View source for Asia Series

{{Short description|International club baseball competition}}
{{Infobox sports league
| title           = Asia Series
| current_season  = 
| last_season     = 2013 Asia Series
| upcoming_season =
| logo            = Asia Series.png
| pixels          = 200px
| caption         = 
| formerly        = Konami Cup
| sport           = [[Baseball]]
| founded         = 
| fame            = 
| motto           = 
| inaugural       = [[2005 Asia Series|2005]]
| teams           = 6
| singles         = 
| country         = {{flag|Australia}} (2011–2013)<br />{{flag|China}} (2005–2008, 2012)<br />{{flag|Europe}} (2013)<br />{{flag|Japan}}<br />{{flag|South Korea}}<br />{{flag|Taiwan}}
| venue           = 
| confed          = 
| champion        =
| most_champs     = {{flagicon|AUS}} [[Canberra Cavalry]]<br />{{flagicon|JPN}} [[Chiba Lotte Marines]]<br />{{flagicon|JPN}} [[Chunichi Dragons]]<br />{{nowrap|{{flagicon|JPN}} [[Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters]]}}<br />{{flagicon|JPN}} [[Saitama Seibu Lions]]<br />{{flagicon|KOR}} [[Samsung Lions]]<br />{{flagicon|JPN}} [[Yomiuri Giants]]<br />(1 each)
| classification  = 
| qualification   = 
| tv              = 
| sponsor         = 
| related_comps   = {{flagicon|AUS}} [[Australian Baseball League|ABL]]<br />{{flagicon|CHN}} [[China Baseball League|CBL]]<br />{{flagicon|TWN}} [[Chinese Professional Baseball League|CPBL]]<br />{{flagicon|EUR}} [[European Cup (baseball)|CEB European Cup]] ([[Confederation of European Baseball|CEB]])<br />{{flagicon|KOR}} [[KBO League]] ([[Korea Baseball Organization|KBO]])<br />{{flagicon|JPN}} [[Nippon Professional Baseball|NPB]]
| website         = 
| footnotes       = 
}}

The '''Asia Series''' was an international club [[baseball]] competition, contested by the champions of all four [[Professional sports|professional]] [[sports league|leagues]] associated with the [[World Baseball Softball Confederation]] (WBSC)&mdash;[[Australian Baseball League]] (ABL), [[Chinese Professional Baseball League]] (CPBL), [[KBO League|Korea Baseball Organization League]] (KBO League), and [[Nippon Professional Baseball]] (NPB)&mdash;along with the [[European Champion Cup Final Four|CEB European Champion Cup]] holder and host city,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ibaf.org/en/news/2013/10/02/bologna-italy-to-play-in-asia-series/76f72236-3fde-4c85-a372-7428c5a8c19e |title=Bologna, Italy to play in Asia Series - IBAF |access-date=2013-11-15 |archive-date=2014-07-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714193258/http://www.ibaf.org/en/news/2013/10/02/bologna-italy-to-play-in-asia-series/76f72236-3fde-4c85-a372-7428c5a8c19e |url-status=dead }}</ref> to bring the number of teams to six.

The competition was co-sponsored by NPB Association and [[Konami]] from 2005 to 2007 and known as the '''Konami Cup'''. Participation was limited to the [[East Asian]] countries ([[Japan]], [[South Korea]], [[Taiwan]], and [[China]]). The tournament was stopped between 2009 and 2010 due to financing issues. It was reintroduced in 2011 and has been hosted by Taiwan and South Korea, whereas the previous had been held in Japan.

Following the [[2013 Asia Series|2013 edition]], the Asia Series was discontinued due to scheduling issues.

==Background==
The Asia Series began in 2005 as a tournament among the champions of [[Nippon Professional Baseball|NPB]], [[KBO League]] and [[Chinese Professional Baseball League|CPBL]] and an [[All-Star]] team from [[China Baseball League]] (CBL), which was called [[China Stars]]. Konami co-sponsored the competition until 2007, when the [[2008 Asia Series|2008 season]] became the first ''Asia Series''. Additionally, it was the first time that the champion of CBL was appointed for the tournament, instead of an All-Star line-up.

