The KBO League playoffs have extended to a decisive fifth game, resulting in a one-day delay for the Korean Series schedule.
The first game of the Korean Series is set to take place on November 3 at KT Wiz's home field, Suwon KT Wiz Park. The series will feature games 1, 2, 6, and 7 at the home of the regular season champion KT, while games 3 to 5 will be held at the home field of the playoff winner. If the series goes to a seventh game, the champion will be determined on November 11.
Originally, the Korean Series was scheduled to begin on November 2. However, the playoff matchup between the Samsung Lions and KIA Tigers has progressed to a fifth game, extending KT's wait as the regular season champion by another day.
The schedule was pushed back because the fifth playoff game is set for November 1. According to KBO regulations, there must be at least one travel day between postseason series.
Previously, the first playoff game scheduled for October 25 was canceled due to rain, causing all playoff games to be postponed by one day.
KIA secured a comeback victory against Samsung on October 30 at Gwangju Kia Champions Field in the fourth playoff game, winning 4-2. Trailing 2-1, KIA scored three runs in the seventh inning to turn the game around.
With this win, KIA evened the series at 2-2 after initially falling behind 1-2 against Samsung.
Han Jun-soo, batting sixth as the designated hitter, excelled with three hits and two RBIs in four at-bats. He contributed a game-tying hit and followed it up with a go-ahead hit in the seventh inning. As the player who drove in the winning run, he received both the Daily MVP award and the Today's Hitting Award, which comes with a cash prize of 2 million won.
Samsung and KIA will face off in the fifth game on November 1 at 2 p.m. at Daegu Samsung Lions Park, with a spot in the Korean Series on the line.
Since 1986, there have been 35 playoff series held under the best-of-five format, with 15 of those series reaching a fifth game. This will mark the 16th playoff fifth game in history.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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