2015 WBSC Premier12#Awards

{{Infobox international baseball tournament

| image = 2015 WBSC Premier12 semi final game.JPG

| size = 150px

| country = {{JAP}}

| country2 = {{TWN}}

| dates = November 8–21

| num_teams = 12

| continents = 4

| defending_champion =

| prev_year =

| medal_type = world cup

| champion = South Korea

| num_championships = 1

| second = United States

| third = Japan

| fourth = Mexico

| games = 38

| attendance = 235951

| mvp = {{flagicon|KOR}} Kim Hyun-soo

| prevseason = 2011 Baseball World Cup

| nextseason = 2019

|caption=Semi-final game between Japan and South Korea}}

File:Venezuela national baseball team on November 7, 2015.jpg

The 2015 WBSC Premier12 was an international baseball championship sponsored by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), the inaugural event of the WBSC Premier12. It was held from November 8 to 21 in Taiwan and Japan.{{cite news |last=Coskrey |first=Jason |title=Japan to co-host Premier 12 baseball world tourney |url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2015/01/19/baseball/japanese-baseball/japan-co-host-premier-12-baseball-world-tourney/ |newspaper=The Japan Times |location=Tokyo |date=January 19, 2015 |access-date=November 21, 2015 }} The South Korean national team won the championship, and split a US$1 million prize.{{cite news |last=Axisa |first=Mike |title=USA and South Korea advance to Premier 12 championship game |url=http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/eye-on-baseball/25382341/usa-and-south-korea-advance-to-premier-12-championship-game |newspaper=CBS Sports |location=New York |date=November 20, 2015 |access-date=November 21, 2015 }}

The top twelve teams in the WBSC World Rankings qualified to participate in the tournament, which began with two groups of six teams playing in a round-robin format for the first round. The tournament then continued with the top four teams in each group playing in the knockout stage, leading to the championship game. In the final, South Korea defeated United States 8–0 to win their first WBSC Premier12 title, and became the first nation to win the championship.{{cite news |date=November 21, 2015 |title=S. Korea pounds U.S. 8–0 for championship |url=http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/search1/2603000000.html?cid=AEN20151121002251315 |newspaper=Yonhap |location=Seoul |access-date=November 21, 2015 }} Japan finished in third place, while Mexico finished in fourth place.{{cite news |title=Japan KO's Mexico 11–1 to win bronze at WBSC Premier12 |url=http://wbsc.org/en/tournaments/2015-premier12/news/japan-kos-mexico-11-1-to-win-bronze-at-wbsc-premier12 |access-date=November 21, 2015 |date=November 21, 2015 |publisher=WBSC |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151123182229/http://wbsc.org/en/tournaments/2015-premier12/news/japan-kos-mexico-11-1-to-win-bronze-at-wbsc-premier12 |archive-date=November 23, 2015 |url-status=dead }} South Korea's Hyun-soo Kim won the Most Valuable Player Award. Shohei Ohtani of Japan had the lowest earned run average of the tournament, and Hayato Sakamoto, also of Japan, was named the tournament's most outstanding defensive player.{{cite web|url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2015/11/21/baseball/south-korea-crushes-u-s-to-win-premier-12-title/#.VlCyCXarTIV|title=South Korea crushes U.S. to win Premier 12 title|first=Jason|last=Coskrey|work=Japan Times|date=November 21, 2015|access-date=November 21, 2015}} The next edition 2019 WBSC Premier12 will be hosted in Japan{{Cite web|url=http://www.wbsc.org/wbsc-awards-premier12-2019olympic-qualifier-hosting-rights-to-japans-npb-for-2nd-round-and-finals/|title = WBSC awards Premier12 2019/Olympic Qualifier hosting rights to Japan's NPB for 2nd Round and Finals}}

Teams

class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%; float:right; margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em; text-align:center;"
colspan=4\|Top 12 Rankings as of November 22, 2014{{cite web\|title=World Rankings WBSC\|url=http://wbsc.org/en/rankings\|publisher=World Baseball Softball Confederation\|access-date=November 4, 2015\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151130060742/http://wbsc.org/en/rankings\|archive-date=November 30, 2015\|url-status=dead}}
Rank	Team	Points	Confederation {{IBAF World Rankings row\|r=1\|t=JPN\|p=785.18\|c=BFA}} {{IBAF World Rankings row\|r=2\|t=USA\|p=766.02\|c=COPABE}} {{IBAF World Rankings row\|r=3\|t=CUB\|p=662.98\|c=COPABE}} {{IBAF World Rankings row\|r=4\|t=TPE\|p=605.48\|c=BFA}} {{IBAF World Rankings row\|r=5\|t=NED\|p=433.50\|c=CEB}} {{IBAF World Rankings row\|r=6\|t=DOM\|p=379.18\|c=COPABE}} {{IBAF World Rankings row\|r=7\|t=CAN\|p=353.52\|c=COPABE}} {{IBAF World Rankings row\|r=8\|t=KOR\|p=340.90\|c=BFA}} {{IBAF World Rankings row\|r=9\|t=PUR\|p=291.50\|c=COPABE}} {{IBAF World Rankings row\|r=10\|t=VEN\|p=269.00\|c=COPABE}} {{IBAF World Rankings row\|r=11\|t=ITA\|p=196.18\|c=CEB}} {{IBAF World Rankings row\|r=12\|t=MEX\|p=136.78\|c=COPABE}}

