2025 European Baseball Championship

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The 2025 European Men's Baseball Championship was an international baseball tournament organized by WBSC Europe held in Rotterdam, Milan, and Antwerp from 20 to 27 September 2025. It was the 38th edition of the competition.

CountriesNetherlands
Belgium
Italy
Dates20–27 September 2025
Teams16
Defending champions Spain
Quick facts Tournament details, Countries ...
2025 European Baseball Championship
Tournament details
CountriesNetherlands
Belgium
Italy
Dates20–27 September 2025
Teams16
Defending champions Spain
Final positions
Champions Netherlands (25th title)
Runners-up Italy
Third place Czech Republic
Fourth place Spain
Tournament statistics
Best BACzech Republic Martin Červenka (.542)
Most HRsItaly Giaconino Lasaracina (6)
Most SBsSwitzerland Hayden Jung-Goldberg &
Switzerland Marc Willi (4)
Best ERAGermany Markus Solbach[a] (0.00)
Most Ks (as pitcher)Netherlands Kevin Kelly &
Greece Noah Zavolas (21)
Awards
MVPNetherlands Didi Gregorius
← 2023
2027 →
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It was the first edition of the tournament to be held in three countries, as well as the first since 1967 with games held in Belgium.[2]

The Netherlands won the tournament, beating Italy in the championship 6–5 in Rotterdam after beating defending champion Spain in the semifinal. It was the 25th European championship for the Dutch and 27th time facing Italy in the final game. The Czech Republic defeated Spain in the third-place game, their first-ever medal in the tournament. Two Dutch players won the top individual awards, with Didi Gregorius named the MVP and Kevin Kelly the best pitcher.

Hungary and Lithuania, which both lost all their games, were relegated during the tournament.

Qualification

Main article: 2025 European Baseball Championship – Qualification

The top 13 teams of the 2023 European Championship qualified automatically for the tournament. The remaining three spots were filled through qualification tournaments in 2024, won by Hungary, Lithuania, and Austria.[3][4][5]

Qualified teams

More information Team, Qualification method ...
TeamQualification methodAppFirstLastStreakBest placement
 Spain1st in 202336th1954202321Champions (1955, 2023)
 Great Britain2nd in 202318th196714Runners-up (1967, 2007, 2023)
 Netherlands3rd in 202335th195628Champions (twentyfour times, last in 2021)
 Germany4th in 202329th195416Runners-up (1957)
 Czech Republic5th in 202314th199714Fourth place(2014)
 Israel6th in 20234th20194Runners-up (2021)
 France7th in 202328th195519Third place (1999)
 Sweden8th in 202333rd196033Third place (1981, 1993)
 Italy9th in 202337th195428Champions (ten times, last in 2012)
 Croatia10th in 202313th199913Seventh place (2021)
 Belgium11th in 202332nd19548Champions (1967)
  Switzerland12th in 20232nd2023212th place (2023)
 Greece13th in 20239th20033Runners-up (2003)
 HungaryGroup Serbia winner2nd2023216th place (2023)
 LithuaniaGroup Poland winner1stN/a1Debut
 AustriaGroup Ireland winner5th20072023410th place (2019)
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Group Stage

Four groups of four teams competed in a round robin to begin the tournament. The top two teams from groups A and B qualified for the quarterfinals, the second round of the tournament stage. The first round of the tournament, called the crossover playoff, included the bottom two teams from groups A and B and top two teams from groups C and D. The bottom two teams from groups C and D competed in a best-of-three relegation series.[6][7][8]

One week before the start of the tournament, Group C games were moved from a stadium in Senago to the Stadio Marco Provini [it] in Novara due to poor conditions at the Senago field. The Italian baseball and softball federation [it] agreed to pay for additional transportation costs from Milan.[9][10]

Fan entrance to games in Rotterdam on 20 September were affected by pro-Palestinian protests regarding the Gaza war and Israel's participation in the tournament.[11][12][13] Protesters returned for subsequent Israel games.[14] Rain also delayed some of the 20 September games in Rotterdam.[15]

Two of the three host countries, the Netherlands and Italy, went undefeated in group play while Belgium managed one win and was eliminated from the final round.[8][16]

