2014 Little League World Series

2014 Little League World Series
Dates	August 14– August 24
Teams participating	16
Champion	Seoul Little League Seoul, South Korea
Runner-up	Mountain Ridge Little League Las Vegas, Nevada

The 2014 Little League World Series, held in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, started on August 14 and ended on August 24, 2014.^[1] Eight teams from the United States, and eight from the rest of the world, competed in the 68th edition of the tournament. This was the first World Series to feature entire rosters of players born in the 21st century. ESPN again broadcast the games. This also marked the 75th anniversary of Little League Baseball. All games took place at Howard J. Lamade Stadium and Little League Volunteer Stadium. Seoul Little League of Seoul, South Korea defeated Jackie Robinson West Little League of Chicago, Illinois 8–4 to win the championship. On February 11, 2015, Jackie Robinson West's wins were vacated after it was found that the team used ineligible players from outside of the Chicago area. Mountain Ridge Little League of Las Vegas, Nevada was named the US champion due to the vacating of Jackie Robinson West's wins. Therefore, all of Jackie Robinson West's results are now officially recorded as 0–6 losses (forfeit).

Teams

United States	International
Chicago, Illinois Great Lakes Region Jackie Robinson West	Seoul, South Korea Asia-Pacific and Middle East Region Seoul
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Mid-Atlantic Region Taney	Perth, Western Australia Australia Region Perth Metro North
Rapid City, South Dakota Midwest Region Canyon Lake	Vancouver, British Columbia Canada Region South Vancouver
Cumberland, Rhode Island New England Region Cumberland American	Humacao, Puerto Rico Caribbean Region Miguel Luzunaris
Lynnwood, Washington Northwest Region Lynnwood Pacific	Brno, Czech Republic Europe and Africa Region South Moravia
Nashville, Tennessee Southeast Region South Nashville	Tokyo Japan Region Tokyo Kitasuna
Pearland, Texas Southwest Region Pearland East	Maracaibo, Venezuela Latin America Region Coquivacoa
Las Vegas, Nevada West Region Mountain Ridge	Guadalupe, Nuevo León Mexico Region Linda Vista

Results

The draw to determine the opening round pairings took place on June 11, 2014.^[2]

United States bracket

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

U.S. Semifinal

U.S. Championship

Winner's Bracket

–

Illinois (F/5)

12

–

Washington

2

1–0

Illinois

2

1–0

Nevada (F/4)

13

–

South Dakota

2

–

Nevada (F/5)

12

2–0

Nevada

8

2–0

Pennsylvania

1

–

Pennsylvania

4

–

Tennessee

0

1–0

Pennsylvania

7

1–0

Texas

6

–

Texas

6

–

Rhode Island

4

3–0

Nevada

5

4–1

Illinois

7

Loser's Bracket

0–1

Washington

7

0–1

South Dakota

5

1–1

Washington

4

1–1

Texas

11

2–1

Texas

1

0–1

Tennessee

7

2–1

Illinois

6

2–1

Pennsylvania

5

0–1

Rhode Island

8

1–1

Rhode Island

7

3–1

Illinois

6

1–1

Illinois

8

International bracket

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

International Semifinal

International Championship

Winner's Bracket

–

South Korea

10

–

Czech Republic

3

1–0

South Korea

8

1–0

Puerto Rico

5

–

Puerto Rico (F/4)

16

–

Australia

3

2–0

South Korea

4

2–0

Japan

2

–

Mexico

4

–

Canada

3

1–0

Mexico

5

1–0

Japan

9

–

Venezuela

0

–

Japan

1

3–0

South Korea

12

3–1

Japan

3

Loser's Bracket

0–1

Czech Republic

1

0–1

Australia

10

1–1

Mexico

6

1–1

Australia

2

2–1

Mexico (F/5)

11

0–1

Canada

0

2–1

Venezuela

1

2–1

Japan (F/5)

12

0–1

Venezuela (F/5)

10

1–1

Venezuela

2

3–1

Mexico

1

1–1

Puerto Rico

1

Crossover games

Teams that lose their first two games get to play a crossover game against a team from the other side of the bracket that also lost its first two games. These games are labeled Game A and Game B. Their purpose is to provide the teams who are already eliminated with the opportunity to play a third game.

	Game A
	August 18 – Lamade Stadium
	Czech Republic	3
	South Dakota	5

	Game B
	August 19 – Lamade Stadium
	Canada	9
	Tennessee	12

Consolation game

The consolation game is played between the loser of the United States championship and the loser of the International championship.

	Consolation game
	August 24 – Lamade Stadium
	Japan	5
	Nevada	0

World Championship

	Little League World Championship
	August 24 – Lamade Stadium
	South Korea	8
	Illinois	4

2014 Little League World Series Champions
Seoul Little League Seoul, South Korea

Mo'ne Davis

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania pitcher Mo'ne Davis became a media sensation throughout the tournament, becoming the first American female to participate in the Little League World Series (LLWS) since 2004 and the first female to pitch a winning LLWS game. The 13-year-old Davis is the first ever Little Leaguer featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine, as well as one of the youngest athletes to appear on the cover.^[3]

Jackie Robinson West

Team Jackie Robinson West also made headlines during the tournament for being the first all-African American team to compete in the tournament in several decades. Hailing from the Washington Heights neighborhood of Chicago, the team made it all the way to the World Championship before ultimately falling to a team from South Korea.^[4]

As the team rose to prominence, Evergreen Park, Illinois Little League official Chris Janes began to investigate personal information pertaining to players of the Jackie Robinson West team, finding that multiple players on the team lived outside of the team's designated boundary region. He later discovered that the team had used a falsified boundary map which covered a wider area than other teams in the region had agreed to.^[5] On February 11, 2015, based on Chris Janes' findings, the team's wins and U.S. titles were vacated for its use of ineligible players. The U.S. title was retroactively awarded to Mountain Ridge Little League of Las Vegas. The Great Lakes title was also stripped from Jackie Robinson West, and given to the team they beat in the championship, New Albany, Indiana.^[5][6]

In February 2016, parents of the team's members sued Little League Baseball, Janes, ESPN Inc., and ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith. They alleged that Little League Baseball and JRW officials had deliberately obfuscated details about the players' eligibility to "reap the benefits of notoriety and media attention", did not grant due process, that ESPN's Stephen A. Smith made defamatory remarks on its program First Take that "directly accused the JRW parents of perpetrating a fraud against the Little League", and that Janes had violated their right to privacy by using license plates to identify the players' residencies.^[4][7]

References

External links

• Official website