class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%; float:right; margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em; text-align:center;"

colspan=4|Top 12 Rankings as of November 22, 2014{{cite web|title=World Rankings WBSC|url=http://wbsc.org/en/rankings|publisher=World Baseball Softball Confederation|access-date=November 4, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151130060742/http://wbsc.org/en/rankings|archive-date=November 30, 2015|url-status=dead}}

Rank

Team

Points

Confederation

The twelve highest-ranked national teams (as of the 2014 end-of-the-year world rankings) qualified to participate in the inaugural 2015 WBSC Premier 12, based on the most recent WBSC World Rankings, which were updated on November 22, 2014.{{cite news|last1=Cole|first1=Bryan|title=WBSC announces details for Premier 12 championship|url=http://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2015/1/20/7859799/wbsc-announces-details-for-premier-12-championship|access-date=November 4, 2015|work=Beyond the Box Score|publisher=SB Nation|date=January 20, 2015}} The membership in the top twelve in the world rankings, which are updated only once every year, was unchanged from 2013. In fact, there was no movement at all between the 7th and 15th positions in the rankings.

File:2015 Premier 12 Baseball Teams.png

=Players=

The majority of teams in the tournament missed the October 10 deadline for submitting rosters.{{cite news|last1=Manuel|first1=John|title=U.S. Unveils Premier 12 Roster As Start Of Event Nears|url=http://www.baseballamerica.com/college/u-s-unveils-premier-12-roster-event-looming/|access-date=November 5, 2015|work=Baseball America|date=October 21, 2015}} Major League Baseball (MLB), which sponsors the World Baseball Classic, declined to allow players on MLB 40-man rosters to participate in the tournament.{{cite news|title=MLB players won't be at Premier 12|url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2015/09/04/baseball/mlb-players-wont-be-at-premier-12/#.VjqjrtWrTnB|access-date=November 5, 2015|work=Japan Times|date=September 4, 2015}} The final rosters included a mix of MLB prospects (such as Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Brett Phillips and Chicago White Sox outfielder Jacob May for the United States), former MLB veterans (such as Curaçaoan infielder Andruw Jones and Dominican infielder Pedro Feliz) and non-MLB stars (including Japanese pitchers Shohei Ohtani and South Korean infielder Park Byung-ho).

Format

For the first stage, the twelve teams were divided into two groups of six. Each team played five games in a round robin format. With the exception of the first game of the tournament, a contest between Japan and South Korea at the Sapporo Dome, Taiwan hosted all games in the group stage at four different ballparks.{{cite web|title=2015 WBSC Premier12 > Schedule and Results > Opening Round|url=http://wbsc.org/en/tournaments/2015-premier12/schedule-results/2015-premier12-preliminary-round|publisher=World Baseball Softball Confederation|access-date=November 4, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151107201331/http://wbsc.org/en/tournaments/2015-premier12/schedule-results/2015-premier12-preliminary-round|archive-date=November 7, 2015|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}

The top four teams from each group then advanced to a single-elimination tournament. The semifinal and final round were held in Japan while the location of the quarterfinal, the first round of the playoff stage, was initially undetermined.{{cite web|title=2015 WBSC Premier12 > Schedule and Results > Quarterfinals|url=http://wbsc.org/en/tournaments/2015-premier12/schedule-results/2015-premier12-quarter-finals|publisher=World Baseball Softball Confederation|access-date=November 4, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151107201335/http://wbsc.org/en/tournaments/2015-premier12/schedule-results/2015-premier12-quarter-finals|archive-date=November 7, 2015|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}} Thirty-eight games were played over fourteen days, culminating in the consolation game and championship game at the Tokyo Dome on the final day of the tournament.{{cite news|title=Schedule, bracket unveiled for WBSC Premier12|url=http://www.mister-baseball.com/schedule-bracket-unveiled-wbsc-premier12/|access-date=November 4, 2015|work=Mister Baseball|date=June 25, 2015}}