Group A

More information Pos, Team ...
Pos Team Pld W L RF RA PCT GB Qualification
1  Germany 3 2 1 14 8 .667 — Advance to quarterfinals
2  Czech Republic 3 2 1 20 9 .667 —
3  Spain 3 2 1 20 11 .667 — Advance to crossover playoff
4  Sweden 3 0 3 3 29 .000 2
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Updated to match(es) played on 22 September 2025. Source: WBSC Europe
More information Date, Local time ...
Date Local time Road team Score Home team Inn. Venue Game duration Attendance Boxscore
20 Sep 14:00 Czech Republic  1–8  Germany   Neptunus Familiestadion 2:58   Boxscore
20 Sep 20:30 Sweden  0–15  Spain F/5 Neptunus Familiestadion 1:46 81 Boxscore
21 Sep 18:00 Germany  4–3  Sweden   Neptunus Familiestadion 3:01 115 Boxscore
21 Sep 19:30 Spain  1–9  Czech Republic   Neptunus Familiestadion 2:42 200 Boxscore
22 Sep 14:00 Germany  2–4  Spain   Neptunus Familiestadion 2:32 353 Boxscore
22 Sep 18:00 Sweden  0–10  Czech Republic F/8 Neptunus Familiestadion 2:52 332 Boxscore
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Group B

More information Pos, Team ...
Pos Team Pld W L RF RA PCT GB Qualification
1  Netherlands (H) 3 3 0 31 8 1.000 — Advance to quarterfinals
2  Great Britain 3 2 1 28 14 .667 1
3  Israel 3 1 2 10 29 .333 2 Advance to crossover playoff
4  France 3 0 3 12 30 .000 3
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Updated to match(es) played on 22 September 2025. Source: WBSC Europe
(H) Hosts
More information Date, Local time ...
Date Local time Road team Score Home team Inn. Venue Game duration Attendance Boxscore
20 Sep 13:00 France  4–8  Israel   Neptunus Familiestadion 3:18 189 Boxscore
20 Sep 20:30 Netherlands  9–3  Great Britain   Neptunus Familiestadion 3:01 3,000 Boxscore
21 Sep 13:00 Great Britain  16–1  Israel F/8 Neptunus Familiestadion 3:20 257 Boxscore
21 Sep 15:00 Netherlands  13–4  France   Neptunus Familiestadion 3:41 3,000 Boxscore
22 Sep 13:00 France  4–9  Great Britain   Neptunus Familiestadion 3:25 193 Boxscore
22 Sep 19:30 Israel  1–9  Netherlands   Neptunus Familiestadion 2:45 820 Boxscore
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Group C

More information Pos, Team ...
Pos Team Pld W L RF RA PCT GB Qualification
1  Italy (H) 3 3 0 43 4 1.000 — Advance to crossover playoff
2   Switzerland 3 2 1 25 31 .667 1
3  Greece 3 1 2 16 24 .333 2
4  Lithuania 3 0 3 8 33 .000 3
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Updated to match(es) played on 22 September 2025. Source: WBSC Europe
(H) Hosts
More information Date, Local time ...
Date Local time Road team Score Home team Inn. Venue Game duration Attendance Boxscore
20 Sep 10:30 Lithuania  3–4  Greece   Stadio Marco Provini [it] 2:48 160 Boxscore
20 Sep 15:30 Switzerland  0–18  Italy F/5 Stadio Marco Provini [it] 1:55 250 Boxscore
21 Sep 10:30 Greece  8–12   Switzerland   Stadio Marco Provini [it] 3:15 150 Boxscore
21 Sep 15:30 Italy  16–0  Lithuania F/6 Stadio Marco Provini [it] 2:14 200 Boxscore
22 Sep 11:30 Lithuania  5–13   Switzerland F/7 Stadio Marco Provini [it] 2:40 80 Boxscore
22 Sep 14:30 Greece  4–9  Italy F/7 Stadio Marco Provini [it] 2:26 110 Boxscore
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Group D

More information Pos, Team ...
Pos Team Pld W L RF RA PCT GB Qualification
1  Croatia 3 3 0 21 6 1.000 — Advance to crossover playoff
2  Austria 3 2 1 44 14 .667 1
3  Belgium (H) 3 1 2 30 31 .333 2
4  Hungary 3 0 3 12 56 .000 3
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Updated to match(es) played on 22 September 2025. Source: WBSC Europe
(H) Hosts
More information Date, Local time ...
Date Local time Road team Score Home team Inn. Venue Game duration Attendance Boxscore
20 Sep 10:00 Hungary  1–11  Croatia F/7 Squirrels Venue 2:06   Boxscore
20 Sep 14:30 Austria  16–8  Belgium   Squirrels Venue 3:42 715 Boxscore
21 Sep 10:00 Croatia  4–2  Austria   Squirrels Venue 2:58 358 Boxscore
21 Sep 14:30 Hungary  9–19  Belgium F/7 Squirrels Venue 3:03 634 Boxscore
22 Sep 10:00 Austria  26–2  Hungary F/5 Squirrels Venue 2:45 179 Boxscore
22 Sep 15:30 Belgium  3–6  Croatia F/10 Squirrels Venue 3:18 293 Boxscore
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Relegation round

The relegation round was a best-of-three series with the third and fourth place teams of Groups C and D, with the result of the Group stage game serving as Game 1 of the series. The losers of both series, Lithuania and Hungary, was relegated. Both teams lost all their games in the tournament.

