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2026 NPB League Preview
There seems to have always been, at some point in the history of the Nippon Professional Baseball or known simply as the NPB, to have been a dominant team in the championship.
The Yomiuri Giants won four of the first six championships (1951, 1952, 1953 & 1955), then the Nishitetsu Lions won three in a row, which was followed by more dominance by the Giants. Between 1961 & 1973, they won eleven titles, which included nine on the bounce from 1965 to 1973.
The Seibu Lions, who were created from the original Nishitetsu Lions, were successful in the 1980s; they recorded a total of five titles and then went on to add three more in the early 1990s.
The late 90s and early 2000s were when things got competitive, with no team dominating the series, but the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks have been dominant of late. Between 2014 & 2020, they won it every year except for 2016.
However, their run of four straight titles ended in 2021 when the Tokyo Yakult Swallows were successful, making them the first successful Central League team since the Yomiuri Giants won in 2012, and since then, no team has won back-to-back titles.
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NPB Series Past Winners
The Yomiuri Giants are the most successful team by some distance, thanks to their dominance in the '60s and '70s. They have made a total of thirty-six championship final appearances, winning twenty-two of those; however, they have lost their last three championship series, including in both 2019 & 2020.
The Lions have undergone sales and location changes, but in all, they have won thirteen titles and appeared and lost in another eight championship series; however, they have not made a single championship final since 2008.
The recent success of the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks has catapulted them into third place for the most wins, seven wins since 2014, and moved them on to a total of twelve championship successes from their twenty-two final appearances. Before 1999, they were 2-8 under the Nankai Hawks, so their luck has changed significantly since then, with a 10-2 record when making the final.
Who will win the 2026 NPB Series? Head over to the baseball predictions to see which teams the OLBG baseball tipsters are picking daily, and which teams they think will advance to the playoffs. If you are interested in the MLB season, then head over to our MLB Preview blog.
Last Ten NPB Series Winners
| Year | Winners (MVP) | Score | Losers (MVP) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (Hotaka Yamakawa) | 4–1 | Hanshin Tigers (Teruaki Sato) |
| 2024 | Yokohama DeNA BayStars (Masayuki Kuwahara) | 4–2 | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (Kenta Imamiya) |
| 2023 | Hanshin Tigers (Koji Chikamoto) | 4–3 | Orix Buffaloes (Kotaro Kurebayashi) |
| 2022 | Orix Buffaloes (Yutaro Sugimoto) | 4–2-1 | Tokyo Yakult Swallows (Jose Osuna) |
| 2021 | Tokyo Yakult Swallows (Yuhei Nakamura) | 4–2 | Orix Buffaloes (Yoshinobu Yamamoto) |
| 2020 | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (Ryoya Kurihara) | 4–0 | Yomiuri Giants (Shosei Togo) |
| 2019 | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (Yurisbel Gracial) | 4–0 | Yomiuri Giants (Yoshiyuki Kamei) |
| 2018 | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (Takuya Kai) | 4–1–1 | Hiroshima Carp (Seiya Suzuki) |
| 2017 | Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (Dennis Sarfate) | 4–2 | Yokohama BayStars (Toshiro Miyazaki) |
| 2016 | Nippon-Ham Fighters (Brandon Laird) | 4–2 | Hiroshima Carp (Brad Eldred) |
How do NPB Favourites Perform?
In terms of favourites, the home statistics are probably close to most of the other baseball leagues. Over the past five seasons, there have been, on average, 54.1% of home favourites who have gone on to win and as you would expect, that number drops when the visiting team is the favourite, with 50.3% of the visiting favourites going on to win.
The 2021 season was a bit out of line with the others, only 47.4% of home favourites won, the only time in the past five years that number has dipped below 52%. The 2025 season saw both the home winning favourite's win percentage (57.3%) and the visiting favourite win percentage (51.6%) set highs when comparing the last five seasons.
| Season | Home Favs | Visiting Favs |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 242-508 (47.6%) | 168-341 (49.3%) |
| 2022 | 269-511 (52.6%) | 164-341 (48.1%) |
| 2023 | 315-559 (56.4%) | 150-292 (51.4%) |
| 2024 | 302-537 (56.2%) | 160-312 (51.3%) |
| 2025 | 294-513 (57.3%) | 173-335 (51.6%) |
| Total | 1422-2628 (54.1%) | 815-1621 (50.3%) |
The NPB League Structure
The NPB consists of twelve teams, which are split into two leagues with six teams in each of the Central and Pacific leagues. In the regular season, the teams go on to play between 120-146 games depending on the factors for that year.
