Opening round begins March 5, 2009 in Tokyo Dome in Japan. Other first round sites include Mexico City, Toronto and San Juan.

Pool A in Tokyo: Japan, China, Chinese Taipei and Korea.
Pool B in Mexico City: Mexico, Australia, Cuba and South Africa.
Pool C in Toronto: Canada, USA, Italy, and Venezuela.
Pool D in San Juan: Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Panama and the Netherlands.

Second round games will be in Miami and San Diego, March 14-19 and will be double elimination.

Semi-finals and finals are single elimination and are scheduled for March 21-23 in Los Angeles at Dodger Stadium.

The 2009 MLB season will begin with the traditional Sunday night game on ESPN on April 5.