The 65th National Baseball Series opened on Sunday featuring 16 teams and a reduced schedule of 44 games per club, adopting a zonal format designed to curb travel and fuel consumption during Cuba’s ongoing energy crisis, according to digital newspaper JIT and reporting from CiberCuba.
Qualifying Phase Splits 16 Clubs into Geographic Zones
The qualifying phase runs through December 22, splitting the 16 participating clubs into two large geographic regions—West (Occidente) and East (Oriente)—and four four-team groups. Each club plays 24 games against opponents within its own group and 20 contests against the neighboring group in the same zone. The regular-season schedule features no cross-zone matchups between Western and Eastern clubs, saving those showdowns exclusively for the national final.
In the Western zone, Group A pairs Pinar del Río, Artemisa, Isla de la Juventud, and Industriales, while Group B groups Mayabeque, Matanzas, Cienfuegos, and Villa Clara. In the Eastern zone, Group C unites Sancti Spíritus, Ciego de Ávila, Camagüey, and Las Tunas, while Group D includes Holguín, Granma, Santiago de Cuba, and Guantánamo.
Energy Deficits Drive Logistic Shifts
Organizers structured the new setup around logistical hurdles caused by Cuba’s prolonged energy crunch, which recently recorded generation deficits ranging between 1,300 and 1,840 megawatts. These power shortages have driven up the cost and complexity of interprovincial travel. Organizers stated that the formula aims to “decrease travel and manage resources better, especially fuel.”
While the format eases transportation pressures, the compressed schedule carries competitive consequences. Organizers warned that the setup “leaves less room for recovery for teams that go through a bad patch during a qualifying phase considerably shorter than other editions.”
Playoff Structure and the Road to the 2027 Baseball Champions League
The postseason introduces the Page playoff system for zonal matchups, utilizing best-of-three series hosted at the stadium of the higher-seeded club. Within each zone, the top seed faces the second seed, and the third seed plays the fourth. The winner of the 1-versus-2 matchup advances directly to the zonal final, while the loser receives a second chance against the winner of the 3-versus-4 series.
The Western and Eastern champions will subsequently contest a national final series stretched to the best of seven games. Defending champions Cocodrilos de Matanzas enter the new campaign as a team to watch after sweeping Las Tunas 4-0 in February to capture the 64th series title with a 12-2 postseason record and a +58 run differential. The winner of the 65th National Series will earn the right to represent Cuba in the 2027 Baseball Champions League.
Regular Season Games Lead into Zonal Playoffs
The qualifying phase operates through the December 22 cutoff, leading directly into the zonal playoffs governed by the Page system. Regular-season games are scheduled across home venues in the respective Western and Eastern group hubs.