Broadcast

Fox Sports was awarded broadcast rights in Cyprus, Greece, Israel, Italy, Malta, Netherlands and Turkey. Dutch public broadcast network NOS will also air the tournament in the Netherlands. Rights were also awarded to Eleven Sports Network in Belgium, Poland, Singapore and Malaysia; beIN Sports in Indonesia, Singapore and Oceania; LeTV and PPTV in China; Sky Net in Myanmar; Solar TV in the Philippines; i-CABLE in Hong Kong; OSN in the Middle East and North Africa; SBS in South Korea; Videoland in Taiwan; CIRT in Cuba; and Sportsnet in Canada. In Japan, Tokyo Broadcasting System Television, TV Asahi and J Sports will all be carrying the tournament.{{cite news|title=WBSC Premier12 Broadcast Rights Awarded Around The World|url=http://wbsc.org/en/tournaments/2015-premier12/news/wbsc-premier12-broadcast-rights-awarded-around-the-world|access-date=November 5, 2015|publisher=World Baseball Softball Confederation|date=November 4, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151118133449/http://wbsc.org/en/tournaments/2015-premier12/news/wbsc-premier12-broadcast-rights-awarded-around-the-world|archive-date=November 18, 2015|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}

For areas not covered by the event's broadcast partners, the event will be livestreamed for free on the WBSC's [https://www.youtube.com/user/WBSCo YouTube channel].

Venues

class=wikitable style=text-align:center width=95%
width=33%\|Group A !width=33%\|Group A and Quarterfinals !width=33%\|Group B
{{flagicon\|ROC}} Douliu, Taiwan \|{{flagicon\|ROC}} Taichung, Taiwan \|{{flagicon\|ROC}} Tianmu, Taiwan
Douliu Baseball Stadium \|Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium \|Tianmu Baseball Stadium
Capacity: 15,000 \|Capacity: 20,000 \|Capacity: 10,500
200px \|200px \|200px

class=wikitable style=text-align:center width=95%

width=33%|Group A

!width=33%|Group A and Quarterfinals

!width=33%|Group B

{{flagicon|ROC}} Douliu, Taiwan

|{{flagicon|ROC}} Taichung, Taiwan

|{{flagicon|ROC}} Tianmu, Taiwan

Douliu Baseball Stadium

|Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium

|Tianmu Baseball Stadium

Capacity: 15,000

|Capacity: 20,000

|Capacity: 10,500

200px

|200px

class=wikitable style=text-align:center width=95%
width=33%\|Group B and Quarterfinals !width=33%\|Group B !width=33%\|Semifinals and Finals
{{flagicon\|ROC}} Taoyuan, Taiwan \|{{flagicon\|JPN}} Sapporo, Japan \|{{flagicon\|JPN}} Tokyo, Japan
Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium \|Sapporo Dome \|Tokyo Dome
Capacity: 20,000 \|Capacity: 40,467 \|Capacity: 46,000
200px \|200px \|200px

class=wikitable style=text-align:center width=95%

width=33%|Group B and Quarterfinals

!width=33%|Group B

!width=33%|Semifinals and Finals

{{flagicon|ROC}} Taoyuan, Taiwan

|{{flagicon|JPN}} Sapporo, Japan

|{{flagicon|JPN}} Tokyo, Japan

Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium

|Sapporo Dome

|Tokyo Dome

Capacity: 20,000

|Capacity: 40,467

|Capacity: 46,000

200px

|200px

Group stage

=Group A=

{{#invoke:Sports table|main|style=WL|for_against_style=runs|ranking_style=perc|show_GB=true|update=complete

|team_order=CAN, CUB, NED, PUR, TPE, ITA

|result1=PO |result2=PO |result3=PO |result4=PO

|win_CAN=5 |loss_CAN=0 |gf_CAN=23 |ga_CAN=10

|win_ITA=0 |loss_ITA=5 |gf_ITA= 4 |ga_ITA=36

|name_CAN={{bb|CAN}}

|name_CUB={{bb|CUB}}

|name_NED={{bb|NED}}

|name_PUR={{bb|PUR}}

|name_TPE={{bb|TPE}}

|name_ITA={{bb|ITA}}

|res_col_header=Q

|col_PO=green1 |text_PO=Advance to playoff stage

}}

{{bb res|November 9|18:35|{{bb-rt|NED}}| 7–4 |{{bb|TPE}}||Intercontinental Baseball Stadium|3:55|16,188|[https://web.archive.org/web/20151112015739/http://wbsc.org/assets/box_scores/02.htm]}}

{{bb res|November 10|12:35|{{bb-rt|ITA}}| 1–7 |{{bb|PUR}}||Intercontinental Baseball Stadium|3:37|483|[https://web.archive.org/web/20151118131941/http://wbsc.org/assets/box_scores/04.htm]}}

{{bb res|November 10|18:35|{{bb-rt|CAN}}| 5–1 |{{bb|CUB}}||Intercontinental Baseball Stadium|3:21|639|[https://web.archive.org/web/20151114232831/http://wbsc.org/assets/box_scores/06.htm]}}

{{bb res|November 11|12:35|{{bb-rt|CUB}}| 6–5 |{{bb|NED}}||Intercontinental Baseball Stadium|3:21|674|[https://web.archive.org/web/20151114232836/http://wbsc.org/assets/box_scores/08.htm]}}

