Taiwan faces a critical group-stage finale at the 2026 Asia Professional Baseball Championship, entering the final day of the tournament with multiple paths to its first-ever championship game appearance.
Through the first two days of pre-tournament action, Japan holds a 2–0 record to preserve its nine-game tournament winning streak, while Taiwan and Australia share identical 1–1 records in second place. South Korea sits at the bottom of the standings with an 0–2 record.
For the upcoming matchup against South Korea, Taiwan will send pitcher Hsu Hsiang-Sheng to the mound. Hsu made 11 appearances in Japan’s farm league this season, recording a 3–1 record and a 2.61 ERA before being placed on the roster waivers by the Tokyo Yakult Swallows in late October.
South Korea will counter with SSG Landers right-hander Lee Ru-yun as its starting pitcher. Lee spent the majority of the year operating out of the bullpen before moving to the starting rotation in September, finishing the season with three wins, one loss, and a 3.49 ERA across five late-season starts.
If Japan defeats Australia in the tournament’s final round, Taiwan secures a direct berth to the championship game with a win against South Korea. A loss in that scenario would drop Taiwan to a three-way tie at 1–2 alongside South Korea and Australia, forcing teams to rely on the Team’s Quality Balance tiebreaker.
Should Australia pull off an upset victory against Japan, Taiwan must defeat South Korea to force a three-way 2–1 deadlock with Japan and Australia, which would again require the TQB calculation to determine the finalists. A loss by Taiwan in that scenario would eliminate championship contention and relegate the team to the third-place game against South Korea.
