Black Panther Flag baseball tournament draws record 215 teams

The 14th CTBC Black Panther Flag National High School Baseball Tournament has announced a record-breaking 215 participating teams, including 205 in the mixed division and 10 in the women's division. The tournament is scheduled to run from October 25 to November 29.

During the draw ceremony, Longjin High School was designated the ‘unlucky winner’ (籤王) after being drawn to face the defending champion, Pingzhen High School, in their opening match. Longjin captain and pitcher Chen Guan-chen expressed optimism about the matchup, stating he looks forward to competing against elite players and aims to secure strikeouts during the game.

The tournament features a new ‘Unlucky Winner Challenge’ where the selected team must complete specific tasks for rewards. This year's competition also includes several players from the U18 national team, such as Pingzhen's Liu Ren-you and Guba Home Economics and Commercial High School's Huang Shi-yao.