The 2017 World Baseball Classic set numerous tournament attendance records after the completion of the first round of play. The tournament reached record attendance for games played through the first round with 621,851 fans marking a +34% increase over the previous record of 463,017 which was established during the 2013 Classic.

Pool B, held at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan, registered the largest attendance of any pool in the history of the tournament with a total of 206,534. The average attendance for Japan's three first round games was 42,123. Japan's 11-6 victory over Cuba on March 7, which drew a crowd of 44,908, was the largest attendance of the first round and the third-largest crowd in the tournament's history.

Pool C, held at Marlins Park in Miami, drew a total of 163,878, which was the highest first round total for a U.S. pool in the tournament's history. The top game from Miami was the sold out USA vs. Dominican Republic thriller which the DR captured 7-5 in front of 37,446 fans, marking the largest crowd in Marlins Park history.

The fourth installment of the premier international baseball tournament features the world's top 16 National Teams competing over a 17-day span. Rosters for the 2017 World Baseball Classic feature tournament record totals of 63 MLB All-Stars and 259 players under contract with MLB organizations. The tournament is being distributed via media platforms in 182 countries and territories worldwide with a global reach of more than 415 million households.

Second Round play in the United States starts today featuring the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, United States and Venezuela from San Diego's Petco Park. The Second Round in the Tokyo Pool is underway with Cuba, Israel, Japan, and the Kingdom of the Netherlands competing at the Tokyo Dome. Two teams from each pool will advance to the Championship Round for single elimination match-ups taking place at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles from March 20-22.

Tickets for the remaining games are available at www.WorldBaseballClassic.com. In the United States, tournament games will air live exclusively in English on MLB Network and on an authenticated basis via MLBNetwork.com/watch; while ESPN Deportes and WatchESPN will provide the exclusive Spanish language coverage.