The withdrawal of Konami raised in the following years financing issues. The 2009 season was reduced to a [[2009 KBO-NPB Club Championship|single-game championship]] between the champions of NPB and KBO League and held at the [[Nagasaki Baseball Stadium|Nagasaki Stadium]]. The [[Yomiuri Giants]] won against the [[Kia Tigers]] by 9–4.<ref>[http://www.asiaseries.org/02year2009.asp History of Asia Series – Cancellation of 2009 Asia Series and Follow-Up] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111116104753/http://www.asiaseries.org/02year2009.asp |date=November 16, 2011 }}. (Traditional Chinese/English). Retrieved on November 24, 2011.</ref>

A potential 2010 season was then cancelled due to a conflict with the [[2010 Asian Games]]<ref>Yoon Chul. [https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/sports/2010/01/136_59878.html Asia Series Likely Off Due to Schedule Conflict.]  ''[[The Korea Times]]''; January 28, 2010. Retrieved on November 24, 2011.</ref> and replaced by another sets of Club Championship. The KBO League champion [[SK Wyverns]] first split the [[2010 CPBL-KBO Club Championship|two-game championship]] with CPBL champion [[Brother Elephants]] at the [[Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium|Taichung Stadium]], before being defeated in a [[2010 KBO-NPB Club Championship|single-game championship]] by the NPB champion [[Chiba Lotte Marines]] at the [[Tokyo Dome]] with 3–0.<ref>[http://www.asiaseries.org/02year2010.asp History of Asia Series – Cancellation of 2010 Asia Series and Follow-Up] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111118064329/http://www.asiaseries.org/02year2010.asp |date=November 18, 2011 }}. (Traditional Chinese/English). Retrieved on November 24, 2011.</ref>

The subject of re-introducing the event for 2011 was discussed in a November 2010 meeting between the heads of the NPB, KBO, CPBL, and [[Australian Baseball League|ABL]]. The CPBL offered to host the event in November 2011. The ABL, whose season runs from November through February, added a bye week in its schedule to allow the champion of the season before to participate in the Asia Series.

In 2013, [[Fortitudo Baseball Bologna]] of the [[Italian Baseball League]] competed as the first representative of [[Europe]] to participate in the tournament, qualifying as the [[European Cup (baseball)|2013 CEB European Cup]] champion. Due to the CBL's hiatus that year, the tournament remained at six teams.

The 2014 and 2015 seasons were cancelled due to scheduling issues.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/sport/perth-heats-asian-expedition-off-after-annual-series-cancelled-20141008-11388k.html|title=Perth Heat's Asian expedition off after annual series cancelled|first=Brad|last=Elborough|date=8 October 2014|website=Brisbane Times}}</ref>

==Format==
Each of the teams participated in a [[Round-robin tournament|round-robin]] series, playing each other team once. The two teams with the best [[win-loss percentage]] faced each other in the final, with the team finishing higher considered the "home team", meaning that they had the advantage of batting last. If teams were tied a series of [[tiebreakers]] were used to decide which teams qualified for the final and in what order, firstly using the head-to-head win–loss records amongst tied teams, and if necessary the ranking based on the lowest team [[run average]].<ref>{{cite press release|title=Asia Series 2011 opens November 25 |publisher=[[International Baseball Federation]] |date=19 May 2011 |url=http://www.ibaf.org/en/article-detail.aspx?id=55097b82-94ae-4de0-8f02-6f640ea2845b |access-date=24 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111004193732/http://www.ibaf.org/en/article-detail.aspx?id=55097b82-94ae-4de0-8f02-6f640ea2845b |archive-date=4 October 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref> All games have the [[designated hitter]] rule in effect, though not all participating teams would have it in their regular league.

