Twenty-nine years is a long time to wait. Chinese Taipei finally ended that wait in 2025, and the Little League World Series winners by year list now carries one of the more remarkable comeback stories in the tournament’s history — a program that once dominated the sport, then went nearly three decades without a title, then shut out Nevada 7-0 to get back on top.
Chinese Taipei Breaks a 29-Year Drought
Twelve-year-old Lin Chin-Tse did most of the heavy lifting. The right-hander retired the first 13 batters he faced and allowed just one hit across five innings, his fastball regularly climbing past 80 mph — a number that plays even faster at Little League’s shortened 46-foot pitching distance. Chinese Taipei’s 7-0 win over Las Vegas, Nevada, closed out a championship that snapped a drought stretching back to 1996.
That single result reshapes the record book more than it might look at first glance. Chinese Taipei now sits at 18 total championships, second only to the United States, and the 2025 title reconnects the program to a golden era that once produced five straight championships from 1977 through 1981. A three-decade gap between titles eighteen and seventeen is a strange kind of milestone, but it’s real.
Little League World Series Winners by Year (1947–2025)
| Year | Champion | Score | Runner-Up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Chinese Taipei (Taipei) | 7-0 | Nevada (Las Vegas) |
| 2024 | Florida (Lake Mary) | 2-1 (8 inn.) | Chinese Taipei (Taoyuan City) |
| 2023 | California (El Segundo) | 6-5 | Curaçao (Willemstad) |
| 2022 | Hawaii (Honolulu) | 13-3 (4 inn.) | Curaçao (Willemstad) |
| 2021 | Michigan (Taylor) | 5-2 | Ohio (Hamilton) |
| 2020 | Canceled (COVID-19) | — | — |
| 2019 | Louisiana (River Ridge) | 8-0 | Curaçao (Willemstad) |
| 2018 | Hawaii (Honolulu) | 3-0 | South Korea (Seoul) |
| 2017 | Japan (Tokyo) | 12-2 (5 inn.) | Texas (Lufkin) |
| 2016 | New York (Endwell) | 2-1 | South Korea (Seoul) |
| 2015 | Japan (Tokyo) | 18-11 | Pennsylvania (Lewisberry) |
| 2014 | South Korea (Seoul) | 8-4 | Illinois (Chicago) |
| 2013 | Japan (Tokyo) | 6-4 | California (Chula Vista) |
| 2012 | Japan (Tokyo) | 12-2 (5 inn.) | Tennessee (Goodlettsville) |
| 2011 | California (Huntington Beach) | 2-1 | Japan (Hamamatsu) |
| 2010 | Japan (Tokyo) | 4-1 | Hawaii (Waipahu) |
| 2009 | California (Chula Vista) | 6-3 | Taiwan (Taoyuan) |
| 2008 | Hawaii (Waipahu) | 12-3 | Mexico (Matamoros) |
| 2007 | Georgia (Warner Robins) | 3-2 (8 inn.) | Japan (Tokyo Kitasuna) |
| 2006 | Georgia (Columbus) | 2-1 | Japan (Kawaguchi City) |
| 2005 | Hawaii (Ewa Beach) | 7-6 (7 inn.) | Curaçao (Willemstad) |
| 2004 | Curaçao (Willemstad) | 5-2 | California (Thousand Oaks) |
| 2003 | Japan (Tokyo) | 10-1 | Florida (Boynton Beach) |
| 2002 | Kentucky (Louisville) | 1-0 | Japan (Sendai) |
| 2001 | Japan (Tokyo) | 2-1 | Florida (Apopka) |
| 2000 | Venezuela (Maracaibo) | 3-2 | Texas (Bellaire) |
| 1999 | Japan (Osaka) | 5-0 | Alabama (Phenix City) |
| 1998 | New Jersey (Toms River) | 12-9 | Japan (Kashima) |
| 1997 | Mexico (Guadalupe) | 5-4 | California (Mission Viejo) |
| 1996 | Taiwan (Fu-Hsing) | 13-3 | Rhode Island (Cranston) |
| 1995 | Taiwan (Shan-Hua) | 17-3 | Texas (Spring) |
| 1994 | Venezuela (Maracaibo) | 4-3 | California (Northridge) |
| 1993 | California (Long Beach) | 3-2 | Panama (David) |
| 1992 | California (Long Beach)* | 6-0 (forfeit) | Philippines (Zamboanga City) |
| 1991 | Taiwan (Hsi Nan) | 11-0 | California (Danville) |
| 1990 | Taiwan (San-Hua) | 9-0 | Pennsylvania (Shippensburg) |
| 1989 | Connecticut (Trumbull) | 5-2 | Taiwan |
| 1988 | Taiwan (Tai Chung) | 10-0 | Hawaii (Pearl City) |
| 1987 | Taiwan (Hua Lian) | 21-1 | California (Irvine) |
| 1986 | Taiwan (Tainan Park) | 12-0 | Arizona (Tucson) |
| 1985 | South Korea (Seoul) | 7-1 | Mexico (Mexicali) |
