No longer an underdog story, Czechia meets Korea in key opener (5 a.m. ET, FS1)

TOKYO -- Wake up early if you want to catch the fan favorite Czechia go up against Korea, which is hoping to advance beyond the first round for the first time since losing to Japan in the 2009 championship.

While the Czechs are known for being a team of amateur ballplayers who have the ability to stand up against pros, that’s not entirely true anymore: Beyond former Orioles utility man Terrin Vavra joining the team, outfielder Marek Chlup became the first Czech-born player to appear in the NPB, while starting pitcher Daniel Padýšak pitched for the independent Oisix Niigata Albirex -- another Japanese team.

“I have to say I learned a lot playing here, and it can be a great experience for tournaments like this where you play a bunch of different teams,” Chlup said. “For example, we play teams from Australia. We also play teams from Asia. So there's different styles of baseball, each team that we play. In a tournament like this, I think it's important to make adjustments day by day and game by game -- especially where we play two games in less than 24 hours, like tomorrow and the next day.”

They’ll have a difficult task against a Korean team whose lineup looks as fearsome as ever. Giants outfielder Jung Hoo Lee is the team’s captain, with Tigers outfielder Jahmai Jones and Astros prospect Shay Whitcomb -- who each have Korean mothers -- joining the squad. In addition, third baseman Do Yeong Kim and right fielder Hyun Min Ahn are two young sluggers who likely have MLB futures.

“Not only the last tournament but the previous couple tournaments, we couldn't go to the quarterfinals round,” Lee said. “So, this 2026 tournament, we are aiming to go for the quarterfinal, at least.”

Here’s what you need to know about the matchup:

When and where: Thursday, 5 a.m. ET, (7 p.m. local time in Tokyo) at the Tokyo Dome

How you can watch: The game will air on FS1 in America and Netflix in Japan. Click here to view viewing options in other countries and territories.

How you can listen: There is a free English-language audio stream available for every game.

Probable starting pitchers: Daniel Padýšak vs. Hyeong Jun So

Padýšak gets the ball in this one because, as manager Pavel Chadim said, “He’s our best pitcher.” A former Georgia Bulldog and a player in the MLB Draft League, Padýšak also started Czechia’s first game against China, tossing four shutout innings in the team’s 8-5 victory. He made another appearance later in the tourney, but struggled against Australia in Czechia’s loss.

“It's been three years,” Padýšak said. “We've all been looking forward to this, and I'm really excited that Pavel had confidence in me to start the game against Korea. I will do my very best to help my team win. I think we have a great group of guys, and I'm really excited to see what we can do.”

So will go for Korea after going 13-6 with a 3.86 ERA for the KT Wiz in the Korea Baseball Organization. He won the KBO’s rookie of the year award in 2020.

What’s at stake: For Korea, anything less than a trip to Miami will be a failure. To do that, it'll likely need a win against Czechia.

“Among all sports in Korea, baseball is the No. 1 favorite sport, and the previous couple international tournaments, our national baseball team has not succeeded,” manager Ji-Hyun Ryu said. “That makes our entire country disappointed. So, this is a time to recover, and at this tournament, I am expecting us to go to the Miami round at the quarterfinal. We are aiming to get the good result for the entire nation.”

But for the Czechs, who will need at least one victory in hopes of avoiding another Qualifier, they realize there are no easy games this time around.

“The big change [from 2023] is this is the group of death,” Chadim said. “We don't have China here. We have Chinese Taipei, and it's not easy to play with four top 10 teams and three from the top four in the world. Some mornings, I am brave, and some mornings, I want to run home.”

Matchup history: Korea defeated Czechia, 7-3, at the 2023 Classic as Ha-Seong Kim hit two home runs. The teams also played a two-game series in Korea in November, with Korea winning both of those contests.