Taipei: Taiwan, the defending champion of the WBSC Premier12, has secured a spot in the 2027 Premier12 tournament following the release of the latest official world rankings. Taiwan ranked second in the standings updated by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) on Dec. 31, 2025, with 5,112 points, trailing only Japan, which leads with 6,676 points. The United States, South Korea, and Venezuela follow Taiwan in the rankings.
According to Focus Taiwan, the top 12 countries or regions on the year-end 2025 list earn direct eligibility for the 2027 tournament, with Taiwan comfortably within this bracket. The rankings from sixth through 12th place include Mexico, Puerto Rico, Panama, the Netherlands, Cuba, Australia, and the Dominican Republic. Notably, the order of the top 12 remained largely unchanged from the previous November update, except for the Netherlands and Cuba swapping positions.
World ranking points are calculated based on a country or region's performances in tournaments over the last four years across all levels of competition. Taiwan's 2024 Premier12 title marked the nation's first major senior-level international championship, contributing significantly to its high ranking.
The latest rankings were released just one day after the WBSC announced an expansion of its quadrennial flagship tournament from 12 teams to 16 for the first time in 2027. Teams ranked 13th to 18th, along with two wild cards, will compete for the four additional berths through two qualification tournaments.
The first qualification tournament, featuring four teams competing for two spots in the Premier12, will be held at the International Baseball and Softball Centre in China's Guangdong Province from Nov. 26-29, 2026, according to the WBSC. Details regarding the second qualification tournament will be announced later. The teams eligible for the qualifiers, according to the year-end rankings, include Colombia, followed by Italy, the Czech Republic, Nicaragua, China, and Germany.