The El Segundo All-Stars open play Thursday afternoon in the Little League World Series.
The team is the second team from Los Angeles County to advance to the event in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania since 1995.
El Segundo will open World Series play by facing the all-star team from the New Albany (Ohio) Little League. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. in the modified double-elimination tournament.
The game will be televised by ESPN. A watch party is planned at Rock & Brews El Segundo on Main Street.
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How the El Segundo All-Stars qualified for the Little League World Series
El Segundo qualified for the World Series by defeating the all-star team from the San Ramon-based Bollinger Canyon Little League, 3-1, in the championship game Friday of the West Region Tournament in San Bernardino.
El Segundo is 14-1 in four tournaments this summer. It lost to the all-star team from the Sherman Oaks Little League, 4-3, in the opening game of the championship series of the Southern California State Tournament July 31, then won the rematch, 3-2, later that day.
Little League World Series format explained
The Little League World Series introduced a 20-team bracket in 2022, up from 16 teams.
Metro and Mountain Regions were added on the U.S. side. Cuba, Panama and Puerto Rico are now part of the international field. Cuba and Panama have automatic bids for the 2023 tournament. Puerto Rico did not make the World Series field.
Here's where things get more complicated. Not everyone starts in the same position.
Four teams on each side of the bracket will play an additional game. Two other teams from each side will have to await the results of those games to figure out their first opponent. The tournament then follows a double-elimination format, meaning one loss isn't enough to send a team home.
Play follows that format until the U.S. Final and the International Final. The winners of those two games will meet in the Little League World Series championship scheduled for Aug. 27.
The full bracket can be found here.
LA-area teams in the Little League World Series
El Segundo is the first Los Angeles County team to win the West Region Tournament since 1994, when the all-star team from the Northridge Little League won and went on to win the U.S. championship with a team including future USC and NFL quarterback Matt Cassel.
One other team from Los Angeles County has qualified for the Little League World Series over that span. The all-star team from the Torrance Little League qualified for the Little League World Series in 2021 when the series was limited to U.S. teams because of the coronavirus and each of the top two teams from the eight U.S. regions advanced to the World Series instead of just the champion.
Los Angeles County teams have won the Little League World Series three times. The all-star team from the Granada Hills National Little League won in 1963 and teams from the Long Beach Little League won in 1992 and 1993.
