Venezuela wins first WBC title on FOX; final draws record 10.7M viewers

Venezuela defeated Team USA 3-2 in the World Baseball Classic (WBC) final on Tuesday, and the match was historic in more ways than one.

Venezuela won their first ever WBC title and the players flooded the court with emotion and pride as they celebrated the thrilling victory.

History was also made during the television broadcast when 10,784,000 viewers watched the final on FOX and FOX Deportes.

It became the most watched WBC television show of all time.

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Fox Sports broadcaster Tom Verducci interviews MVP Maikel Garcia of Venezuela and his translator after a 3-2 victory against the United States at LoanDepot Park on March 17, 2026, in Miami, Florida. (Al Bello/Getty Images)

The television broadcast averaged 10,228,000 viewers, while peaking at 12,148,000 from 10:30 p.m. to 10:45 p.m. ET on FOX.

That number was up 128% from Team USA-Japan’s WBC final on FS1 during the 2023 tournament, when Shohei Ohtani struck out Mike Trout to seal a third WBC victory for his country.

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Although this game had all the thrills, the WBC proved to be an exciting tournament from the start with the pool game.

Whether it was heartwarming stories like Ondřej Satoria’s standing ovation from Japanese fans at the Tokyo Dome during his final outing for the Czech Republic or the Italian espresso machine’s home run celebration, viewers around the world tuned in to see the magic happen on the diamond.

Fox Sports broadcaster Tom Verducci interviews manager Omar López of Team Venezuela after a 3-2 victory against the United States at LoanDepot Park on March 17, 2026, in Miami, Florida. (Megan Briggs/Getty Images)

The tournament averaged 1,294,000 viewers on FOX, FS1 and FS2, making it the most-watched WBC in its 20-year history on English-language networks.

It looked like Venezuela was going to shut out Team USA, which had just two hits and four baserunners in the bottom of the eighth inning when Bryce Harper walked to the plate.

The game turned around when Harper hit a two-run homer to tie the game during the maximum viewing window.

But Venezuela never blinked. Eugenio Suarez hit a rope to left-center field, scoring the winning run with a double.

Members of Team Venezuela celebrate with their gold medals after defeating the United States 3-2 at LoanDepot Park on March 17, 2026, in Miami, Florida. (Al Bello/Getty Images)

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Daniel Palencia closed out the match for Venezuela, sealing the victory with a takedown of Roman Anthony. The party then moved on to Venezuela at LoanDepot Park.

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