The 2026 KBO League has set a new single-season attendance record.
The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) announced that a total of 95,922 fans attended games across five stadiums on October 5, bringing the season's cumulative attendance to 12,362,000, averaging 17,685 fans per game.
This achievement surpasses the previous single-season record of 12,312,519 fans set last year after 699 games.
Since its inception in 1982, when it attracted 1,438,768 fans, the KBO League entered the 10 million fan era in 2024. This year marks the second consecutive season with over 12 million fans and the third consecutive season exceeding 10 million.
Despite challenges such as 30 game cancellations due to a record heatwave in August and player call-ups for the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, the league maintained its popularity. The overall seat occupancy rate reached 85.2%, with 330 sold-out games by October 5, nearing last year's record of 331.
Among the 10 teams, eight surpassed one million fans, a first in league history, with only the NC Dinos and Kiwoom Heroes falling short.
The Samsung Lions led in attendance with 1,669,050 fans, selling out 57 of their 71 home games. They were followed by the LG Twins (1,574,738) and Doosan Bears (1,483,772), with the Lotte Giants (1,282,929), KIA Tigers (1,217,388), SSG Landers (1,213,900), and Hanwha Eagles (1,120,950) rounding out the top teams.
On the same day, the KT Wiz secured the regular season championship with a 9-0 victory over Lotte, celebrating their first-ever one million fans (1,004,272) in franchise history.
The KBO League reached one million fans in just 55 games this season, breaking previous records for each million milestone. It surpassed 10 million on August 26 (in 565 games), 11 million on September 12 (in 626 games), and 12 million on October 1 (in 684 games).
With 21 games remaining in the regular season, the total attendance record is expected to rise further.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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