Tokyo Olympics Berth at Stake at Premier12|12強棒球賽明開打 中華隊力拚東奧門票

Tournament play in Group B of the second Premier12 baseball championship will start on the fifth. This year's tournament is especially important because Chinese Taipei will have to end up ranked higher than South Korea and Australia to play in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.


It's out to left field. This one is gone!

During the inaugural Premier12 tournament in 2015, Lin Chih-sheng scored a three-run hit on Cuba. The second Premier12 tournament will open on the 5th with a Tokyo Olympics berth at stake.

First, they have to make the second round of the tournament. If there is another team from Asia or Oceania like South Korea or Australia still in the tournament at that time, the team with the most points from the earlier round will get the Olympic berth.

Six teams will compete for gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, with host Japan automatically getting a berth. Two teams will qualify through Premier12, including the top teams from the Americas and Asia or Oceania. The other three teams will be decided next year. If Chinese Taipei, South Korea and Australia all fail to make it to the second round of Premier12, another qualifying tournament will be held immediately.

Taiwan, Australia and South Korea will take part in an Olympic qualifier at Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium from Nov. 12 to 14.

If Chinese Taipei can't take advantage of either of these opportunities, it can fight for the final spot in a world final qualification tournament next March. The final six will include Japan, two teams from the Americas, one team from either Europe or Africa, and the highest seeded Asian team. The two teams that fail to qualify and the highest-seeded Oceania team will fight for the final spot. One analyst says the teams that play for the final spot can't be overlooked, and Chinese Taipei's top opponent could be the Netherlands.



賽事主播：「這個球，左外野方向，相當地紮實，絕對留不住了！」

上屆12強賽，大師兄林智勝，棒打古巴的三分砲，讓全國棒球迷情緒沸騰；相隔4年，第二屆12強賽，周二晚間即將開打，這次比賽更關係到中華隊，能否取得東京奧運門票，因此格外受到球迷關注。

世界棒壘球總會亞洲特派 王雲慶表示：「第一個，必須要能夠進入到，第二輪的比賽，進入第二輪的比賽之後呢，假設還有其他的亞洲，跟大洋洲的國家，也進入到第二輪，我們再複賽當中的成績，要比其他國家要來得好，也就是我們剛剛講到的，能夠在台灣、韓國，跟澳洲這三個球隊裡面，進入到第二輪之後的成績，是最好的，就能夠穩定地，拿下東京奧運的門票。」

2020東京奧運棒球項目，一共有6張參賽門票，地主國日本直接取得參賽資格，12強賽亞太區和美洲區，成績最佳的球隊，也能打進奧運；而美洲資格賽、歐洲與非洲資格賽，和明年的6搶1，則會產生另外3張門票。此外，還有一個可能性，假如中華隊、南韓，跟澳洲都無緣晉級複賽，則會馬上進行另一場，奧運門票資格賽。

世界棒壘球總會亞洲特派 王雲慶表示：「其實在11月12到14號，即將就立刻在洲際棒球場，會展開一個台灣-澳洲、跟韓國的3搶1的一個名額，這個比賽當中，誰贏了誰就能夠拿到奧運的門票。」

假如中華隊沒能把握這兩次機會，還能參加明年3月的6搶1最終資格賽。由美洲資格賽的第二和第三名，歐洲與非洲區資格賽的第二名，以及亞錦賽名次最高，且未獲得參賽資格的2隊，加上大洋洲棒球錦標賽，名次最高的1隊，來爭搶最後一張奧運門票。球評認為，六搶一的參賽隊伍同樣不容小覷，尤其荷蘭在歐洲意外沒有拿到資格，將會是中華隊很大的競爭對手。