Topic summary
2026 Japan Series
Mizuho PayPay Dome (SoftBank)
The 2026Japan Series (日本シリーズ, Nippon Shirīzu; branded as the SMBC Nippon Series 2026 for sponsorship reasons) is the championship series of Nippon Professional Baseball's (NPB) 2026 season. The 77th edition of the Japan Series, it is a best-of-seven playoff series played between the Central League (CL) Climax Series championYokohama DeNA BayStars and the Pacific League (PL) Climax Series championFukuoka SoftBank Hawks. This will be the second time these two teams meet in the Japan Series in just three years, both with identical records from their previous Japan Series matchup.
SoftBank and DeNA are both, currently, undefeated in this postseason so far. For SoftBank, they returned to the Japan Series for the third consecutive year, now as the defending champion, after sweeping Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters in the Climax Series Final Stage. This is their 23rd overall appearance. For DeNA, they swept the Yomiuri Giants in the Climax Series First Stage, and then swept the Hanshin Tigers in the Final Stage, winning six consecutive road games to clinch their fifth Japan Series berth in club history.