The Knockout Stage (Single Elimination)
The top 2 teams from Groups A–H advanced onto the Round of 16. From this point on, ties are eliminated. A winner must advance.

Knockout Extra Innings: "Sudden Death"
If a knockout match is tied after 3 complete innings, the game enters a rapid-fire extra-innings format to guarantee a winner while keeping the pace blistering:

The 4th Inning and Beyond: The game moves immediately into a sudden-death 4th inning.

Automatic Runner: To force immediate action, each half-inning begins with a ghost runner at 2nd base and 0 outs.

The Ghost Runner: The runner placed on second base is the player in the batting order immediately preceding that half-inning's leadoff hitter (i.e., whoever made the final out of the 3rd inning).