{{bb res|November 11|18:35|{{bb-rt|PUR}}| 0–2 |{{bb|CAN}}||Douliu Baseball Stadium|2:51|335|[https://web.archive.org/web/20151115232125/http://wbsc.org/assets/box_scores/11.htm]}}

{{bb res|November 11|18:35|{{bb-rt|TPE}}| 7–1 |{{bb|ITA}}||Intercontinental Baseball Stadium|2:53|8,517|[https://web.archive.org/web/20151118054754/http://wbsc.org/assets/box_scores/12.htm]}}

{{bb res|November 12|12:35|{{bb-rt|PUR}}| 7–8 |{{bb|CUB}}|10|Intercontinental Baseball Stadium|3:50|281|[https://web.archive.org/web/20151117151351/http://wbsc.org/assets/box_scores/14.htm]}}

{{bb res|November 12|18:35|{{bb-rt|NED}}| 16–1 |{{bb|ITA}}|7|Douliu Baseball Stadium|3:08|119|[https://web.archive.org/web/20151114232841/http://wbsc.org/assets/box_scores/17.htm]}}

{{bb res|November 12|18:35|{{bb-rt|CAN}}| 9–8 |{{bb|TPE}}||Intercontinental Baseball Stadium|3:45|10,245|[https://web.archive.org/web/20151118133506/http://wbsc.org/assets/box_scores/18.htm]}}

{{bb res|November 14|12:35|{{bb-rt|PUR}}| 7–11 |{{bb|NED}}||Intercontinental Baseball Stadium|3:33|308|[http://statistics.wbsc.org/20.htm]}}

{{bb res|November 14|18:35|{{bb-rt|ITA}}| 0–4 |{{bb|CAN}}||Douliu Baseball Stadium|2:29|500|[https://web.archive.org/web/20151115232147/http://wbsc.org/assets/box_scores/23.htm]}}

{{bb res|November 14|18:35|{{bb-rt|CUB}}| 1–4 |{{bb|TPE}}||Intercontinental Baseball Stadium|3:33|17,503|[https://web.archive.org/web/20151118133504/http://wbsc.org/assets/box_scores/24.htm]}}

{{bb res|November 15|12:35|{{bb-rt|TPE}}| 4–7 |{{bb|PUR}}|12|Intercontinental Baseball Stadium|4:41|17,436|[https://web.archive.org/web/20151117021217/http://statistics.wbsc.org/26.htm]}}

{{bb res|November 15|18:35|{{bb-rt|ITA}}| 1–2 |{{bb|CUB}}||Douliu Baseball Stadium|2:21|1,200|[https://web.archive.org/web/20151117025143/http://statistics.wbsc.org/29.htm]}}

{{bb res|November 15|18:35|{{bb-rt|CAN}}| 3–1 |{{bb|NED}}||Intercontinental Baseball Stadium|2:31|218|[https://web.archive.org/web/20151117015409/http://statistics.wbsc.org/30.htm]}}

=Group B=

{{#invoke:Sports table|main|style=WL|for_against_style=runs|ranking_style=perc|show_GB=true|update=complete

|team_order=JPN, USA, KOR, MEX, VEN, DOM

|result1=PO |result2=PO |result3=PO |result4=PO

|win_DOM=0 |loss_DOM=5 |gf_DOM=20 |ga_DOM=42

|name_JPN={{bb|JPN}}

|name_USA={{bb|USA}}

|name_KOR={{bb|KOR}}

|name_MEX={{bb|MEX}}

|name_VEN={{bb|VEN}}

|name_DOM={{bb|DOM}}

|res_col_header=Q

|col_PO=green1 |text_PO=Advance to playoff stage

}}

{{bb res|November 8|19:08|{{bb-rt|KOR}}| 0–5 |{{bb|JPN}}||Sapporo Dome|3:37|28,848|[https://web.archive.org/web/20151113003133/http://wbsc.org/assets/box_scores/01.htm]}}

{{bb res|November 10|12:05|{{bb-rt|MEX}}| 6–4 |{{bb|VEN}}||Taoyuan Int'l Baseball Stadium|2:58|800|[https://web.archive.org/web/20151114000019/http://wbsc.org/assets/box_scores/03.htm]}}

{{bb res|November 10|18:05|{{bb-rt|DOM}}| 5–11 |{{bb|USA}}||Taoyuan Int'l Baseball Stadium|3:02|500|[https://web.archive.org/web/20151113004759/http://wbsc.org/assets/box_scores/05.htm]}}

{{bb res|November 11|12:05|{{bb-rt|VEN}}| 7–5 |{{bb|USA}}||Taoyuan Int'l Baseball Stadium|3:20|500|[https://web.archive.org/web/20151118133501/http://wbsc.org/assets/box_scores/07.htm]}}

{{bb res|November 11|18:00|{{bb-rt|KOR}}| 10–1 |{{bb|DOM}}||Taoyuan Int'l Baseball Stadium|3:56|600|[https://web.archive.org/web/20151118202204/http://wbsc.org/assets/box_scores/10.htm]}}

