Preview: Japan-Chinese Taipei, who will be the next Premier12 Champion?

The Premier12 Trophy will remain in Asia. World No. 1 Japan will face No. 2 Chinese Taipei for the third WBSC Premier12 presented by RAXUS title.

Japan will participate in the second consecutive Premier12 final and will head to the Championship Game undefeated. Chinese Taipei suffered three defeats during the 2024 Premier12. They will become the fourth finalist after Korea, Japan and the United States.

Samurai Japan chose Shosei Togo as their starting pitcher. The 24-year-old right-hander will compete in a stadium he knows well since he has started for the Tokyo Yomiuri Giants since his Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) debut in 2019.
Togo has started 26 games in 2024, posting a 12-8 record and a 1.95 earned run average (ERA).
In 2023, Togo helped Samurai Japan win the World Baseball Classic. During the Opening Round, he started the game against the Dominican Republic on November 18, pitching five innings and allowing two runs.

"Sunday will not be about the details of the game, but about focusing on the result," said manager Hirokazu Ibata. "We've had a lot of consecutive wins [27], and the players have been working really hard. It’s just one more game, so we definitely want to win it."

Chinese Taipei will hand the ball to left-hander Yu-Min Lin, a 21-year-old Arizona Diamondbacks prospect who started 19 games at Double-A and finished the season at Triple. Lin started the game against Korea during the Opening Round, going 4.2 innings without getting a decision. Chinese Taipei initially announced Lin as the starting pitcher for Saturday's Super Round game.

"Lin is our ace," said Chinese Taipei manager Hao-Jiu Tseng. "We know how strong Japan is. We will do our best to win and make our fans proud. Playing in this environment has already been an experience we won't forget. "

Since 2011, Japan and Chinese Taipei have faced each other 38 times. Japan won 23 times, the last one on Saturday night.