More information Date, Local time ...
Date Local time Road team Score Home team Inn. Venue Game duration Attendance Boxscore
23 Sep 10:30 Lithuania  5–13  Greece   Stadio Marco Provini [it] 3:25 60 Boxscore
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More information Date, Local time ...
Date Local time Road team Score Home team Inn. Venue Game duration Attendance Boxscore
23 Sep 15:30 Hungary  3–8  Belgium   Squirrels Venue 2:44 131 Boxscore
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Final round

The Netherlands won the tournament, going undefeated. In the semifinals, avenging a loss to Spain in the 2023 championship semifinals, Dutch pitcher Kevin Kelly relieved the injured Tom de Blok in the first inning and got 16 strikeouts in 8+1⁄3 innings.[17][18] That performance, along with two saves earlier in the tournament, won Kelly the best pitcher award.[19] The Netherlands beat Italy, which had been the only other undefeated team, 6–5 in the championship game. Giaconino Lasaracina, who hit a tournament-leading six home runs, homered for Italy in the loss, while Sharlon Schoop hit a home run for the Dutch and had 2 runs batted in.[20][21][22]

Spain lost in the third place game, 9–2 to the Czech Republic, giving the Czechs their first medal in the European tournament.[23] Great Britain, after finishing second in the 2023 tournament, was knocked out of title contention again by Spain, losing in the quarterfinals.[24]

Championship

Bracket

Crossover playoff
24 September		Quarterfinals
25 September		Semifinals
26 September		Final
27 September
              
 Italy 1
 Germany 0
 Italy 6
 France 2
 Italy 8
 Czech Republic 5
 Israel 3
 Czech Republic 4
  Switzerland 1
 Israel 9
 Italy 5
 Netherlands 6
 Spain 7
 Great Britain 0
 Austria 0
 Spain 10
 Spain 1
 Netherlands 6 3rd Place
 Croatia 1  Czech Republic 9
 Netherlands 3  Spain 2
 Croatia 9
 Sweden 3

Crossover playoff

More information Date, Local time ...
Date Local time Road team Score Home team Inn. Venue Game duration Attendance Boxscore
24 Sep 13:00 Switzerland  1–9  Israel   Neptunus Familiestadion 2:36 105 Boxscore
24 Sep 14:00 Croatia  9–3  Sweden   Neptunus Familiestadion 2:53 520 Boxscore
24 Sep 18:00 Austria  0–10  Spain F/7 Neptunus Familiestadion 2:01 237 Boxscore
24 Sep 19:30 Italy  6–2  France   Neptunus Familiestadion 3:34 330 Boxscore
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Quarterfinals

More information Date, Local time ...
Date Local time Road team Score Home team Inn. Venue Game duration Attendance Boxscore
25 Sep 14:00 Israel  3–4  Czech Republic   Neptunus Familiestadion 2:53 93 Boxscore
25 Sep 15:00 Italy  1–0  Germany   Neptunus Familiestadion 2:22 950 Boxscore
25 Sep 18:00 Spain  7–0  Great Britain   Neptunus Familiestadion 2:54 133 Boxscore
25 Sep 19:30 Croatia  1–3  Netherlands   Neptunus Familiestadion 2:25 1,450 Boxscore
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Semifinals

More information Date, Local time ...
Date Local time Road team Score Home team Inn. Venue Game duration Attendance Boxscore
26 Sep 15:00 Italy  8–5  Czech Republic   Neptunus Familiestadion 3:20 953 Boxscore
26 Sep 19:30 Spain  1–6  Netherlands   Neptunus Familiestadion 2:47 2,463 Boxscore
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Third place game

More information Date, Local time ...
Date Local time Road team Score Home team Inn. Venue Game duration Attendance Boxscore
27 Sep 14:00 Czech Republic  9–2 Spain    Neptunus Familiestadion 2:58 1,600 Boxscore
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Final

More information Date, Local time ...
Date Local time Road team Score Home team Inn. Venue Game duration Attendance Boxscore
27 Sep 19:30 Italy  5–6 Netherlands    Neptunus Familiestadion 3:03 3,000 Boxscore
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Fifth place

Bracket

 
5th-8th place5th place
 
      
 
