Germany defeated Egypt in a tie-breaker game for 3rd place
 * Dominican Republic and Australia qualified for the Knockout Stage. Germany qualified for mini-qualifier
 * Gang C
 * Iran 3-2
 * Mexico 3-2
 * Senegal 3-2
 * Vanuatu 2-3
 * Turkey 2-3
 * Trinidad and Tobago 2-3
 * Iran was awarded first place based on best team ERA among Iran, Mexico, Senegal
 * Mexico defeated Senegal in a tie-breaker for 2nd place
 * Iran and Mexico qualified for the Knockout stage. Senegal qualified for mini-qualifier
 * Gang D
 * Canada 5-0
 * Slovenia 3-2
 * Palau 2-2-1
 * Argentina 2-3
 * Singapore 2-3
 * Algeria 0-4-1
 * Canada and Slovenia qualified for the Knockout stage. Palau qualified for mini-qualifier
 * Gang E
 * Japan 5-0
 * South Korea 3-2
 * Spain 3-2
 * Belgium 2-3
 * Brazil 2-3
 * Curacao 0-5
 * South Korea defeated Spain in a tiebreaker for 2nd place
 * Japan and South Korea qualified for the Knockout stage. Spain qualified for mini-qualifier
 * Gang F
 * The Gambia 4-1
 * France 3-2
 * Uruguay 3-2
 * Portugal 2-3
 * Costa Rica 2-3
 * North Korea 1-4
 * France defeated Uruguay in a tiebreaker for 2nd place.
 * The Gambia and France qualified for the Knockout stage. Uruguay qualified for mini-qualifier
 * Gang G
 * United States 5-0
 * Netherlands 4-1
 * Peru 3-2
 * Laos 2-3
 * Nigeria 1-4
 * Honduras 0-5
 * United States and Netherlands qualified for the Knockout Stage. Peru qualified for mini-qualifier

Mini-Qualifiers

 * Mini-Qualifier A
 * Round 1
 * Peru (1st round bye)
 * Switzerland 4, Germany 5
 * Round 2
 * Germany 8, Peru 6
 * Mini-Qualifier B
 * Round 1
 * Palau 2, Senegal 0
 * Costa Rica 3, Spain 2 (11)
 * Round 2
 * Costa Rica 2, Palau 10

Knockout Stage

 * Eighth-Finals
 * Mexico vs. South Africa
 * Palau vs. Japan
 * Slovenia vs. The Gambia
 * Netherlands vs New Zealand
 * Germany vs. United States
 * France vs. Dominican Republic
 * Australia vs. Iran
 * South Korea vs. Canada

The Victor
TBD

The Spoils
As Champion, (name of country) was automatically entered into the 2024 Earth Water Baseball Classic in Mexico. Team members each received US$2,000,000, a trophy that says "you did it," and a hot plate. Also, fans of the (name of country) team will be allowed to don shirts that recognize their championship. Since this is a biannual event, these shirts were in style for at least two years, except when a fat person wears a shirt that is too small, in which the shirt will never be in style.

As runner-up, each (name of country) team member received a silver Second place trophy, and $400,000. Shirts were produced to be sold in (name of country), but will instead be sent back to the FIWBA Warehouse in Chesterland, Ohio, in case (name of country) wins a future EWBC.

Members of teams who lost in the semi-finals received a participation trophy and $100,000

Members of quarter-final teams received a participation trophy and $80,000

Members of teams who lost in the eighth-finals received a participation trophy and $65,000.

Members of teams who failed to advance past the Gang Stage or Mini-Qualifier received a participation trophy and $50,000.