{{bb res|November 11|18:08|{{bb-rt|MEX}}| 5–6 |{{bb|JPN}}||Tianmu Baseball Stadium|3:36|6,523|[https://web.archive.org/web/20151118133456/http://wbsc.org/assets/box_scores/09.htm]}}

{{bb res|November 12|12:00|{{bb-rt|VEN}}| 2–13 |{{bb|KOR}}|7|Taoyuan Int'l Baseball Stadium|2:51|1,010|[https://web.archive.org/web/20151115234901/http://wbsc.org/assets/box_scores/13.htm]}}

{{bb res|November 12|18:05|{{bb-rt|USA}}| 10–0 |{{bb|MEX}}|8|Tianmu Baseball Stadium|2:47|531|[https://web.archive.org/web/20151118131932/http://wbsc.org/assets/box_scores/15.htm]}}

{{bb res|November 12|18:08|{{bb-rt|JPN}}| 4–2 |{{bb|DOM}}||Taoyuan Int'l Baseball Stadium|3:02|3,500|[https://web.archive.org/web/20151118133511/http://wbsc.org/assets/box_scores/16.htm]}}

{{bb res|November 14|12:00|{{bb-rt|DOM}}| 6–8 |{{bb|VEN}}||Taoyuan Int'l Baseball Stadium|2:59|1,112|[https://web.archive.org/web/20151118002114/http://wbsc.org/assets/box_scores/19.htm]}}

{{bb res|November 14|18:00|{{bb-rt|KOR}}| 4–3 |{{bb|MEX}}||Tianmu Baseball Stadium|3:30|2,500|[https://web.archive.org/web/20151115232134/http://wbsc.org/assets/box_scores/21.htm]}}

{{bb res|November 14|18:08|{{bb-rt|JPN}}| 10–2 |{{bb|USA}}||Taoyuan Int'l Baseball Stadium|3:27|10,437|[https://web.archive.org/web/20151115232139/http://wbsc.org/assets/box_scores/22.htm]}}

{{bb res|November 15|12:05|{{bb-rt|MEX}}| 9–6 |{{bb|DOM}}||Taoyuan Int'l Baseball Stadium|3:21|1,000|[https://web.archive.org/web/20151117032318/http://statistics.wbsc.org/25.htm]}}

{{bb res|November 15|18:00|{{bb-rt|USA}}| 3–2 |{{bb|KOR}}|10|Tianmu Baseball Stadium|4:08|2,000|[https://web.archive.org/web/20151122084521/http://statistics.wbsc.org/27.htm]}}

{{bb res|November 15|18:08|{{bb-rt|VEN}}| 5–6 |{{bb|JPN}}||Taoyuan Int'l Baseball Stadium|3:22|6,547|[https://web.archive.org/web/20151117022146/http://statistics.wbsc.org/28.htm]}}

Playoff stage

{{8TeamBracket-with third|team-width=150

| medals=y

| RD3= Gold Medal

| RD3b= Bronze Medal

| RD1-seed1= B4

| RD1-team1= {{bb|MEX}}

| RD1-score1= 4

| RD1-seed2= A1

| RD1-team2= {{bb|CAN}}

| RD1-score2= 3

| RD1-seed3= A3

| RD1-team3= {{bb|NED}}

| RD1-score3= 1

| RD1-seed4= B2

| RD1-team4= {{bb|USA}}

| RD1-score4= 6

| RD1-seed5= B3

| RD1-team5= {{bb|KOR}}

| RD1-score5= 7

| RD1-seed6= A2

| RD1-team6= {{bb|CUB}}

| RD1-score6= 2

| RD1-seed7= A4

| RD1-team7= {{bb|PUR}}

| RD1-score7= 3

| RD1-seed8= B1

| RD1-team8= {{bb|JPN}}

| RD1-score8= 9

| RD2-seed1= B4

| RD2-team1= {{bb|MEX}}

| RD2-score1= 1

| RD2-seed2= B2

| RD2-team2= {{bb|USA}}

| RD2-score2= 6

| RD2-team3= {{bb|KOR}}

| RD2-seed3= B3

| RD2-score3= 4

| RD2-seed4= B1

| RD2-team4= {{bb|JPN}}

| RD2-score4= 3

| RD3-seed3= B4

| RD3-team3= {{bb|MEX}}

| RD3-score3= 1

| RD3-seed4= B1

| RD3-team4= {{bb|JPN}}

| RD3-score4= 11

| RD3-seed1= B2

| RD3-team1 = {{bb|USA}}

| RD3-score1 = 0

| RD3-seed2= B3

| RD3-team2 = {{bb|KOR}}

| RD3-score2 = 8

}}

=Quarterfinals=

{{bb res|November 16|12:30|{{bb-rt|MEX}}| 4–3 |{{bb|CAN}}||Intercontinental Baseball Stadium|2:43|250|[https://web.archive.org/web/20151117024003/http://statistics.wbsc.org/31.htm]}}

