Eight U.S. teams and eight international sides will battle it out on separate sides of the draw to earn the right to play for the championship game on August 25.

The Caribbean team and Australia get the ball rolling on Thursday, August 15 p.m. with the first game of the opening round.

Honolulu is the defending champion after outscoring the competition 24-7 last year on its way to beating South Korea 3-0 in the championship game.

Here’s everything you need to know to keep up with the action.

Which teams are taking part?

Sixteen teams take part in the tournament, equally split between teams from the U.S. and eight teams from across the world.

The U.S. teams represent New England, the Midwest, the Southeast and Southwest regions as well as the Mid-Atlantic, Great Lakes and the West.

The international teams, meanwhile, include representatives for the Europe-Africa area, Latin America, the Caribbean and the Asia-Pacific, while Japan, Mexico, Canada and Australia have one team each.

Here’s the complete list of participants.

United States Teams

Great Lakes: Bowling Green, KentuckyMid-Atlantic: Elizabeth, New JerseyMidwest: Coon Rapids, MinnesotaNew England: Barrington, Rhode IslandNorthwest: Salem, OregonSoutheast: South Riding, VirginiaSouthwest: River Ridge, LouisianaWest: Wailuku, Hawaii

International Teams

Asia-Pacific: South Chungcheong, South KoreaAustralia: Sydney, New South WalesCanada: Coquitlam, British ColumbiaCaribbean: Willemstad, CuracaoEurope-Africa: Bologna, ItalyLatin America: Maracaibo, VenezuelaMexico: Guadalupe, Nuevo Leon

Format

The Little League World Series follows a double-elimination format, with American teams competing in one bracket and the rest-of-the-world teams competing in the other.

On August 24, the top two sides in the U.S. bracket and on the international side of the draw face each other with their respective titles at stakes. The two winners will then square off in the championship game a day later.

TV coverage

Every game in the tournament will be broadcast across ESPN channels or ABC. The latter will broadcast the American and international finals as well as the championship game.

Live stream

All the action will be available online via ESPN’s digital platforms via ESPN digital platforms Watch ESPN and ESPN+ and ABC’s website for games carried by the broadcaster.

Opening round TV schedule (all times ET)

Thursday, August 15

Caribbean vs. Australia—1 p. m. , ESPNNew England vs. Southeast—3 p. m. , ESPNAsia-Pacific vs. Latin America—5 p. m. , ESPNMidwest vs. Great Lakes—7 p. m. , ESPN2

Friday, August 16

Europe-Africa vs. Japan—2 p. m. , ESPNWest vs. Southwest—4 p. m. , ESPNMexico vs. Canada—6 p. m. , ESPNNorthwest vs. Mid-Atlantic—8 pm. , ESPN

Odds

Honolulu won the Little League World Series last year, but bookmakers expect one of the international teams to claim the title this year. Odds on an international side to win the title are 63/100 (-160 in moneyline terms), while odds on one of the U.S. teams to win are 6/5.