Final Standings Set Winner-Take-All Playoff
A one-game playoff between the KIA Tigers and the LG Twins will determine third place in South Korea's professional baseball regular season. The matchup is scheduled for Oct. 12 at Gwangju-KIA Champions Field.
The game serves as a decisive tiebreaker after both teams finished the regular season with identical win totals but different loss records. KIA holds third place with a record of 78 wins, 63 losses, and two ties. LG finishes fourth with 78 wins, 64 losses, and one tie, trailing KIA by half a game.
The outcome of the Oct. 12 contest will dictate postseason positioning for both clubs. The winner secures third place in the standings and advances directly to the semi-playoffs. The loser must enter the wild-card round, where they will face the fifth-place Doosan Bears.
KIA Falls to Lotte Giants Before Playoff Clash
KIA entered the final regular-season day after losing 1-4 to the Lotte Giants in a home game on Oct. 11. The defeat did not drop KIA out of third place, but it narrowed their margin over LG to just half a game.
The loss was driven by a pivotal offensive play from Lotte in the top of the sixth inning. With the score tied 0-0 and two outs, KIA allowed two hits and a walk to load the bases.
Lotte's Han Dong-hee then hit a grand slam over the center-field wall. The 125-meter blast came on a fastball thrown as the third pitch of the at-bat, with the count at 2-0. The home run broke the tie and propelled Lotte to victory.
Playoff Implications for KBO Teams
The upcoming showdown between KIA and LG carries significant postseason consequences within the Korean Baseball Organization structure. Third place is a critical seeding position, offering a direct path to the semi-playoffs without the risk of an early elimination game.
Conversely, finishing fourth forces a team into the wild-card round against the fifth-place Doosan Bears. This additional hurdle requires the loser of the KIA-LG matchup to win another game just to remain in contention for a higher seed.
All three teams involved in this final stretch—KIA, LG, and Doosan—will conclude their regular-season schedules with these high-stakes results determining their postseason trajectories. The Tigers and Twins will meet at the same venue where KIA recently played Lotte, Gwangju-KIA Champions Field, to settle the tie.