BASEBALL / Documentary on Taiwan's Premier12 win to premiere in January 2026

Taipei, Nov. 24 (CNA) A documentary on the Taiwan national baseball team's first major international baseball championship at the 2024 WBSC Premier12 is set to premiere across the country on Jan. 1, 2026.

Taiwan's Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) and memory and storage manufacturer ADATA Technology Co. co-presented the documentary "Hero! Hito!" (冠軍之路) at a news conference in Taipei on Monday, which also marked the first anniversary of the team's historic achievement.

CPBL Commissioner Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) said he believes even those who are not baseball fans will find resonance in the film, as it portrays a breakthrough against various adversities and mirrors Taiwan's international circumstances.

"What we did in this film is restage the circumstances and players' emotions during the tournament as authentically as possible," director Lungnan Isak Fangas (陳龍男) said.

Lungnan encouraged people to watch the film multiple times because it is filled with many subtle details viewers may miss on their first viewing.

He said the player interviews in the documentary were filmed intensively in March, during the interval between the World Baseball Classic Qualifier (WBCQ) and the 2025 regular seasons in Taiwan and the United States.

He also expressed hope that Team Taiwan will enjoy another successful run at the 2026 WBC to warrant a follow-up documentary.

￭ Taiwanese company proposes turning Premier12 championship journey into film

According to sports betting website DraftKings Sportsbook, Taiwan is tied with Israel and Australia for the 14th-best odds among the 20 teams, ahead of only the United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Nicaragua and Brazil.

The United States leads all teams, followed by Japan and the Dominican Republic.

Taiwan will play Japan, South Korea, the Czech Republic and Australia in Pool C in March, with its first game slated against Australia on March 5.