When the regular season is completed, the top three teams from each league advance to the playoffs. The two teams that win the pennants (League winners) advance straight to the 'Climax Series' whilst the teams in second and third compete in a best-of-three series for a place in their league's Climax Series'.
Both 'Climax Series' will be played entirely at the home of the teams which won their league, giving them a big advantage for winning the pennant that season. These series are a best-of-five with the two winners advancing to the Championship Series.
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The 'Japan Championship Series' is a best-of-seven series, and the home advantage changes each year, because there are a possible seven games. One team will have the advantage of four home games, and the simple solution is that for years ending in an odd number, the Pacific League team has the advantage and those in an even number, the Central League team has the advantage.
The team that has the home advantage will play games 1, 2, 6 & 7 at home, whilst the other team will play 3, 4 & 5 at home, depending on if the later games are needed, of course, as it could be over after just four games!
Remember to head over to the Baseball Best Handicappers page, where those who have shown a profit with their baseball predictions will be highlighted. Many of them will follow certain NPB teams and give you an expert opinion on each of the games.
An introduction to the Central League Teams
Since 2007, the Central League introduced the 'Climax Series', which meant a playoff was introduced; previously, the winner of the league in the regular season would advance straight to the championship game. However, the top three now have a playoff to determine which team advances.
The Yomiuri Giants are the most successful Central League team, having won the pennant a total of thirty-nine times; no other team has even got into double figures! The Dragons, Carp & Swallows are all sat on nine pennant wins apiece, with the Dragons finishing runner-up a total of twenty-three times!
Chunichi Dragons
- City: Nagoya
- Stadium: Vantelin Dome Nagoya
- Capacity: 40,500
- Founded: 1936
Hanshin Tigers
- City: Nishinomiya
- Stadium 1: Hanshin Koshien Stadium (Exhibition Games)
- Capacity: 47,757
- Stadium 2: Kyocera Dome Osaka (Regular Season Games)
- Capacity: 36,477
- Founded: 1935
Hiroshima Carp
- City: Hiroshima
- Stadium: Mazda Stadium
- Capacity: 32,000
- Founded: 1950
Yakult Swallows
- City: Shinjuku
- Stadium: Meiji Jingu Stadium
- Capacity: 37,933
- Founded: 1950
Yokohama BayStars
- City: Yokohama
- Stadium: Yokohama Stadium
- Capacity: 30,000
- Founded: 1949
Yomiuri Giants
- City: Bunkyo
- Stadium: Tokyo Dome
- Capacity: 46,000
- Founded: 1934
An introduction to the Pacific League Teams
In 2004, the Pacific League introduced a playoff system. Before its introduction, the winner in the regular season would advance straight to the championship game, but now the top three battle in a playoff for that spot.
The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, who we have already touched on and whose dominance of late, have won a total of twenty-one pennants. They have only won four of the last ten, so are not as dominant in the regular season, and they trail the Seibu Lions, who are the most successful team with a total of twenty-three pennants.
Chiba Lotte Marines
- City: Chiba
- Stadium: Zozo Marine Stadium
- Capacity: 30,000
- Founded: 1949
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
- City: Fukuoka
- Stadium: Mizuho PayPay Dome Fukuoka
- Capacity: 40,142
- Founded: 1938
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters
- City: Sapporo
- Stadium: ES CON Field Hokkaido
- Capacity: 35,000
- Founded: 1945
Orix Buffaloes
- City: Osaka
- Stadium: Kyocera Dome Osaka
- Capacity: 36,477
- Stadium: Hotto Motto Field Kobe (During August)
- Capacity: 35,000
- Founded: 1936
Saitama Seibu Lions
- City: Tokorozawa
- Stadium: Belluna Dome
- Capacity: 33,921
- Founded: 1950
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles
- City: Sendai
- Stadium: Rakuten Mobile Park Miyagi
- Capacity: 30,508
- Founded: 2005
Article Contributor Information
Andy Powell stands as the linchpin behind OLBG's dynamic baseball content, blending his passion for the MLB and international leagues like NPB and KBO by creating and maintaining the baseball content on OLBG, which includes this NPB League Preview.
The statistics used in this blog include only regular-season games from the beginning of the 2021 season until the end of the 2025 season.
Andy Powell
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