With this season’s Perfect Game WWBA World Championship scheduled to be played Oct. 8-12 in Fort Myers, Fla., the PG WWBA World Championship qualifying tournaments are already upon us. Three of the eight qualifiers will be played this weekend, four more the following weekend and the final one on the weekend of Sept. 25-27.
These events offer a tantalizing prize, with the championship teams being awarded a paid berth into the exclusive PG WWBA World Championship field.
Every team invited to the Qualifiers comes in intent on winning the championship, of course, but the paid invitation to the blockbuster WWBA World – commonly known as “Jupiter” because of its long association with that Florida Atlantic Coast city – often fuels that desire for success.
Although they are not WWBA World qualifying tournaments, the three PG Fall National Championships Protected by G-Form will also be played over the next two weekends in the West Phoenix suburbs.
These tournaments allow scouts to get an extended look at some of the top players from many of the western states, including California, that have been scrambling for games during the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent shutdowns.
What follows is a rundown of the major events on the PG calendar that will be contested in the coming weeks:
WHAT: WWBA South Qualifier
WHEN: Sept. 11-14
HOST CITY: Tomball, Texas
HOST VENUE: Premier Baseball of Texas
TOTAL TEAMS: 60
2019 CHAMPION: Hunter Pence Baseball 2020 (Texas)
WHAT: WWBA Southeast Qualifier #1
WHEN: Sept. 11-13
HOST CITY: Marietta, Ga.
HOST VENUE: East Cobb Baseball Complex
TOTAL TEAMS: 50
2019 CHAMPION: East Cobb Baseball (Georgia)
WHAT: WWBA Ohio Valley Qualifier
WHEN: Sept. 11-14
HOST CITY: Hamilton, Ohio
HOST VENUE: Foundation Field
TOTAL TEAMS: 24
2019 CHAMPION: Inaugural event
WHAT: PG Upperclass, Freshman Fall National Championship Protected by G-Form
WHEN: Sept. 11-14
HOST CITY: Surprise, Ariz.
HOST VENUE: Surprise Spring Training Complex
TOTAL TEAMS: 124
2019 CHAMPIONS: GBG Marucci Navy 2020 (Upperclass, California); GBG Marucci Navy 2023 (Freshman, California)
WHAT: WWBA Kernels Foundation Championship
WHEN: Sept. 18-21
HOST CITY: Marion/Cedar Rapids, Iowa
HOST VENUE; Prospect Meadows Sports Complex
TOTAL TEAMS: 56
2019 CHAMPION: Cangelosi Sparks (Illinois)
WHAT: WWBA Northeast Qualifier
WHEN: Sept. 18-21
HOST CITY: Staten Island, N.Y.
HOST VENUE: Richmond County Youth Complex
TOTAL TEAMS: 78
2019 CHAMPION: Inaugural event
WHAT: WWBA National Qualifier
WHEN: Sept. 18-21
HOST CITY: Marietta, Ga.
HOST VENUE: East Cobb Baseball Complex
TOTAL TEAMS: 48
2019 CHAMPION: 643 DP Cougars 17u Pralgo (Georgia)
WHAT: WWBA Florida Qualifier
WHEN: Sept. 18-21
HOST CITY: Fort Myers
HOST VENUE: jetBlue Park Player Development Complex
TOTAL TEAMS: 59
2019 CHAMPION: Scorpions Founders Club (Florida)
WHAT: PG Underclass Fall National Championship Protected by G-Form
WHEN: Sept. 18-21
HOST CITY: Surprise, Ariz.
HOST VENUE: Surprise Spring Training Complex
TOTAL TEAMS: 58
2019 CHAMPION: GBG Marucci Navy 2021
WHAT: WWBA Southeast Qualifier #2
WHEN: Sept. 25-27
HOST CITY: Marietta, Ga.
HOST VENUE: East Cobb Baseball Complex
TOTAL TEAMS: 48
2019 CHAMPION: Nelson Baseball School (Georgia)