The teams are separated into two groups of eight teams each for the preliminary round. Each group plays a single round robin. The top four teams in each group advance to the championship round, while the bottom four teams play in placement games. The championship round is played in a double Page round.[7]
Preliminary Page (two sections)
Minor semifinals: Third- and fourth-place teams play (A3 vs. B4, B3 vs. A4). Winners advance to Preliminary Page final, losers eliminated.
Major semifinals: First- and second-place teams play (A1 vs. B2, B1 vs. A2). Winners advance to Championship Page major semifinal, losers play in the Preliminary Page final.
Finals: The minor semifinal winners and major semifinal losers play. Winners advance to the Championship Page minor semifinal, losers eliminated.
Championship Page
Minor semifinal: Winners of each Preliminary Page final play. Winner advances to Championship Page final, losers eliminated.
Major semifinal: Winners of each Preliminary Page major semifinal play. Winner advances to Championship Page grand final, losers play in the Championship Page final.
Final: The minor semifinal winners and major semifinal losers play. Winner advances to Championship Page grand final, loser finishes in third place.
Grand final: The major semifinal winner and final winner play. Winner is the champion, loser is second place.
The games were played with the 15/10/7 run ahead mercy rule where a game was called if one team leads the other by 15 runs or more after 3 innings, 10 runs or more after 4 innings, or 7 runs or more after 5 innings have been played.[7]
^"XVI Women's Softball World Championship". World Baseball Softball Confederation. Archived from the original on 14 May 2018. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
^"WBSC Announces Dates for 2018 Baseball World Cups and Softball World Championships". Around the Rings. 25 January 2018. Archived from the original on 29 January 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
^"XVI Women's Softball World Championship Final Report" (PDF). WBSC.org. World Baseball Softball Confederation. 2018-08-16. Retrieved 2021-06-11.
^"WBSC launches new Softball World Cup format, 2021-2029 global schedule". WBSC.org. World Baseball Softball Confederation. 2021-02-26. Retrieved 2021-06-11.
^"USA wins Pan American Women's Softball Championship over Mexico, qualify for Chiba 2018". XVI Women's Softball World Championship. World Baseball Softball Confederation. Archived from the original on 4 December 2017. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
^Kolantsho, Calistus (18 January 2018). "Women's softball team qualifies for World Championships". Mmegi Online. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
^ a b"Softball Competition & Technical Code 2018" (PDF). WBSC.org. World Baseball Softball Confederation. 2018-06-30. Retrieved 2021-06-09.