The GIST: Missing high-stakes international competition? Have no fear. The World Baseball Classic (WBC) — the quadrennial tourney featuring baseball’s best competing for their countries — officially begins tonight at 10 p.m. ET. From how it works to the superstars taking the diamond, here’s everything you need to know ahead of first pitch. Play ball, baby.

✅ The set-up: Twenty teams were divided into four pools (A, B, C, and D). Every squad plays round-robin tilts against each team in their pool, with games taking place at ballparks around the world (Tokyo, San Juan, Houston, and Miami). The top two teams from each group advance to a traditional single-elimination style tourney, culminating in the March 17th championship game.

• And there’s a lot more than bragging rights on the line: The two top WBC finishers from the Americas will secure a spot in the LA 2028 Olympics — excluding Team USA, who automatically qualify as the hosts — when baseball returns after a one-cycle hiatus. Hey batter batter.

⏪ Last time around: The 2023 edition had a storybook ending as Japan’s Shohei Ohtani struck out his former MLB teammate, Team USA’s Mike Trout, to give Samurai Japan its third WBC title. That magnificent moment kickstarted a run of dominance for the inimitable Ohtani. Now he’s back for more — but this time only as a hitter.

• Across the diamond, Team USA is once again stacked with MLB talent and enter as the favorites to win their second title and first since 2017. Aaron Judge, Cal “Big Dumper” Raleigh, Bryce Harper, and so many more in the same lineup? It’s championship or bust.