The Olympiad tournament kicks off with the week-long regular season, in which defending champion Germany puts up a disappointing performance, missing out on the Olympiad playoffs. In Group Five, South Africa makes the playoffs over fellow 2-4 teams India and Czechia.
In pool 2, a huge upset as Team South Africa goes 4-2 and wins a tiebreaker over Japan. They enter the final 4 as a heavy underdog to Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and Cuba.
In the semifinals, South Africa's luck finally runs out. They fall to the D.R., 4-1. Meanwhile, Cuba crushes Venezuela, setting up a rematch of the Caribe Cup in the championship game...
In an instant classic, Cuba barely squeaks out a victory in a game that was tied 4-4 heading into the 9th. The Cubans needed each of the 4 runs from 1B
Jerry Flores' grand slam to avoid a choke from their bullpen. This is Cuba's first Olympiad title.
OLY MVP:
Jesus Rivas (Cuba) - 47 PA, .459/.574/1.297, 10 HR, 388 OPS+
OLY Best Pitcher:
Zak Peel (South Africa) - 15.1 IP, 0.00 ERA, 27/4 K/BB, 0.92 FIP
Next up, the League of Legends tournament before Opening Day for the Major League...