 26 September
 
 
  Israel 9
 
 27 September
 
  Germany 10
 
  Germany 2
 
 26 September
 
  Great Britain 0
 
  Great Britain 3
 
 
  Croatia 2
 
7th Place
 
 
 27 September
 
 
  Israel 11
 
 
  Croatia 5

5th-8th place game

More information Date, Local time ...
Date Local time Road team Score Home team Inn. Venue Game duration Attendance Boxscore
26 Sep 14:00 Israel  9-10  Germany   Neptunus Familiestadion 4:02 153 Boxscore
26 Sep 18:00 Great Britain  3–2  Croatia   Neptunus Familiestadion 2:53 85 Boxscore
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Seventh place game

More information Date, Local time ...
Date Local time Road team Score Home team Inn. Venue Game duration Attendance Boxscore
27 Sep 11:00 Israel  11–5  Croatia   Neptunus Familiestadion 2:48 217 Boxscore
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Fifth place game

More information Date, Local time ...
Date Local time Road team Score Home team Inn. Venue Game duration Attendance Boxscore
27 Sep 16:00 Germany  2–0  Great Britain   Neptunus Familiestadion 2:52 443 Boxscore
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Ninth place

Bracket

 
9th-12th place9th place
 
      
 
 25 September
 
 
   Switzerland 0
 
 26 September
 
  Sweden 1
 
  Sweden 3
 
 25 September
 
  Austria 6
 
  Austria 6
 
 
  France 3
 
11th Place
 
 
 26 September
 
 
  France 3
 
 
   Switzerland 11

9th-12th place game

More information Date, Local time ...
Date Local time Road team Score Home team Inn. Venue Game duration Attendance Boxscore
25 Sep 10:00 Switzerland  0–1  Sweden   Neptunus Familiestadion 2:17 69 Boxscore
25 Sep 11:00 Austria  6–3  France   Neptunus Familiestadion 3:04 223 Boxscore
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Eleventh place game

More information Date, Local time ...
Date Local time Road team Score Home team Inn. Venue Game duration Attendance Boxscore
26 Sep 10:00 France  3–11   Switzerland   Neptunus Familiestadion 3:28 113 Boxscore
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Ninth place game

More information Date, Local time ...
Date Local time Road team Score Home team Inn. Venue Game duration Attendance Boxscore
26 Sep 11:00 Sweden  3–6  Austria   Neptunus Familiestadion 3:04 223 Boxscore
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Final standings

More information Rk, Team ...
Rk Team W L Pct.
1st place, gold medalist(s)  Netherlands601.000
2nd place, silver medalist(s)  Italy61.857
3rd place, bronze medalist(s)  Czech Republic42.667
4  Spain43.571
5  Germany42.667
6  Great Britain33.500
7  Israel34.429
8  Croatia43.571
9  Austria42.667
10  Sweden15.167
11   Switzerland33.500
12  France06.000
13  Belgium22.500
 Greece22.500
15  Hungary^04.000
 Lithuania^04.000
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^ - Relegated to B Pool European Qualifier

Honors and awards

Awards

More information Award, Player ...
AwardPlayerRef.
Most valuable player Netherlands Didi Gregorius[19]
Best pitcher Netherlands Kevin Kelly
Best batter Italy Renzo Martini
Outstanding defensive player Italy Gabriele Angioi
Most home runs Italy Giaconino Lasaracina (6)
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Statistical leaders

More information Stat, Name ...
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Notes

  1. [1]
    José Díaz, Pablo Guillén, Lars Huijer, Shairon Martis, Gabriele Quattrini, Ondřej Satoria
  2. [2]
    Jorge Balboa, Jake Fishman, Quentin Moulin, Eimantas Žičkus

Notable participants

The championship featured several former Major League Baseball players, including Gregorius, Jonathan Schoop, and Shairon Martis for the Netherlands, Eric Sogard for the Czech Republic, and Luis Guillorme and Rhiner Cruz for Spain.[25][26] Dovydas Neverauskas pitched and played first base for Lithuania.[19] Croatia had first baseman Joey Terdoslavich and pitcher Asher Wojciechowski.[26]

Several former players also managed and coached teams. All-Star Adam Jones was Spain's hitting coach. Former catcher Francisco Cervelli managed Italy, with former executive Allard Baird serving as the team's bench coach.[25][26][27][19] Zach Vincej, Chase d'Arnaud, and Steve Rodriguez were on Croatia's coaching staff.[26][28] Erik Pappas was Greece's bench coach.[19][29] Dennis Cook, the former manager of Sweden and Poland, was Sweden's pitching coach.[19][30]

Broadcasting

The tournament was broadcast on WBSC Europe's paid streaming platform, baseballeurope.tv.[31]

Notes

  1. [a]
    Solbach had the most innings pitched among pitchers with a 0.00 ERA in the tournament.[1]

References

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