Czechia hosted massive youth international tournament
In Czechia, the first June weekend was devoted to the youth baseball. More than 400 baseball players from 8 countries arrived at the sports relaxation complex to play U10 tournament SuperCup.
The tournament is a tradition. It has been played since its beginning at the Prague venue of Tempo and the one from this year, the eleventh edition, was a big premiere for the beautiful town Hluboka nad Vltavou. The towns are experienced organizers of baseball events, who will host one of the groups of 2022 U18 European Baseball Championship.
“I am happy that SuperCup is back after the pandemic at its full strength. We had 24 participating teams and the interest of the teams in playing is enormous. However, Czech teams must qualify, and international teams’ participation is based upon invitation. This year we had 7 teams from abroad who played really well. The biggest change was to move the tournament to Hluboka sports relaxation complex, the ideal place for this age category,” said Petr Ditrich, WBSC Europe Baseball Vice President.
Next to the Czech team, we could have seen teams from Slovenia, Austria, Germany, Hungary, Lithuania, Great Britain, and Spain. 24 teams were divided into 4 groups and, after the round-robin, the two best
teams from each group advanced to the second round played as double elimination - the German team Future Stars, Catalonia, home team Sokol Hluboka, Hrosi Brno, Draci Brno, Trebic Nuclears, Tempo Praha, and Kotlarka Praha.
Both Brno teams and both Future Stars and Catalonia made it to the semifinals. Catalonia, which had the loudest fan club in Hluboka, led by world-known singer Shakira and football star Gerard Pique (their son plays for Catalonia), ended up in 4th place after a loss with Hrosi Brno 1:11. Afterward, Hrosi were leading 5:0 over Draci but at the end lost 5:6 and Draci advanced to the finals.
The final game was in a firm grip of Future Stars who won highly 13:1. However, SuperCup is not only baseball games but also Masters competitions for all teams – throw, pitch, run, and defence play. Results from the Masters' competition are included in the final standings.