{{bb res|November 16|12:30|{{bb-rt|NED}}| 1–6 |{{bb|USA}}||Taoyuan Int'l Baseball Stadium|2:56|503|[https://web.archive.org/web/20151117063421/http://statistics.wbsc.org/33.htm]}}

{{bb res|November 16|18:30|{{bb-rt|KOR}}| 7–2 |{{bb|CUB}}||Intercontinental Baseball Stadium|3:30|370|[https://web.archive.org/web/20151117031221/http://statistics.wbsc.org/32.htm]}}

{{bb res|November 16|18:30|{{bb-rt|PUR}}| 3–9 |{{bb|JPN}}||Taoyuan Int'l Baseball Stadium|3:14|8,000|[https://web.archive.org/web/20151117063713/http://statistics.wbsc.org/34.htm]}}

Though Canada led Group A with a 5–0 record, they were upset in the quarterfinals by Mexico. Zack Segovia led the United States to a victory over the Netherlands.{{cite web|url=http://focustaiwan.tw/news/aeas/201511160030.aspx|title=Mexico upsets Canada to snatch WBSC Premier 12 semifinal berth|work=focustaiwan.tw|date=November 16, 2015 |access-date=November 21, 2015}}{{cite web|url=http://www.comoxvalleyrecord.com/sports/350694841.html|title=Canada loses 4–3 to Mexico in quarter-finals of Premier 12 baseball tourney|author=Earle Couper|work=Comox Valley Record|access-date=November 21, 2015}} South Korea defeated Cuba, taking a 5–0 lead over Cuba by the second inning.{{cite web|url=http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=115031|title=Cuba Ousted at Premier 12 by South Korea|work=Havana Times.org|date=November 18, 2015|access-date=November 21, 2015}} Japan defeated Puerto Rico behind the pitching of Kenta Maeda.{{cite web|url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2015/11/17/baseball/japan-shuts-puerto-rico-make-premier-12-semifinals/|title=Japan shuts down Puerto Rico to make Premier 12 semifinals|work=The Japan Times|date=November 17, 2015|access-date=November 21, 2015}}

=Semifinals=

{{bb res|November 19|19:00|{{bb-rt|KOR}}| 4–3 |{{bb|JPN}}||Tokyo Dome|3:50|40,258|[https://web.archive.org/web/20151121211934/http://statistics.wbsc.org/36.htm]}}

{{bb res|November 20|19:00|{{bb-rt|MEX}}| 1–6 |{{bb|USA}}||Tokyo Dome|3:07|5,105|[https://web.archive.org/web/20151123060134/http://statistics.wbsc.org/35.htm]}}

South Korea had lost to Japan in round-robin play. Japan led their semifinal matchup 3–0 going into the ninth inning, but South Korea scored four runs in the final inning to defeat Japan. Meanwhile, the United States defeated Mexico 6–1, scoring four runs in the fifth inning, to advance to the championship round.{{cite web|url=http://www.baseballamerica.com/international/u-s-beats-mexico-will-meet-south-korea-premier-12-final/|title=U.S. Beats Mexico, Will Meet South Korea In Premier 12 Final|work=BaseballAmerica.com|access-date=November 21, 2015}}

=Third place game=

{{bb res|November 21|13:00|{{bb-rt|MEX}}|1–11|{{bb|JPN}}|7|Tokyo Dome|2:26|N.A.|[https://web.archive.org/web/20151122101813/http://statistics.wbsc.org/37.htm]}}

In the third place game, Japan defeated Mexico 11–1, with the game ending after seven innings due to the mercy rule. Japan's Tetsuto Yamada hit two home runs, and Sho Nakata and Nobuhiro Matsuda each hit a home run, and the score was 8–0 after two innings.{{cite news |last=Dexter |first=Grant |url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/sport/archives/2015/11/22/2003633045|title=S Korea win Premier 12 |newspaper=Taipei Times |date=November 22, 2015 |access-date=November 21, 2015}}

=Championship=

{{Linescore

| Date = November 21, 2015

| Time = 19:00

| Location = Tokyo Dome

| Road = {{bb|KOR}} | RoadAbr = KOR

| R1 = 1 | R2 = 0 | R3 = 1 | R4 = 5 | R5 = 0 | R6 = 0 | R7 = 0 | R8 = 0 | R9 = 1 | RR = 8 | RH = 13 | RE = 0

| Home = {{bb|USA}} | HomeAbr = USA

| H1 = 0 | H2 = 0 | H3 = 0 | H4 = 0 | H5 = 0 | H6 = 0 | H7 = 0 | H8 = 0 | H9 = 0 | HR = 0 | HH = 5 | HE = 0

| WP = Kim Kwang-hyun (1–1)

| LP = Zack Segovia (2–1)

| SV =

| RoadHR = Park Byung-ho (2, in 4th, 3 RBI)

| HomeHR =

| Attendance = 40,411 Game Time: 3:39

| Notes =

| BoxURL = https://web.archive.org/web/20151122101831/http://statistics.wbsc.org/38.htm

