Tournament Overview
The 2026 Little League World Series is scheduled for Aug. 19-30 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Twenty teams — ten from the United States and ten international — will compete in the 38-game tournament, according to multiple reports. The games will air on ESPN, ESPN2, and ABC.
The tournament opens Wednesday, Aug. 19, and runs through the championship on Sunday, Aug. 30. Several outlets, including the Fayetteville Observer, Erie Times-News, Knoxville News-Sentinel, and Athens Banner-Herald, describe the event as a "global tournament" where teams compete to be "crowned the LLWS Champs."
How to Watch
Viewers without cable can stream the tournament through various platforms. The Staten Island Advance reports that ESPN's streaming platforms, including ESPN+, carry the games, and that Sling TV also offers access. Fubo TV is mentioned as an option with a five-day free trial.
For those looking to stream via Sling, several sources detail package options. Sling offers 1-Day, 3-Day, and 7-Day passes starting at $4.99, $9.99, and $14.99 respectively, according to the Knoxville News-Sentinel and Athens Banner-Herald. ESPN and ESPN2 are available on most Sling base packages, including Sling Orange, and on the Sling Essentials plan starting at $19.99/month.
Sling's base packages vary in channel count and device limits: Sling Orange offers over 30 channels and one-stream access, Sling Blue provides 40+ channels on up to three devices, and Sling Orange + Blue combines 50+ channels with four-device streaming, as reported by the Knoxville News-Sentinel and Athens Banner-Herald. Add-ons cost extra, with the Knoxville News-Sentinel listing Sports, Entertainment/Hollywood, Heartland, and News Extra as options.
Sunday, Aug. 23 Schedule
Sunday's slate features four Williamsport games, as reported by the Staten Island Advance, split between two international bracket matchups and two U.S. bracket games:
- Game 17: Mountain (Henderson, Nevada) vs. Northwest (Tacoma, Washington), 9 a.m. ET
- Game 18: Mexico vs. Latin America (Nicaragua), 11 a.m. ET
- Game 19: Midwest (Davenport, Iowa) vs. Metro (Bayonne, N.J.), 1 p.m. ET
- Game 20: Curaçao vs. Asia-Pacific (South Korea), 2 p.m. ET
Additionally, the MLB Little League Classic between the Atlanta Braves and Milwaukee Brewers is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET that day, according to the Staten Island Advance.
Full Tournament Schedule
The tournament schedule runs from Wednesday, Aug. 19, through Sunday, Aug. 30, with games each day. The early round matchups, as published by multiple outlets, include:
- Wednesday, Aug. 19: Latin America vs. Caribbean (1 p.m., ESPN), Southeast vs. Northwest (3 p.m., ESPN), Canada vs. Asia-Pacific (5 p.m., ESPN), Metro vs. New England (7 p.m., ESPN)
- Thursday, Aug. 20: Australia vs. Mexico (12 p.m., ESPN), Great Lakes vs. Mountain (2 p.m., ESPN), Curacao vs. Japan (4 p.m., ESPN), West vs. Midwest (6 p.m., ESPN2)
- Friday, Aug. 21: Panama vs. Winner of Game 1 (1 p.m., ESPN), Southwest vs. Winner of Game 2 (3 p.m., ESPN), Europe-Africa vs. Winner of Game 3 (5 p.m., ESPN), Mid-Atlantic vs. Winner of Game 4 (7 p.m., ESPN)
- Saturday, Aug. 22: Loser of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 5 (1 p.m., ESPN), Loser of Game 4 vs. …
The schedule continues with additional games through the championship, as outlined in the full published bracket.
Notes on Coverage
The scheduling and streaming details were consistent across the Fayetteville Observer, Erie Times-News, Knoxville News-Sentinel, and Athens Banner-Herald, which all carried a similar how-to-watch guide. The Staten Island Advance provided the detailed Sunday schedule. Sherlon Christie at USA TODAY Sports contributed to the reports carried by the Knoxville News-Sentinel and Athens Banner-Herald.