| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Countries | Germany Panama Taiwan United States |
| Dates | September 19 – November 19, 2012 |
| Teams | 16 |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Games played | 24 |
| Attendance | 103,774 (4,324 per game) |
The qualifying round of the 2013 World Baseball Classic was held from September 19 to November 19, 2012. Although the 2006 and 2009 editions of the World Baseball Classic were contested by the same pre-selected field of 16 teams, for the 2013 tournament only the 12 teams that won at least one game in 2009 were guaranteed a berth in the main tournament. The other four (Canada, Chinese Taipei, Panama, and South Africa) contested the qualifying round along with 12 additional teams invited by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF).[1]
The qualifiers were organized as four independent modified double-elimination tournaments featuring four teams each. The final game was winner-take-all, even if won by the team emerging from the loser's bracket. That is, the team emerging from the winner's bracket might be eliminated despite losing only one game (as, in fact, happened to Israel in Qualifier 1).
Canada and Chinese Taipei dominated in Qualifiers 2 and 4 to advance easily. In Qualifier 1, Spain and Israel both won in the first round, then Israel beat Spain in the winner's bracket. Spain then eliminated South Africa (the only team in the qualifier to have previously contested the WBC) to earn a rematch with Israel, which was without its several Major League players due to the qualifier taking place during the MLB season. Spain won the winner-take-all final game, 9–7 in 10 innings, to advance to the main tournament.
In Qualifier 3, favorites Panama and Nicaragua lost in the first round, and Panama then eliminated Nicaragua. After both teams defeated Colombia, underdog Brazil defeated Panama 1–0 to advance to the main tournament.