Most recent season or competition: 2013 Asia Series |
|
Formerly | Konami Cup |
---|---|
Sport | Baseball |
Inaugural season | 2005 |
No. of teams | 6 |
Country |
Australia (2011–2013) China (2005–2008, 2012) Europe (2013) Japan South Korea Taiwan |
Most titles |
Canberra Cavalry Chiba Lotte Marines Chunichi Dragons Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters Saitama Seibu Lions Samsung Lions Yomiuri Giants (1 each) |
Related competitions |
ABL CBL CPBL CEB European Cup (CEB) KBO League (KBO) NPB |
The Asia Series was an international club baseball competition, contested by the champions of all four of the professional leagues that are associated with the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) — Australian Baseball League (ABL), Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL), Korea Baseball Organization League (KBO League), and Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) — along with the CEB European Champion Cup holder and the host city, to bring the number of teams up to six.
The competition was co-sponsored by NPB Association and Konami from 2005 to 2007 and was therefore known as the Konami Cup. Furthermore, the participation was limited to the East Asian countries (Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and China). The tournament was stopped between 2009 and 2010 due to the withdrawal of Konami and the related financing issues. It was re-introduced in 2011 and has been hosted by Taiwan and South Korea, unlike the Konami Cup, which was held in Japan.
The Asia Series began in 2005 as a tournament among the champions of NPB, KBO League and CPBL and an All-Star team from China Baseball League (CBL), which was called China Stars. Konami co-sponsored the competition until 2007, why the 2008 season became the first Asia Series. Additionally, it was the first time, that the champion of CBL was appointed for the tournament, instead of an All-Star line-up.