}}

In the championship game, Lee Yong-kyu of South Korea recorded a run batted in (RBI) double in the first inning off of Zack Segovia. Kim Hyun-soo had an RBI double in the third inning, and scored two more runs on a double in the fourth inning. Park Byung-ho hit a home run off of Brooks Pounders to left field in the fourth inning. Kim finished the game three hits, including two doubles that scored runs. Kim Hyun-soo and Jeong Keun-woo also had three hits apiece, and Jeong recorded a run batted in with a bases loaded walk in the ninth inning.

The United States had defeated South Korea during their sole matchup during group play by a score of 3–2 in extra innings. Kim later explained that the South Korean team made adjustments to better prepare for the fastballs thrown by United States pitchers. Before the game, United States players Brett Eibner, J. B. Wendelken, and Jake Barrett became ineligible to play in the championship game as they had been added to the 40-man rosters of their respective Major League Baseball organizations.

Final standings

width=25\|Rk !width=170\|Team !width=25\|W !width=25\|L !width=150\|Tiebreaker
class=wikitable style=text-align:center
style="background-color:gold;" \|1 \|align=left\|{{bb\|KOR}} \|6	2
colspan="6"\|Lost in Final
style="background-color:silver;" \|2 \|align=left\|{{bb\|USA}} \|5	3
colspan="6"\|Lost in Semifinals
style="background-color:#c96;" \|3 \|align=left\|{{bb\|JPN}} \|7	1
4 \|align=left\|{{bb\|MEX}} \|3	5
colspan="6"\|Lost in Quarterfinals
5 \|align=left\|{{bb\|CAN}} \|5	1
6 \|align=left\|{{bb\|CUB}} \|3	3
7 \|align=left\|{{bb\|NED}} \|3	3
8 \|align=left\|{{bb\|PUR}} \|2	4
colspan="6"\|Eliminated in Group stage
9 \|align=left\|{{bb\|TPE}} \|2	3	+0.054 TQB
10 \|align=left\|{{bb\|VEN}} \|2	3	−0.238 TQB
11 \|align=left\|{{bb\|DOM}} \|0	5	−0.532 TQB
12 \|align=left\|{{bb\|ITA}} \|0	5	−0.782 TQB

Awards

Following 38 global games, the WBSC announced the first-ever Premier12 All-World Team. WBSC also announced the individual awards winners.{{cite news |title=WBSC Premier12 All-World Team announced |url=http://wbsc.org/en/tournaments/2015-premier12/news/wbsc-premier12-all-world-team-announced |access-date=November 21, 2015 |date=November 21, 2015 |publisher=WBSC |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151124174624/http://wbsc.org/en/tournaments/2015-premier12/news/wbsc-premier12-all-world-team-announced |archive-date=November 24, 2015 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}

class=wikitable \|+All-World Team
Position	width=160\|Player
Starting Pitcher \|{{flagicon\|JPN}} Shohei Ohtani
Relief Pitcher \|{{flagicon\|CAN}} Dustin Molleken
Catcher \|{{flagicon\|MEX}} Humberto Sosa
First Baseman \|{{flagicon\|JPN}} Sho Nakata
Second Baseman \|{{flagicon\|USA}} Adam Frazier
Third Baseman \|{{flagicon\|KOR}} Hwang Jae-gyun
Shortstop \|{{flagicon\|NED}} Carlton Daal
Outfielders \|{{flagicon\|NED}} Randolph Oduber {{flagicon\|USA}} Matt McBride {{flagicon\|KOR}} Kim Hyun-soo
Designated Hitter \|{{flagicon\|KOR}} Lee Dae-ho

class=wikitable

|+All-World Team

Position

width=160|Player

Starting Pitcher

|{{flagicon|JPN}} Shohei Ohtani

Relief Pitcher

|{{flagicon|CAN}} Dustin Molleken

Catcher

|{{flagicon|MEX}} Humberto Sosa

First Baseman

|{{flagicon|JPN}} Sho Nakata

Second Baseman

|{{flagicon|USA}} Adam Frazier

Third Baseman

|{{flagicon|KOR}} Hwang Jae-gyun

Shortstop

|{{flagicon|NED}} Carlton Daal

Outfielders

|{{flagicon|NED}} Randolph Oduber
{{flagicon|USA}} Matt McBride
{{flagicon|KOR}} Kim Hyun-soo