==Participants==
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
! Country
! [[2005 Asia Series|2005]]
! [[2006 Asia Series|2006]]
! [[2007 Asia Series|2007]]
! [[2008 Asia Series|2008]]
! [[2011 Asia Series|2011]]
! [[2012 Asia Series|2012]]
! [[2013 Asia Series|2013]]
|-
| align=left | {{flag|Japan}} ([[Nippon Professional Baseball|NPB]])
| {{Ya}}
| {{Ya}}
| {{Ya}}
| {{Ya}}
| {{Ya}}
| {{Ya}}
| {{Ya}}
|-
| align=left | {{flag|South Korea}} ([[KBO League|KBO]])
| {{Ya}}
| {{Ya}}
| {{Ya}}
| {{Ya}}
| {{Ya}}
| {{Ya}}
| {{Ya}}
|-
| align=left | {{flag|Taiwan}} ([[Chinese Professional Baseball League|CPBL]])
| {{Ya}}
| {{Ya}}
| {{Ya}}
| {{Ya}}
| {{Ya}}
| {{Ya}}
| {{Ya}}
|-
| align=left | {{flag|China}} ([[China Baseball League|CBL]])
| {{Ya}}
| {{Ya}}
| {{Ya}}
| {{Ya}}
|
| {{Ya}}
|
|-
| align=left | {{flag|Australia}} ([[Australian Baseball League|ABL]])
|
|
|
|
| {{Ya}}
| {{Ya}}
| {{Ya}}
|-
| align=left | {{flag|Europe}} ([[Confederation of European Baseball|CEB]])
|
|
|
|
|
|
| {{Ya}}
|}

==Finals results==

===Konami Cup===
;2005–2007
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%; text-align:center;"
! scope="col" width=65 | Season
! scope="col" width=135 | Host City
| width=1 rowspan=10 |
! scope="col" width=200 | Champions
! scope="col" width=65 | Score
! scope="col" width=200 | Runners-up
| width=1 rowspan=10 |
! scope="col" width=135 | MVP
! scope="col" width=65 | No. of Teams
|- bgcolor=#D0E6FF
| 2005<br />''[[2005 Asia Series|Details]]''
| {{flagicon|JPN}}<br />[[Tokyo]]
| {{flagicon|JPN|size=30px}}<br />'''[[Chiba Lotte Marines]]'''
| 5–3
| {{flagicon|KOR|size=30px}}<br />[[Samsung Lions]]
| style="text-align:left"| {{flagicon|PHL|}} [[Benny Agbayani]]<br /><small>Chiba Lotte Marines</small>
| 4
|-
| 2006<br />''[[2006 Asia Series|Details]]''
| {{flagicon|JPN}}<br />[[Tokyo]]
| {{flagicon|JPN|size=30px}}<br />'''[[Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters]]'''
| 1–0
| {{flagicon|TWN|size=30px}}<br />[[La New Bears]]
| style="text-align:left"| {{flagicon|JPN}} [[Yu Darvish]]<br /><small>Hok. Nippon-Ham Fighters</small>
| 4
|- bgcolor=#D0E6FF
| 2007<br />''[[2007 Asia Series|Details]]''
| {{flagicon|JPN}}<br />[[Tokyo]]
| {{flagicon|JPN|size=30px}}<br />'''[[Chunichi Dragons]]'''
| 6–5
| {{flagicon|KOR|size=30px}}<br />[[SK Wyverns]]
| style="text-align:left"| {{flagicon|JPN}} [[Hirokazu Ibata]]<br /><small>Chunichi Dragons</small>
| 4
|}