| 1984 | South Korea (Seoul) | 6-2 | Florida (Altamonte Springs) |
| 1983 | Georgia (Marietta) | 3-1 | Dominican Republic (Barahona) |
| 1982 | Washington (Kirkland) | 6-0 | Taiwan (Chai-Yi-Hsien) |
| 1981 | Taiwan (Tai-Ping) | 4-2 | Florida (Tampa) |
| 1980 | Taiwan (Hua Lian) | 4-3 | Florida (Tampa) |
| 1979 | Taiwan (Pu-Tzu Town) | 2-1 | California (Campbell) |
| 1978 | Taiwan (Pin-Kuang) | 11-1 | California (Danville) |
| 1977 | Taiwan (Li-The) | 7-2 | California (El Cajon) |
| 1976 | Japan (Tokyo) | 10-3 | California (Campbell) |
| 1975 | New Jersey (Lakewood) | 4-3 | Florida (Tampa) |
| 1974 | Taiwan (Kao Ksiung) | 12-1 | California (Red Bluff) |
| 1973 | Taiwan (Tainan) | 12-0 | Arizona (Tucson) |
| 1972 | Taiwan (Taipan) | 6-0 | Indiana (Hammond) |
| 1971 | Taiwan (Tainan) | 12-3 | Indiana (Gary) |
| 1970 | New Jersey (Wayne) | 2-0 | California (Campbell) |
| 1969 | Taiwan (Taipei) | 5-0 | California (Santa Clara) |
| 1968 | Japan (Wakayama) | 1-0 | Virginia (Richmond) |
| 1967 | Japan (West Tokyo) | 4-1 | Illinois (Chicago) |
| 1966 | Texas (Houston) | 8-2 | New Jersey (West New York) |
| 1965 | Connecticut (Windsor Locks) | 3-1 | Ontario (Stoney Creek) |
| 1964 | New York (Staten Island) | 4-0 | Mexico (Monterrey) |
| 1963 | California (Granada Hills) | 2-1 | Connecticut (Stratford) |
| 1962 | California (San Jose) | 3-0 | Illinois (Kankakee) |
| 1961 | California (El Cajon) | 4-2 | Texas (El Campo) |
| 1960 | Pennsylvania (Levittown) | 5-0 | Texas (Fort Worth) |
| 1959 | Michigan (Hamtramck) | 12-0 | California (Auburn) |
| 1958 | Mexico (Monterrey) | 10-1 | Illinois (Kankakee) |
| 1957 | Mexico (Monterrey) | 4-0 | California (La Mesa) |
| 1956 | New Mexico (Roswell) | 3-1 | New Jersey (Delaware Township) |
| 1955 | Pennsylvania (Morrisville) | 4-3 | New Jersey (Delaware Township) |
| 1954 | New York (Schenectady) | 7-5 | California (Colton) |
| 1953 | Alabama (Birmingham) | 1-0 | New York (Schenectady) |
| 1952 | Connecticut (Norwalk) | 4-3 | Pennsylvania (Monongahela) |
| 1951 | Connecticut (Stamford) | 3-0 | Texas (Austin) |
| 1950 | Texas (Houston) | 2-1 | Connecticut (Bridgeport) |
| 1949 | New Jersey (Hammonton) | 5-0 | Florida (Pensacola) |
| 1948 | Pennsylvania (Lock Haven) | 6-5 | Florida (St. Petersburg) |
| 1947 | Pennsylvania (Williamsport) | 16-7 | Pennsylvania (Lock Haven) |
A Program Built on Streaks
What jumps out scanning this list isn’t just Chinese Taipei’s total — it’s the clustering. Taiwan and Chinese Taipei combined won nine of ten titles from 1977 to 1986, an absurd run that makes the 2025 championship feel less like a fluke and more like a name returning to a place it used to live. Japan has its own streak tucked into the 2010s, winning four titles between 2010 and 2017. Dynasties in this tournament tend to arrive in bunches, not evenly spread across decades.
MORE: 2026 Little League World Series Game Today: Full Schedule, Scores, Teams
FAQ
Q: Who won the Little League World Series in 2025?
A: Chinese Taipei won the 2025 Little League World Series, defeating Nevada’s Las Vegas team 7-0 behind a dominant pitching performance from 12-year-old Lin Chin-Tse.
Q: How many Little League World Series titles has Chinese Taipei won?
A: Chinese Taipei’s LLWS championship history now includes 18 total titles, the second-most in tournament history behind the United States.
Q: Has the Little League World Series ever been canceled?
A: Yes — the 2020 tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the only gap year in the Little League World Series winners by year record since it began in 1947.
Q: Which team was stripped of its Little League World Series title?
A: In 1992, the Philippines’ Zamboanga City team won the championship game 15-4 but was disqualified for using over-age, ineligible players; Long Beach, California, was awarded the title instead.
