Little League World Series 2024: Friday Schedule, TV Info and Bracket Predictions

On Friday, fans will see teams from Venezuela (Cardenales Little League), Illinois (Hinsdale Little League), Australia (Hills Little League) and Washington (South Hill Little League) for the first time.

The Little League World Series transitioned to a 20-team format in 2022 in an effort to allow more youth players worldwide to experience the extravaganza. Along with expansion came the implementation of four randomly assigned byes.

The winners of Wednesday’s games—Mexico (Matamoros Little League), Hawai’i (Central East Maui Little League), Taiwan (Kuei-Shan Little League) and Florida (Lake Mary Little League) will play their second games of the tournament.

Taiwan—also known as Chinese Taipei—had the most impressive win of Day 1. Kuei-Shan Little League recorded a decisive 8-0 shutout of the Canadian team (Whalley Little League(, quickly establishing Taiwan as a team to beat in the international bracket if not the entire tournament.

El Segundo Little League of California won last year’s Little League World Series, while Pabao Little League of Curaçao was the runner-up. Neither team made this year’s tournament, however, making Kuei-Shan Little League the top performer from 2023 to return.

Kuei-Shan Little League advanced to the International finals with an undefeated record last year before falling 2-0 to Curaçao.

Taiwan should present a tough test for the team from Sydney, Australia, which carried a 5-2 record in regional play. Hills Little League has been here before, though it went 0-2 in last year’s tournament.

Cardenales Little League will be another team to watch in the international bracket, as it returns from the 2023 tournament—where it was ousted in Round 3.

No U.S. teams are making consecutive appearances this year, but South Hill Little League could be a serious contender. The team from Washington lost its opening game of the regional tournament but won its final three while outscoring opponents 38-16.

South Hill’s offense, though will be tested by a Lake Mary defense that surrendered only two runs in its last three games.

Hinsdale Little League went undefeated in the regional tournament, but it will immediately face a stiff test against the team from Hawai’i. Central East Maui Little League claimed a 3-1 victory on Wednesday and comes from a region known for producing champions—Honolulu Little League won the 2022 tournament.

The good news for all eight competitors is that we haven’t reached elimination play yet. A loss on Friday will be unwelcome, but it won’t end a team’s chances of winning it all.