” Game order” vs “schedule” with the phrase ‘second’ claiming “change the organization so that the US and Japan do not face each other in the quarterfinals”

The World Baseball Classic (WBC), hosted by the Major League (MLB) Secretariat, was embroiled in controversy over the formation of the brackets.

Allegations were raised that the WBC Organizing Committee changed the match schedule for the U.S. and planned a safe advance to the final. It is a story that the match against Japan was changed from the semi-final to the final out of consideration for the United States, which was burdened with facing Japan, a strong team.메이저놀이터

The controversy arose when Chris Marinak, chief operating and strategy officer of MLB, announced the schedule for the semifinals prior to the quarterfinal match between WBC Japan and Italy held at Tokyo Dome, Japan on the 16th.

On this day, as it became known that the United States and Venezuela were allotted three quarter-final matches, and Puerto Rico and Mexico were allocated four quarter-final matches, suspicions of ‘pushing the United States’ were raised. According to this matchup, the matchup between the United States and Japan in this tournament is only possible in the finals.

The United States and Japan face different opponents in the quarterfinals. At the final gateway to the finals, Japan will face off against Puerto Rico and Mexico, the victors. If the US defeats Venezuela, it will compete with Cuba for a place in the final.

Originally, during the first round of the tournament, the WBC said on the official website bracket table, “If the Japanese national team advances to the second round, the second match of the quarterfinals will be played regardless of the group B ranking”, “If the US national team advances to the second round, the second match of the quarterfinals will be played. The phrase “I’ll pay” was inserted in the lower right corner. As the United States and Japan are the host countries of the tournament, it seems that the decision was made in consideration of the broadcasting schedule and the success of the tournament.

However, when we moved on to the second round, the phrase disappeared from the match list on the official website, amplifying suspicion. The phrase disappeared, and the match between the United States and Venezuela was assigned as the ‘quarterfinal 3 match’. Then, those who knew that the match against the United States, the second match of the quarterfinals, meant ‘four matches of the quarterfinals’, said that they changed the schedule so that the United States, which unexpectedly reached the quarterfinals in second place in the group, would face Japan in the final for the sake of box office success. expressed distrust in the operation.

This controversy reaches a completely different conclusion depending on how you understand the phrase ‘the second match of the quarterfinals’.

If the ‘second game’ is interpreted as ‘2 games’ and ‘4 games’ in the quarterfinals, Japan should play 2 games and the US should play 4 games. In that case, if the United States defeats Venezuela in Daejeon, it will face Japan in the semifinals for a ticket to the final.

However, if you consider the ‘second match’ as ​​the second match to be held locally, the words will be different. Games 1 and 2 of the quarterfinals will be held in Tokyo, Japan, and games 3 and 4 will be held in Miami, USA. At this time, Japan’s match on the 16th is equivalent to two matches in the quarterfinals, as it is now.

However, the U.S. will be assigned to the match on the 19th, the third match of the quarterfinals. This is because the 4 matches of the quarterfinals will be held on the 18th due to the schedule. If the announcement of MLB Chief Operating and Strategy Officer Marinak is understood as this explanation, the bracket controversy may remain a happening.

However, controversy over intentionally changing the match schedule due to ambiguous expressions and the deletion of such phrases has not subsided.