A league of their own

With all its founding clubs financially backed by deep-pocketed enterprises, including State-owned and listed companies, the new league, with its opening day slated for Jan 1, is expected to expand career pathways for all baseball enthusiasts in China — pros or amateurs — with a draft system being introduced, and more games promised, in an initial three-year plan.

The CPB league will open the 2026 season on New Year's Day with five clubs — Changsha Want Want Happy, Xiamen Dolphins, Shenzhen Bluesox, Fuzhou Sea Knights and the Shanghai Dragons — set to play a total of 40 regular-season games through Feb 4, according to the league's Shanghai-based operating company Coolbang Sports.

The regular-season winner will directly advance into a best-of-three final series, scheduled from Feb 6-8, with its challenger to be decided by an extra playoff between the runner-up and third-placed clubs.

The majority of the spring season will be staged at Shenzhen's Zhongshan Park Baseball Field, with a second facility in Zhongshan, another city in Guangdong province, prepared as a backup host.

The goal, according to Coolbang Sports, is to help the league evolve into a full-fledged, home-and-away professional program by the 2028 season.