KBO sets schedule for the Asia Series

Host Korea has finalized the schedule for an annual baseball tournament for league champions from across Asia, officials said yesterday.

The Korea Baseball Organization announced the Asia Series will take place Nov. 8-12 at Sajik Stadium in Busan, located some 450 kilometers (280 miles) southeast of Seoul.

This year’s tournament will feature six clubs from five countries - Korea, Japan, Taiwan, China and Australia.

The KBO league champion and the Lotte Giants will represent the host country. If the Giants win the championship, the league runner-up will be the other KBO representative.

Australia will send the Perth Heat, champion of the Australian Baseball League (ABL) in the 2011-12 season that ended in February.

According to the KBO, the teams will be divided into two groups. The first group will have champions from the KBO, China Baseball League and Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) in Taiwan. The second group will include the second KBO team, the Heat and the champion of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) in Japan.

The winning club will receive 500 million won ($440,500) in prize money, with the runner-up getting 300 million won.

Yonhap