Betting Site Says Korea 4th Most Likely to Win WBC

The national baseball team is the fourth most likely team to win the second World Baseball Classic among the 16 participating nations.

According to the British online betting company Ladbrokes, the odds of Korea winning the tournament is 7-1, tied for fourth with Cuba, the world’s top amateur power in baseball.

Korea opened the tournament yesterday with a 9-0 drubbing of Taiwan at Tokyo Dome.

The United States and the Dominican Republic are the leading contenders at 9-4.

Japan showed the third-highest odds of 3-1. Trailing Korea and Cuba were Venezuela (12-1); Puerto Rico (20-1); Mexico (28-1); and Canada (40-1). China ranked last at 500-1.

In the first round, bettors expect Japan to win Group A, followed by Korea, Taiwan and China.

wing@donga.com