The Samsung Lions defeated the regular season champion KT Wiz to capture their ninth Korean Series title, their first in 12 years.
On November 8, the Lions triumphed over KT 12-1 in Game 5 of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO postseason at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu.
After overcoming the KIA Tigers 3-2 in the playoffs, Samsung lost the first game to KT but won four consecutive games to secure the series 4-1.
This victory marks Samsung's ninth Korean Series championship, including the unified titles from 1985, and their first win at the newly opened Samsung Lions Park, which debuted in 2016.
It is the first time since 2018 that a second-place team has defeated a first-place team in the Korean Series.
Manager Park Jin-man, who won six championships as a player, achieved his first title as a manager.
Meanwhile, KT, which aimed to reclaim the championship after winning their first unified title in 2021, settled for second place.
In the game, Samsung initially fell behind, allowing a run in the third inning. However, they turned the game around in the bottom of the third. After Kim Ji-chan walked, Koo Ja-wook hit a game-tying double, followed by a go-ahead single from Lewin Diaz. Samsung extended their lead to 3-1 with consecutive hits from Choi Hyung-woo and Kim Young-woong.
The decisive moment came in the fifth inning when Samsung scored eight runs. After a KT error and a hit from Koo Ja-wook set up a one-out, two-on situation, Choi Hyung-woo, Kim Young-woong, and Lee Jae-hyun each delivered run-scoring hits. With the bases loaded due to an intentional walk to Ryu Ji-hyeok, a fielding error by the KT shortstop, a two-RBI triple from Kim Ji-chan, and a wild pitch pushed the score to 11-1.
Samsung's eight runs in the fifth inning set a record for the most at-bats in a Korean Series game, totaling 11.
In the eighth inning, Samsung added another run with a single from Kim Young-woong, finalizing the score at 12-1.
The Lions' pitching was also solid. Starter Won Tae-in pitched five innings, allowing four hits, two walks, and striking out five while giving up one run, earning his fifth postseason win and first in the Korean Series.
Chris Flexen took the mound in the sixth inning, throwing four perfect innings without allowing a single batter to reach base and striking out five, securing the save.
The series MVP award went to Samsung's Koo Ja-wook, who received 72 out of 97 votes (74.2%) from the media, surpassing teammate Park Seung-kyu, who received 19 votes. Koo finished the series with a .500 batting average (10 hits in 20 at-bats), one home run, six RBIs, and five runs scored.
Won Tae-in was named the Daily MVP for Game 5.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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