===Asia Series===
;2008, 2011–2013
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%; text-align:center;"
! scope="col" width=65 | Season
! scope="col" width=135 | Host City
| width=1 rowspan=10 |
! scope="col" width=200 | Champions
! scope="col" width=65 | Score
! scope="col" width=200 | Runners-up
| width=1 rowspan=10 |
! scope="col" width=135 | MVP
! scope="col" width=65 | No. of Teams
|-
| 2008<br />''[[2008 Asia Series|Details]]''
| {{flagicon|JPN}}<br />[[Tokyo]]
| {{flagicon|JPN|size=30px}}<br />'''[[Saitama Seibu Lions]]'''
| 1–0
| {{flagicon|TWN|size=30px}}<br />[[Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions]]
| style="text-align:left"| {{flagicon|JPN}} [[Tomoaki Satoh (baseball, born 1978)|Tomoaki Satoh]]<br /><small>Saitama Seibu Lions</small>
| 4
|- bgcolor=#D0E6FF
| 2011<br />''[[2011 Asia Series|Details]]''
| {{flagicon|TWN}}<br />[[Taichung]]
| {{flagicon|KOR|size=30px}}<br />'''[[Samsung Lions]]'''
| 5–3
| {{flagicon|JPN|size=30px}}<br />[[Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks]]
| style="text-align:left"| {{flagicon|KOR}} [[Won-Sam Jang]]<br /><small>Samsung Lions</small>
| 4
|-
| 2012<br />''[[2012 Asia Series|Details]]''
| {{flagicon|KOR}}<br />[[Busan]]
| {{flagicon|JPN|size=30px}}<br />'''[[Yomiuri Giants]]'''
| 6–3
| {{flagicon|TWN|size=30px}}<br />[[Lamigo Monkeys]]
| style="text-align:left"| {{flagicon|JPN}} [[Hayato Sakamoto]]<br /><small>Yomiuri Giants</small>
| 6
|-bgcolor=#D0E6FF
| 2013<br />''[[2013 Asia Series|Details]]''
| {{flagicon|TWN}}<br />[[Taichung]]
| {{flagicon|AUS|size=30px}}<br />'''[[Canberra Cavalry]]'''
| 14–4
| {{flagicon|TWN|size=30px}}<br />[[Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions]]
| style="text-align:left"| {{flagicon|USA}} [[Jack Murphy (baseball)|Jack Murphy]]<br /><small>Canberra Cavalry</small>
| 6
|}

==Series records==

===By country===
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
! Country
! Champions
! Runners-up
! Years Won
! Years Finalist
|-
| align=left | {{flag|Japan}} ([[Nippon Professional Baseball|NPB]])
| 5 || 1
| align=left | [[2005 Asia Series|2005]], [[2006 Asia Series|2006]], [[2007 Asia Series|2007]], [[2008 Asia Series|2008]], [[2012 Asia Series|2012]]
| align=left | [[2011 Asia Series|2011]]
|-
| align=left | {{flag|South Korea}} ([[KBO League|KBO]])
| 1 || 2
| align=left | [[2011 Asia Series|2011]]
| align=left | [[2005 Asia Series|2005]], [[2007 Asia Series|2007]]
|-
| align=left | {{flag|Australia}} ([[Australian Baseball League|ABL]])
| 1 || 0
| align=left | [[2013 Asia Series|2013]]
| align=left | 
|-
| align=left | {{flag|Taiwan}} ([[Chinese Professional Baseball League|CPBL]])
| 0 || 4
| align=left | 
| align=left | [[2006 Asia Series|2006]], [[2008 Asia Series|2008]], [[2012 Asia Series|2012]], [[2013 Asia Series|2013]]
|}