Designated Hitter

|{{flagicon|KOR}} Lee Dae-ho

class="wikitable"

|+ Individual Awards

! Award !!width=160| Player !! Value

Most Valuable Player

| {{flagicon|KOR}} Kim Hyun-soo

Leading Hitter

| {{flagicon|USA}} Matt McBride

|.526

Pitcher with Best ERA

| {{flagicon|JPN}} Shohei Ohtani

|0.00

Pitcher with Best Win/Loss Average

| {{flagicon|CAN}} Chris Leroux

|2–0

Most Runs Batted In

| {{flagicon|JPN}} Sho Nakata

|13

Most Home Runs

| {{flagicon|TPE}} Lin Chih-sheng

Most Stolen Bases

| {{flagicon|NED}} Randolph Oduber

Most Runs Scored

| {{flagicon|CAN}} Tyler O'Neill

Outstanding Defensive Player

| {{flagicon|JPN}} Hayato Sakamoto

Prize money

The WBSC announced that it would be giving away $3,800,000 in prize money to participants, distributed as follows:

Winner: US$1,000,000
2nd Place: US$600,000
3rd place: US$400,000
4th place: US$300,000
5–8th place: US$225,000 each
9–12th place: US$150,000 each{{cite news|title=WBSC announces $4 Million Prize Money for #Premier12|url=http://www.mister-baseball.com/wbsc-announces-4-million-prize-money-premier12/|access-date=November 5, 2015|work=Mister Baseball|date=October 27, 2015}}

Controversies

Despite South Korea's victory in the entire tournament, many South Korean fans and officials were angered and complaining of how the 2015 WBSC Premier League was heavily biased in favor of the co-host nation Japan's team, and that they purposefully set up in advance of Korea's team under disadvantage by restraining them from practicing and giving them rather complicated schedules and obstacles{{cite news |title=[엿보기] 뒤죽박죽 경기 시간, '어수선'했던 선수단 분위기 |language=ko |url=http://www.sportsworldi.com/content/html/2015/11/11/20151111004415.html |date=November 11, 2015 |publisher=Sports World|access-date=November 11, 2015}} (that including of a stadium fire) that other countries did not needed to go through or have. The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) was also under fire for not doing enough to solve the issues of Japan's favorable play in the tournament. Jeong Keum Jo, KBO's representative official, stated that the KBO has numerously filed a complaint to Japan of the corrupt play, but was only advised to understand that the premier league had to be successful, and so was dismissed.

Additional claims are that Japan purposefully pulled the semifinal match schedule to Thursday as a last-minute change when it was announced that South Korea was going to be Japan's opponent; sponsorship and money is said to be the reason of the schedule change.{{cite news |title=[단독속보]일본, 엔화로 준결승 일정도 바꿨다 |language=ko |url=http://sports.chosun.com/news/ntype.htm?id=201511180100193450012720&servicedate=20151117 |date=November 16, 2015 |publisher=스포츠조선|access-date=November 16, 2015}} This meant that Korean players were to wake up at 3:30 am to take the flight from Taiwan to Japan, while Japanese players were able to rest and practice more during that time. Korea claims this was to purposefully tire the Korean team ahead of the game.{{cite news |title=Koreans Complain of Pro-Japan Bias at Premier 12|url=http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2015/11/20/2015112001849.html|website=The Chosun Ilbo |date=November 20, 2015 |access-date=November 20, 2015}}{{cite news |title=<프리미어12> 日 '스케줄 횡포'에 야구대표팀 "피곤하다" |language=ko |url=http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/bulletin/2015/11/18/0200000000AKR20151118102400007.HTML |date=November 18, 2015 |publisher=Yonhap Agency|access-date=November 18, 2015}} On top of that, further criticism came in when Japan had organized Koda Kawaguchi, a Japanese umpire for the game that of between South Korea and Japan, as it was considered to be a further sign of pro-Japan bias during the tournament.{{cite news |title=<프리미어12> 한·일전에 일본인 심판...또 상식 밖 운영 |language=ko |url=http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/bulletin/2015/11/19/0200000000AKR20151119187500007.HTML |date=November 19, 2015 |publisher=Yonhap Agency|access-date=November 19, 2015}} When the game ended with an unexpected South Korean victory, Japan's television networks moved the tournament broadcasting time from 7 PM to 3:45 AM, causing stir in South Korea once more pointing out of how it was unnecessary to do such, and that it was to show fewer people of the highlights.{{cite news |title=치졸한 일본, 한국 결승전 새벽녹화중계 변경 |language=ko |url=http://sports.chosun.com/news/utype.htm?id=201511210100238210015954&ServiceDate=20151120 |date=November 20, 2015 |publisher=스포츠조선|access-date=November 20, 2015}}

References

External links

{{cite web|url=http://wbsc.org/en/tournaments/2015-premier12|title=2015 Premier12|work=World Baseball Softball Confederation|access-date=November 4, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151102222157/http://wbsc.org/en/tournaments/2015-premier12|archive-date=November 2, 2015|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}

WBSC Premier12

Category:2010s in Taipei

Category:21st century in Sapporo

Category:Bunkyō

Category:International baseball competitions hosted by Japan

Category:International baseball competitions hosted by Taiwan