Little League World Series: How to Watch, Bracket, New Format Explained

Everything to know about the 2022 Little League World Series originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

A summer sports staple is back and bigger than ever.

The Little League World Series is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. The event will feature international teams for the first time since 2019, with the COVID-19 leading to the postponement of the 2020 event and a U.S.-exclusive tournament won by Taylor, Mich., in 2021.

While the return of other countries will bring a sense of normalcy to the event, there is another twist that will make the 2022 tournament the first of its kind. Four teams have been added to this year’s field, bringing the field to a tournament-record 20 teams.

Those 20 teams – 10 from the U.S. and 10 from other nations around the globe – are now set. Before they play ball, here’s everything you need to know about the 2022 Little League World Series:

When is the 2022 Little League World Series?

The 2022 Little League World Series will go from Aug. 17-28.

Along with the championship game on Aug. 28, there are two other notable events over the course of the 12-day tournament. The Boston Red Sox will face the Baltimore Orioles in the MLB Little League Classic at Historic Bowman Field on Sunday, Aug. 21, and the Little League Home Run Derby will take place on Thursday, Aug. 25.

Where is the 2022 Little League World Series?

The Little League World Series will be held where it has been since its first edition: Williamsport, Pa. 

Games will be played at Howard J. Lamade Stadium and Volunteer Stadium. Lamade Stadium is the site for all games between U.S. teams, two games between international teams, the consolation third-place game and the Little League World Series Final. Volunteer Stadium will play host to all other matchups between international teams. 

What channel is the Little League World Series on?

All games will be broadcast on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC. Matchups can also be streamed on Watch ESPN and the ESPN app.

What is the format for the 2022 Little League World Series?

With four additional teams, the 20-team bracket will not be nearly as neat as the 16-team one.

Four new regions have been added along with the 16 regions from the previous format. Metro and Mountain have been included on the U.S. side, but the international side is a bit more complicated. 

Cuba, Panama and Puerto Rico are now part of a rotation where two of the teams receive an automatic bid, while the other competes in its respective regional tournament. Panama and Puerto Rico have automatic bids for the 2022 tournament. Cuba competed as part of the Caribbean Region in 2022 and did not earn a trip to Williamsport.

Not every team will start the new Little League World Series in the same position. Four teams on each side of the bracket will play an additional game, while two other teams from each side will have to await the results of those games to figure out their first opponent.

From there, the tournament follows a double-elimination format until the U.S. Final and the International Final. The winners of those two games will meet up for the LLWS title. 

The full bracket can be found here.

Which teams are in the 2022 Little League World Series?

Here's a look at the full LLWS field:

United States

• Great Lakes: Hagerstown, Ind.
• Metro: Massapequa, N.Y.
• Mid-Atlantic: Hollidaysburg, Pa.
• Midwest: Davenport, Iowa
• Mountain: Santa Clara, Utah
• New England: Middleborough, Mass.
• Northwest: Bonney Lake, Wash.
• Southeast: Nolensville, Tenn.
• Southwest: Pearland, Texas
• West: Honolulu, Hawaii

International

• Asia-Pacific: Taipei City, Chinese Taipei
• Australia: Queensland, Australia
• Canada: Vancouver, Canada
• Caribbean: Willemstad, Curaçao
• Europe-Africa: Bologna, Italy
• Japan: Takarazuka, Japan
• Latin America: Managua, Nicaragua
• Mexico: Matamoros, Mexico
• Panama: Aguadulce, Panama
• Puerto Rico: Guaynabo, Puerto Rico

2022 Little League World Series schedule

Here are the dates, times and networks for every game at the 2022 Little League World Series (all times ET):

Wednesday, Aug.  17

• Game 1: Latin America vs. Caribbean, 1 p.m., ESPN
• Game 2: Southeast vs. New England, 3 p.m., ESPN
• Game 3: Australia vs. Canada, 5 p.m., ESPN
• Game 4: West vs. Northwest, 7 p.m., ESPN

Thursday, Aug. 18

• Game 5: Europe-Africa vs. Asia-Pacific, 1 p.m., ESPN
• Game 6: Great Lakes vs. Midwest, 3 p.m., ESPN
• Game 7: Puerto Rico vs. Mexico, 5 p.m., ESPN
• Game 8: Mid-Atlantic vs. Southwest, 7 p.m., ESPN2

Friday, Aug. 19

• Game 9: Panama vs. Winner G1, 1 p.m., ESPN
• Game 10: Mountain vs. Winner G2, 3 p.m., ESPN
• Game 11: Japan vs. Winner G3, 5 p.m., ESPN
• Game12: Metro vs. Winner G4, 7 p.m., ESPN

Saturday, Aug. 20

• Game 13: Game 3 loser vs. Game 5 loser, 1 p.m., ABC
• Game 14: Game 4 loser vs. Game 6 loser, 3 p.m., ABC
• Game 15: Game 1 loser vs. Game 7 loser, 5 p.m., ESPN2
• Game 16: Game 2 loser vs. Game 8 loser, 7 p.m., ESPN2

Sunday, Aug. 21

• Game 17: Game 9 loser vs. Game 13 winner, 9 a.m., ESPN
• Game 18: Game 10 loser vs. Game 14 winner, 11 a.m., ESPN
• Game 19: Game 11 loser vs. Game 15 winner, 1 p.m., ESPN
• Game 20: Game 12 loser vs. Game 16 winner, 2 p.m., ABC

Monday, Aug. 22

• Game 21: Game 5 winner vs. Game 9 winner, 1 p.m., ESPN
• Game 22: Game 6 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 3 p.m., ESPN
• Game 23: Game 7 winner vs. Game 11 winner, 5 p.m., ESPN
• Game 24: Game 8 winner vs. Game 12 winner, 7 p.m., ESPN2

Tuesday, Aug. 23

• Game 25: Game 21 loser vs. Game 19 winner, 1 p.m., ESPN
• Game 26: Game 22 loser vs. Game 20 winner, 3 p.m. ESPN
• Game 27: Game 23 loser vs. Game 17 winner, 5 p.m., ESPN
• Game 28: Game 24 loser vs. Game 18 winner, 7 p.m., ESPN

Wednesday, Aug. 24

• Game 29: Game 21 winner vs. Game 23 winner, 1 p.m., ESPN
• Game 30: Game 22 winner vs. Game 24 winner, 3 p.m., ESPN
• Game 31: Game 25 winner vs. Game 27 winner, 5 p.m., ESPN
• Game 32: Game 26 winner vs. Game 28 winner, 7 p.m., ESPN

Thursday, Aug. 25

• Game 33: Game 29 loser vs. Game 31 winner, 3 p.m., ESPN
• Game 34: Game 30 loser vs. Game 32 winner, 7 p.m., ESPN

Saturday, Aug. 27

• International Final: Game 29 winner vs. Game 33 winner, 12:30 p.m., ABC
• U.S. Final: Game 30 winner vs. Game 34 winner, 3:30 p.m., ABC

Sunday, Aug. 28

• Third-place consolation game: U.S. Final loser vs. International Final loser, 10 a.m., ESPN
• Little League World Series Final: U.S. Final winner vs. International Final winner, 3 p.m., ABC