[1] Six national teams competed in the tournament: Israel, Japan (host), Mexico, South Korea, the United States, and the Dominican Republic.

[2] The tournament was originally scheduled to be held in 2020, but on 24 March 2020, the Olympics were postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

1 The WBSC Premier12 was played in Japan, Mexico, South Korea, and Taiwan, with the final in Tokyo.

The small number of teams in the tournament resulted in an unusual competition format being adopted that featured 16 games.

In the knockout round, the first three games featured teams that each finished in the same position in their respective pools (A1 vs B1, A2 vs B2, A3 vs B3).

After this, play continued in double-elimination format until there is one team left in each of the winners and losers brackets.