Final: Curaçao 11, Nevada 2. Sunday, August 30, 2026 at Howard J. Lamade Stadium.
Curaçao won the Little League World Series for the second time, beating the United States champions from Henderson, Nevada 11-2 in the championship game. It is the island’s first title since 2004 and the end of a 22-year wait.
Pariba Little League of Willemstad finished the tournament 6-0, never losing a game and never even trailing until the second inning of the final.
| Champion | Curaçao region — Pariba Little League, Willemstad |
| Runner-up | Mountain region — Paseo Verde Little League, Henderson, Nev. |
| Final score | 11-2 |
| Venue | Howard J. Lamade Stadium, South Williamsport, Pa. |
| Curaçao titles | 2 — 2004 and 2026 |
| Edition | 79th Little League World Series |
How the Game Turned
Nevada scored first and led 2-0 in the second inning on a two-run single to center, the first time Curaçao had trailed at any point in the entire tournament.
Curaçao answered in the same frame, tying it at 2-2 on a single to center that scored two. The international champions took the lead for good with a two-run double in the fourth, then broke it open with a bases-clearing double in the fifth. Three pitchers combined to hold Nevada to two runs, one of them earned.
| Date | Nevada (Mountain) | Curaçao |
|---|---|---|
| Aug. 21 | Beat Great Lakes 6-5 | Beat Japan 6-0 |
| Aug. 26 | Beat Midwest 14-6 | Beat Latin America 12-3 |
| Aug. 29 | Beat Great Lakes 12-2 (U.S. title) | Beat Japan 4-0 (International title) |
| Aug. 30 | Lost 2-11 | WON 11-2 — World Champions |
A 22-Year Wait
Curaçao is a Caribbean island of roughly 150,000 people. It has now won the Little League World Series twice, in 2004 and 2026, and reached the championship game on four other occasions after winning the international bracket in 2005, 2019, 2022 and 2023.
That is six finals for a territory smaller than most American suburbs, and until Sunday it had converted only the first of them. The 2022 and 2023 finals were both losses, the latter decided by a single run.
The Curaçao radio broadcast team led the crowd in the national anthem before the game, and the island’s support visibly grew as the tournament went on — by the final, the section behind the third-base dugout was a wall of Curaçao flags.
Nevada’s Second Straight Runner-Up Finish
Henderson reached the final as U.S. champions and lost, which is exactly what happened to a different Nevada league in 2025 — that team fell to Taiwan in the title game. The state is still waiting on its first Little League World Series championship after two consecutive appearances in the final.
This Nevada side was also the first U.S. team to reach the championship game without hitting a home run all tournament, a detail that says something about how it got there. It led 2-0 in the second before Curaçao’s pitching took over.
The Bottom Line
Curaçao beat Nevada 11-2 to win the 2026 Little League World Series, its second title and first in 22 years. Pariba Little League of Willemstad went 6-0 and trailed for only half an inning across the entire tournament. Nevada finishes as U.S. champion and national runner-up for the second year in a row.