Team Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic has been called a major underdog, especially because they landed in Pool A with South Korea, Taiwan and the Netherlands. ESPN’s headline declared them “the Jamaican bobsled team of the WBC.”

Yet the team filled with lesser-known names just won a second game on Tuesday. And some of that success might be attributed to Team Israel’s mascot: The Mensch on a Bench.

Here he is:

Ty Kelly with a giant mensch on a bench is my new favorite photo ever. pic.twitter.com/kKYPlRsSxv — Mollie Galchus (@molliegalchus) March 1, 2017

If that name sounds familiar, it’s because you may have seen him on ABC’s Shark Tank, when a Cincinnati entrepreneur pitched the product as the Hanukkah equivalent to the Elf on the Shelf.

So how did the huge version of the product end up rooting on Team Israel? It’s thanks to Cody Decker, who bought it back in September. From ESPN:

“Every team needs their Jobu,” Decker said. “He was ours. He had his own locker, and we even gave him offerings: Manischewitz, gelt and gefilte fish.” Given all the good karma in Brooklyn — this year marks the first time that Israel has survived the qualifier and crashed the actual WBC tournament — it’s no surprise that the Mensch made the cut for the trip to Korea. “I tried getting him a first-class ticket,” Decker said. “But that didn’t fly, so he was put in a duffel bag and checked.” As for seating in Seoul, that’s a nonissue: “He has his allotted space on the bench. He sits on his bench, on the bench.”

This is amazing.

Will Team Israel’s Mensch-led magic continue in the WBC? We’ll find out soon.