Samsung Reclaims Korean Series Crown After 12 Years, Wins 9th Title Overall

12-1 rout of the KT Wiz in Game 5 of the Korean Series

Clinches title with a 4-1 series victory

Paddack earns save with four scoreless innings; Koo Jawook named MVP

The Samsung Lions reclaimed the Korean Series title for the first time in 12 years.

Samsung crushed the KT Wiz 12-1 in Game 5 of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO Postseason Korean Series (best-of-seven) at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu on the 8th. After dropping the first game, Samsung won four straight to lift the Korean Series trophy for the first time since 2014, 12 years ago. It was the team's ninth overall championship, including its 1985 title for winning both the first and second halves of the season. Samsung also celebrated its first championship at Lions Park, which opened in March 2016.

The game turned in the fifth inning. After KT, trailing 1-3, failed to capitalize on a one-out opportunity with runners on first and second in the top of the fifth, Samsung batted around in the bottom half and scored a remarkable eight runs, setting a Korean Series record with 11 at-bats in an inning.

Samsung players toss manager Park Jin-man into the air after defeating kt to win Game 5 of the 2026 Korean Series postseason at Daegu Samsung Lions Park on the 8th. Daegu=Yonhap News

Leadoff hitter Park Seung-gyu reached on a fielding error by the shortstop, and Koo Ja-wook followed with a single to right to put runners on first and second with no outs and give Samsung another chance to score. After Diaz was retired on an infield fly, Choi Hyung-woo drove in a run with a single to right, extending Samsung's lead to 4-1. He maintained his trademark batting stance, sweeping his left knee along the ground without losing his balance.

Kim Young-woong's ensuing grounder took a high bounce in the infield. KT second baseman Ryu Hyun-in dove for it, but the ball ricocheted off his glove. While the ball was loose, Koo Ja-wook, whose thigh was hurting, rounded third and scored Samsung's fifth run.

With runners still on first and second, Lee Jae-hyun hit an RBI double down the left-field line to make it 6-1. Then, with one out and the bases loaded after Ryu Ji-hyeok was given an automatic intentional walk, KT second baseman Ryu Hyun-in fielded Kang Min-ho's routine grounder and threw to second for a potential double play. Shortstop Kwon Dong-jin failed to catch the throw, allowing two runners to score and making it Samsung's eighth run.

Kim Ji-chan followed with a two-run triple to right-center, then scored on a wild pitch by reliever Son Dong-hyun. KT lost face after intentionally walking Ryu Ji-hyeok and choosing to face Kang Min-ho, who had a torn side muscle and could not even swing properly. The team then collapsed further with a string of baffling errors.

Samsung manager Park Jin-man brought starting pitcher Chris Paddack out of the bullpen in the sixth inning to take over from Won Tae-in, who had allowed one run on four hits and struck out five over five innings. Paddack, who had started Game 2 and pitched brilliantly, allowing one run over seven innings, shut down KT over four innings to earn the save.

Koo Ja-wook was named Korean Series MVP and received a Kia EV4 as a prize. He received 72 of the 97 votes cast by the press, for 74.2% of the vote. In the Korean Series, he hit .500 (10-for-20), with one home run, six RBIs and five runs scored.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.