===By club===
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
! Club
! Champions
! Runners-up
! Participated
! Years<br />Won
! Years<br />Finalist
! Games<br />Won
! Games<br />Lost
! Games<br />Pct.
|-
| align=left | {{flagicon|KOR}} [[Samsung Lions]]
| 1 || 1 || 5
| align=left | [[2011 Asia Series|2011]]
| align=left | [[2005 Asia Series|2005]]
| 9 || 7 || {{winning percentage|9|7}}
|-
| align=left | {{flagicon|JPN}} [[Chiba Lotte Marines]]
| 1 || 0 || 1
| align=left | [[2005 Asia Series|2005]]
| align=left | 
| 4 || 0 || {{winning percentage|4|0}}
|-
| align=left | {{flagicon|JPN}} [[Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters]]
| 1 || 0 || 1
| align=left | [[2006 Asia Series|2006]]
| align=left | 
| 4 || 0 || {{winning percentage|4|0}}
|-
| align=left | {{flagicon|JPN}} [[Yomiuri Giants]]
| 1 || 0 || 1
| align=left | [[2012 Asia Series|2012]]
| align=left | 
| 3 || 0 || {{winning percentage|3|0}}
|-
| align=left | {{flagicon|JPN}} [[Chunichi Dragons]]
| 1 || 0 || 1
| align=left | [[2007 Asia Series|2007]]
| align=left | 
| 3 || 1 || {{winning percentage|3|1}}
|-
| align=left | {{flagicon|JPN}} [[Saitama Seibu Lions]]
| 1 || 0 || 1
| align=left | [[2008 Asia Series|2008]]
| align=left | 
| 3 || 1 || {{winning percentage|3|1}}
|-
| align=left | {{flagicon|AUS}} [[Canberra Cavalry]]
| 1 || 0 || 1
| align=left | [[2013 Asia Series|2013]]
| align=left | 
| 3 || 1 || {{winning percentage|3|1}}
|-
| align=left | {{flagicon|TWN}} [[Lamigo Monkeys]]<sup>1</sup>
| 0 || 2 || 2
| align=left | 
| align=left | [[2006 Asia Series|2006]], [[2012 Asia Series|2012]]
| 4 || 3 || {{winning percentage|4|3}}
|-
| align=left | {{flagicon|TWN}} [[Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions]]
| 0 || 2 || 4
| align=left | 
| align=left | [[2008 Asia Series|2008]], [[2013 Asia Series|2013]]
| 6 || 8 || {{winning percentage|6|8}}
|-
| align=left | {{flagicon|JPN}} [[Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks]]
| 0 || 1 || 1
| align=left | 
| align=left | [[2011 Asia Series|2011]]
| 3 || 1 || {{winning percentage|3|1}}
|-
| align=left | {{flagicon|KOR}} [[SK Wyverns]]
| 0 || 1 || 2
| align=left | 
| align=left | [[2007 Asia Series|2007]]
| 5 || 2 || {{winning percentage|5|2}}
|-
| align=left | {{flagicon|JPN}} [[Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles]]
| 0 || 0 || 1
| align=left | 
| align=left |
| 2 || 1 || {{winning percentage|2|1}}
|-
| align=left | {{flagicon|KOR}} [[Lotte Giants]]
| 0 || 0 || 1
| align=left | 
| align=left |
| 1 || 1 || {{winning percentage|1|1}}
|-
| align=left | {{flagicon|TWN}} [[EDA Rhinos]]<sup>2</sup>
| 0 || 0 || 2
| align=left | 
| align=left | 
| 1 || 4 || {{winning percentage|1|4}}
|-
| align=left | {{flagicon|CHN}} [[China Stars]]
| 0 || 0 || 4
| align=left | 
| align=left | 
| 0 || 11 || {{winning percentage|0|11}}
|-
| align=left | {{flagicon|AUS}} [[Perth Heat]]
| 0 || 0 || 2
| align=left | 
| align=left | 
| 0 || 5 || {{winning percentage|0|5}}
|-
| align=left | {{flagicon|ITA}} [[Fortitudo Baseball Bologna]]
| 0 || 0 || 1
| align=left | 
| align=left | 
| 0 || 2 || {{winning percentage|0|2}}
|-
| align=left | {{flagicon|CHN}} [[Tianjin Lions]]
| 0 || 0 || 1
| align=left | 
| align=left | 
| 0 || 3 || {{winning percentage|0|3}}
|}

*<sup>1</sup>: Participated in 2006 under its old name '''La New Bears'''
*<sup>2</sup>: Participated in 2005 under its old name '''Sinon Bulls'''

==See also==
* [[Asia Professional Baseball Championship]]
* [[MLB Japan All-Star Series]]
* [[WBSC Premier12]]
* [[Caribbean Series]]
* [[Latin American Series]]
* [[European Cup (baseball)|European Cup]]
* [[World Baseball Classic]]
* {{section link|Baseball awards|Asia}}

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Asia Series}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20111201030126/http://www.asiaseries.org/ Asia Series 2013 official website] {{in lang|zh-tw}}

{{Asia Series}}
{{International club baseball}}
{{Australian Baseball League}}
{{China Baseball League}}
{{Chinese Professional Baseball League}}
{{Korea Baseball Organization}}
{{Nippon Professional Baseball}}
{{Professional Baseball}}

[[Category:Asia Series| ]]
[[Category:International baseball competitions in Asia]]
[[Category:Recurring sporting events established in 2005]]