Six teams will qualify for the Olympic baseball tournament. Japan, as the host nation, automatically qualified. Two teams can potentially qualify through the 2019 Premier12 tournament--the best team from the Americas qualifies while the best team from Asia or Oceania can qualify if ranked within the top 6. Another American team will qualify through an Americas continental tournament. One spot is reserved for a European or African team through a combined continental tournament. The final spot will be awarded in a world final qualification tournament.[1]
The top 12 teams on the WBSC men's baseball ranking list at the end of 2018 will qualify for the Premier12 competition. Only teams from the Americas, Asia, and Oceania can qualify for the Olympics through that tournament. The top finisher from the Americas earns a quota spot. A team from Asia or Oceania (excluding the host, Japan) can earn a quota spot if finished within the top 6. If no team Asia or Oceania finishes among the top 6, the quota slot will be deferred to the final qualification event.[1]
One quota spot to play at the 2020 Summer Olympics will be awarded to the winner of a combined two-continent qualifying tournament for Europe and Africa being held in Italy (Parma and Bologna) September 18-22, 2019. The tournament features six teams: the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Israel, and the Czech Republic (the top five teams in the 2019 European Baseball Championship), and South Africa (the winner of the 2019 African Baseball Championship).
The tournament is a round robin, with the winner going to the Tokyo Olympics. The second-place team in this qualifying event will receive another qualification opportunity in the final world qualifying tournament in the spring of 2020.[1]
1 game postponed 4-4 in the 6th inning; continued September 20.[4]
Americas Qualifying Event
One quota spot will be allocated to the winner of the Americas Qualifying Event to be held in February 2020. That tournament will feature eight teams. All six of the American teams that qualified for the Premier12 but did not qualify during that tournament will get another opportunity at the qualifying event. The field will be completed through the top two finishers at the 2019 Pan American Games that did not qualify for the Premier12. The second- and third-placed teams in this event will get another qualifying opportunity in the final qualification event.[1]
The final qualifying tournament scheduled for March or April 2020 will assign the last qualifying spot. Six teams will compete. Three of the teams will come from runners-up in the qualifying events above (second place in Africa/Europe, second and third places in Americas). Two more spots in this event will be granted to the best two finishers in the 2019 Asian Baseball Championship that have not already qualified for the Olympics. The winner of the 2019 Oceania qualifying event will also earn a spot in this tournament.[1]
The top two finishers at the 2019 Asia championship will qualify for the Olympic final qualifying tournament. The Asia championship is an 8-team tournament.[5] Teams qualified for the 2019 Asia championship are:
Japan
Bologna / Parma
Arizona
Taipei
South Korea
Cuba
Mexico
Netherlands
Australia
Canada
Puerto Rico
Venezuela
Dominican Republic
Israel
Czech Republic
Spain
South Africa
Hong Kong (original host)[6]
Philippines (2018 East Asia Cup winner)[7]
Pakistan (2018 West Asia Cup finalist)
Sri Lanka (2018 West Asia Cup finalist)
China
Qualification for the 2020 Summer Olympics