If you're just finding out about the game of Floorball, you woke up just in time... the 2016 World Floorball Championships are upon us!

Over the next eight days, sixteen teams will battle for supremacy in Riga, Latvia, culminating with the title match on December 11th.  Reaching the top of the mountain won't be easy.  Then again, getting to Riga wasn't a walk in the park either.  Qualifying for the WFC began back in February with 32 teams competing in six different regions to earn a spot in the big show.

Top-ranked and defending champion Sweden has dominated the world stage, winning eight WFC titles since 1996 and finishing second on two other occasions.  The Swedes soundly thrashed their competitors in the Slovakia regional, outscoring the opposition 106-7.  No, that's not a typo.  Sweden is just that good.

Perennial bridesmaid Finland poses the most serious threat to Sweden's three-peat quest.  The Finns, led by forward Jami Manninen, have been runner-up to their nordic neighbors on six different occasions and are the only other team to win the WFC (2008, 2010).

While European countries have monopolized much of the world rankings, the US has quietly cracked the top 10 and looks to play the role of Cinderella in this year's tourney.  Their previous best WFC finish was 11th place back in 2014, but the club has been steadily closing the gap with the best teams in the game.  The US squad opens the tournament against unranked but still dangerous Thailand.

#3 Switzerland opens the tournament against eight-ranked Estonia.  Games can be streamed live on the World Games Channel, although you'll have to get up pretty early to see the first matches of the day.  Fans can also check out www.iffwfc.org for tournament updates and copious amounts of floorball insight, or follow the action on Twitter (@iffwfc) and other social media pages.

On you can just hang out here with us and we'll keep you up to speed...