At long last, a champion has been crowned.
Kitasuna Little League from Tokyo defeated Red Land from Lewisberry, Pa., on Sunday at Lamade Stadium in Williamsport, Pa., to win the Little League World Series.
MORE: VIDEO: Japan, Pennsylvania turn LLWS final into HR Derby
Texas also defeated Mexico in the third-place game Sunday morning.
Here's how all the action shook out.
Japan 18, Pennsylvania 11
A day after they scored a combined four runs to advance to the Little League World Series final, Japan and Pennsylvania went off in the championship match.
The teams combined for a whopping seven home runs, but Japan ultimately came out on top, beating Pennsylvania 18-11 for the world championship.
After one inning, that result would have seemed improbable. Behind a grand slam from Dylan Rodenhaber, Pennsylvania scored 10 runs in the first.
Japan's two-run first looked measly compared with Pennsylvania's outburst, but Kitasuna rallied back immediately, pouring on seven runs in the top of the second. Yugo Aoki and Kengo Tomita each homered in the inning, and Masafuji Nishijima smacked a two-run double to help Kitasuna Little League get right back into it at 10-9.
By the time Pennsylvania went to bat in the bottom of the second, Japan was already on its third different pitcher of the day. And he was remarkably effective, as Noboyuki Kawashima delivered the first scoreless frame of the game and held Pennsylvania to just two hits the rest of the way.
Japan tied the game on another homer in the top of the third, then took a 13-10 lead on a three-run homer a few batters later — an almost unthinkable development after Pennsylvania's hot start.
Pennsylvania tacked on a run in the bottom half of the inning, breaking the Little League World Series record for most runs in a game (24) just halfway through.
The teams went scoreless in the fourth and fifth, setting up what looked like a tense sixth inning.
But Japan was determined to bury Pennsylvania, and Pennsylvania was coming apart at the seams. Between two errors and two wild pitches, Japan got numerous chances to extend the inning. And it delivered, coming up with five runs to stretch its lead to 18-11, far too much for Pennsylvania to overcome.
Texas 6, Mexico 4
It wasn't the kind of celebrating the team from Pearland, Texas, hoped to do, but it did go out on a high note.
After losing the U.S. Championship on a walkoff single Saturday, Texas rallied to beat Mexico 6-4 in a back-and-forth game for third place.
Mexico jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning, but Texas responded in the third, taking a 3-2 lead behind a two-run shot by Raffi Gross. Mexico then surged right back in the fourth, taking a 4-3 lead on a bases-loaded walk.
Enter Jared Tadlock.
The ace of the Pearland team came on after the walk and steadied the ship, limiting Mexico the rest of the way. Isaac Garcia blasted a three-run homer in the top of the sixth, and Tadlock was lights out the whole way, striking out the final batter to wrap up the win.