Curaçao beat Nevada 11-2 in the 2026 Little League World Series championship game, claiming the tiny Caribbean island’s second LLWS title and its first since 2004. The team from Henderson, Nevada, actually jumped out to an early two-run lead before Curaçao overcame it and pulled away, finishing the tournament unbeaten in double-elimination play.
How the Championship Game Actually Went
Nevada scored first, building a two-run lead early in the game — a real threat given how quickly Little League games can be decided over just six innings. Curaçao answered by overcoming that deficit and taking control, with Juriënsly De Windt and Shardijon De Lanoi combining to drive in six runs in the win. On the mound, relievers Giendry Ryan and Steven Felix were nearly flawless over the final three innings, striking out four batters between them to close out the 11-2 result and secure the title.
An Unbeaten Run Through the Tournament
Curaçao didn’t just win the championship game — the team went through the entire double-elimination Little League World Series tournament without a loss, a genuinely difficult feat against a field that includes both U.S. regional champions and international representatives from multiple countries. Nevada, representing the Mountain Ridge Little League of Henderson, reached the championship game by winning the U.S. bracket, only to run into a Curaçao team that hadn’t been beaten once through the entire event.
Why the Second Title Matters
Curaçao previously won the Little League World Series in 2004, making this 2026 title the small Caribbean island’s first LLWS championship in 22 years. For a nation with a population under 200,000, producing a second world championship team in Little League Baseball’s history — a sport where the U.S. fields dozens of regional programs each year — is a genuinely significant athletic achievement, not just a feel-good youth sports story. Curaçao has developed a real baseball pipeline over the past two decades, and this win reinforces the island’s standing as one of the most competitive non-U.S. baseball development programs in the Caribbean.
What the 2004 Title Produced: Real MLB Talent
Curaçao’s only previous Little League World Series title, in 2004, wasn’t just a one-off youth sports moment — it became a genuine talent pipeline. That championship team, which beat Thousand Oaks, California 5-2 in the title game, featured Jonathan Schoop and Jurickson Profar, both of whom went on to real MLB careers as middle infielders; Profar homered in that 2004 championship game before later representing the Netherlands internationally and playing over a decade in the majors. Curaçao has produced 17 major leaguers total, an extraordinary number for an island with a population under 200,000, and it’s part of why this second LLWS title carries real weight beyond nostalgia — youth baseball success on Curaçao has a documented track record of translating into professional careers.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was the final score of the 2026 Little League World Series championship?
Curaçao defeated Nevada 11-2.
Who led Curaçao’s offense in the championship game?
Juriënsly De Windt and Shardijon De Lanoi combined to drive in six runs.
Is this Curaçao’s first Little League World Series title?
No — their second. Curaçao previously won in 2004.
Did Curaçao lose any games in the 2026 tournament?
No, they went unbeaten through the entire double-elimination tournament.
Who did Curaçao beat in the championship game?
Nevada, representing Henderson’s Mountain Ridge Little League, the U.S. bracket champions.
How the LLWS Bracket Works
The Little League World Series splits into separate U.S. and International brackets before the two bracket winners meet in the championship game — meaning Curaçao’s unbeaten run had to first clear every other international qualifier before ever facing Nevada, the team that emerged from the separate U.S. bracket. That structure is part of why an “unbeaten tournament” claim carries real weight: Curaçao effectively had to win two separate elimination gauntlets — first within the international field, then the single championship game against the U.S. side — without a loss anywhere along the way.
The Bottom Line
An 11-2 final score makes Curaçao’s championship look lopsided, but the real story is a team that overcame an early deficit against the U.S. champions and did it without losing a single game across the entire tournament — a 22-year wait since the island’s only other Little League World Series title, ended in decisive fashion.
