The Caribbean Series opened Thursday in Caracas, Venezuela, with an unprecedented eight teams participating in the annual tournament of winter league champions.

The champions of Colombia (Vaqueros de Monter¨ªa), Cuba (Agricultores), Curacao (Wildcats KJ74), the Dominican Republic (Tigres del Licey), Mexico (Ca?eros de Los Mochis), Panama (Federales de Chiriqu¨ª), Puerto Rico (Indios de Mayag¨¹ez) and Venezuela (Leones del Caracas) are vying to win the championship of the first Caribbean Series played in Venezuela in nine years.

The series features a seven-game, single round-robin schedule for each team. The top four clubs in the standings will advance to a single-elimination semifinal, followed by a championship contest on Feb. 10. There will also be a third-place game between the two teams eliminated in the semifinals.

Here¡¯s a recap of the series-opening action Thursday at Estadio Monumental de Caracas Sim¨®n Bol¨ªvar -- also known as Estadio de La Rinconada -- and Estadio Jorge Luis Garc¨ªa Carneiro:

Cuba 3, Curacao 1 (10 innings)?
This game was a taut pitcher¡¯s duel between Cuba, a team that returned to the Caribbean Series after a five-year hiatus, and Curacao, making its Caribbean Series debut. Right-hander?Cody Mincey tossed seven scoreless innings for Curacao, while Cuba¡¯s starter, righty C¨¦sar Garc¨ªa, nearly matched him zero for zero. Garc¨ªa yielded just one run over seven strong innings of his own. The game ultimately was decided late -- Cuba¡¯s Andr¨¦s De La Cruz launched a solo home run to tie the contest in the eighth before Guillermo Avil¨¦s delivered a go-ahead single in the top of the 10th. Right-hander Andy Vargas pitched the final three frames for Cuba, including a 1-2-3 bottom of the 10th to close it out.

Mexico 5, Dominican Republic 4
Down 4-1 after six innings, Mexico came back with a run in the seventh and three in the eighth. Reynaldo Rodriguez belted a solo homer to open the seventh, and the three-run eighth featured a trio of doubles. Jose Cardona hit a one-out double to right field, one of three Cardona hits on the night. Two batters later, Roberto Valenzuela drew a two-out walk. Rodriguez then doubled home Cardona, and that was followed by a two-run double from Irving Lopez to give Mexico a one-run lead.

Colombia 7, Puerto Rico 1?
Jordan D¨ªaz, the Athletics¡¯ No. 9 prospect,?per MLB Pipeline, went 2-for-4 with a three-run homer to lead Colombia. Gustavo Campero opened the scoring for Colombia with an RBI double in the top of the third. D¨ªaz launched his three-run shot in the fifth, and Francisco Acuna added on with an RBI double in the sixth. Colombia tacked on two more in the ninth on a Campero double and a bases-loaded walk by Dilson Herrera.

Venezuela 5, Panama 2
Host team Venezuela opened the Caribbean Series on a high note with a victory, thanks in large part to Ali Castillo¡¯s 3-for-3, two-RBI performance. Castillo led off the game with a walk and scored later in the first inning on a Hern¨¢n P¨¦rez single. Castillo walked again in the fourth to force in a run to tie the game, 2-2. Castillo also delivered three singles, including an RBI single in the eighth. Jos¨¦ Rond¨®n added an insurance run for Venezuela with a sacrifice fly in the ninth. Venezuela starter David Ramos yielded two runs in the second -- one unearned -- but threw three scoreless frames after that, finishing with one walk and four strikeouts. Relievers Miguel Socolovich, Arnaldo Hernandez, Ricardo Rodr¨ªguez and Anthony Vizcaya combined for four scoreless frames to close out the victory.