(Credit: Cole Kan/PCMag/MLB/Getty)
The World Baseball Classic, essentially the baseball World Cup, continues delivering on its promise of exciting international competition. After a big weekend, Japan, Puerto Rico, Korea, and Canada were eliminated. Then, in the semifinals, the USA beat the Dominican Republic, and Venezuela eliminated Italy. Tonight is the final matchup between the United States and Venezuela to determine who will win the championship. You can watch the game by streaming live without a cable plan. You simply need a live TV streaming service and a VPN.
The World Baseball Classic's Finals Schedule
Before you stream the World Baseball Classic, you must know when it airs. Daily pool play ended last week, and the top two teams in each region advanced to the quarterfinals. DR defeated Korea, the US beat Canada, Italy eliminated Puerto Rico, and Venezuela ousted Japan. The United States beat the Dominican Republic on Sunday, and Venezuela stopped Italy on Monday to advance to the Finals. You can find the last matchup below:
Tuesday, March 17
- United States vs. Venezuela @ 8:00 p.m. (Fox)
How to Stream the World Baseball Classic Without Cable
Typically, major sporting events are locked to one major network and its associated subchannels. That's no different here. The World Baseball Classic has aired on Fox, FS1, FS2, and Fox Deportes. Tonight's game will be on Fox.
If you don't have cable, you can watch the games with any live TV streaming service that carries Fox channels. That includes Fubo and Hulu, services that cost north of $80 per month for live TV streaming. That's pricey, but still cheaper than your typical cable plan with a sports package (the average American cable package costs nearly $150 per month). Notably, YouTube TV recently launched a dedicated sports streaming package for $64.99 per month, so that's worth investigating.
If you go the streaming route, you don't need to watch the action on a phone or tablet. Get a big-screen television that takes advantage of the high-definition broadcast, though you don't need an 8K TV. Just remember to turn on your TV's motion-smoothing option for the best picture while watching sports, and turn it off before watching other TV shows and movies to avoid the awful "soap opera effect."
How to Stream the World Baseball Classic for Free
Don't want to pay for those pricey live TV streaming plans? You're in luck, as there are a few no-cost options. They come with a few caveats, though. The Fox-owned Tubi, our Editors' Choice winner for ad-supported, free streaming video services, streamed several World Baseball Classic games for free, but that's not going to be the case for the championship game.
Your remaining option is to go the trial route. Fubo, Hulu, and YouTube TV offer free periods of varying lengths, which might not have been long enough to stream all the World Baseball Classic games, but will work just fine for tonight. And if you don't have the time to watch the full matchup, you can catch free highlights on the World Baseball Classic YouTube channel.
Where to Stream the World Baseball Classic Outside the US
As an international tournament, viewers worldwide can stream World Baseball Classic games. Licensing rights vary by region, which affects your streaming choices. For example, in Canada, you can watch through Sportsnet; in Latin America, Disney holds the rights; in Japan, you can catch the games on Netflix. Check the World Baseball Classic's watch page for full details.
How to Stream the WBC for Free Outside the US Using a VPN
A VPN not only helps protect you online but also lets you gain access to alternative streaming platforms in other regions. So our recommended virtual private networks are perfect for watching the World Baseball Classic if you don't want your streaming options limited by your location.
For example, Netflix carries the game in Japan, so you could (theoretically) watch the WBC Final by spoofing your location to Japan-based servers. In testing, I had no problem streaming Tubi content while connected to Proton VPN, but Netflix can be difficult to unblock. There's no guarantee this will work, and even if it does, it probably won't work forever. Just remember that you'll still need a subscription to any service you try to watch in this way.
The World Baseball Classic's Teams and Notable Players
The World Baseball Classic is down to two teams: the USA and Venezuela. Team USA is led by Aaron Judge (New York Yankees), Bryce Harper (Philadelphia Phillies), and Cal Raleigh (Seattle Mariners). Team Venezuela has Ronald Acuña Jr. (Atlanta Braves), Jackson Chourio (Milwaukee Brewers), and Salvador Perez (Kansas City Royals). Nolan McLean (New York Mets) will start for the United States, and Eduardo Rodriguez (Arizona Diamondbacks) will take the ball for Venezuela.
For more, check out our top MLB streaming services.