"Oh, my God!' Taiwan wins for the first time in WBC history against South Korea → 'sea of tears' after defeating 'natural enemies' in five games

*This content was translated by AI.

The Tokyo Dome was divided into cheers from Taiwan and silence from Korea. Taiwanese baseball has finally broken down a huge wall called "Korea" in Tokyo, which has never been crossed in history on the WBC (World Baseball Classic) stage. Taiwan's squad has become a sea of tears, and on the contrary, it is a disaster for South Korea.

The Korean national baseball team, led by head coach Ryu Ji-hyun, lost 4-5 to Taiwan in the third Group C match of 2026 WBC at Tokyo Dome in Japan on the 8th. After repeated reversal and reversal, they tied the game 4-4 in the eighth inning, trailing 3-4, but lost by one point after a game.

As a result, Taiwan broke the chain of all four WBC against South Korea / vs. Korea losses since the first tournament in 2006, and tasted the joy of its first victory in five games. At the same time, he finished the first round with two consecutive wins after two consecutive losses. South Korea must concede less than two goals against Australia on the 9th and win by more than five points to advance to the quarterfinals.

In fact, for Taiwan on the WBC stage, Korea was simply an object of fear. This is because Korea has shown absolute strength. South Korea, which laughed 2-0 in the first WBC in 2006, won the 2009 tournament with Ryu Hyun-jin at the forefront. It was also held in Taiwan in the first round in the 2013 WBC, but South Korea took the game 3-2. In the 2017 WBC held at Gocheok Sky Dome, South Korea defeated Taiwan 11-8 after a slugfest.

After five challenges, Taiwan laughed this time. As soon as the game was over, the Taiwanese players ran to the mound, got tangled up with their teammates and poured out hot tears. Taiwan coach Zeng Hao-jwi said after the game, "I focused only on the game so much that I didn't know it was my first WBC victory in against South Korea / vs. Korea. It is thanks to the players' mental strength to the end," he said, giving the players credit for the victory.

He also said he would watch the Korea-Australia match on the 9th. Coach Zeng Hao-ji, who finished the first round of the WBC, said, "Not only the players but also the coaching staff played with tension. First of all, I want to rest. Of course, I think there is a chance, and I don't know what will happen," he said, adding that he is waiting for the result of the game on the 9th.

In the end, the "Tokyo Shock" changed the fate of Korean and Taiwanese baseball. Taiwan finally shook off its "Korean phobia" on the WBC stage, proving that the momentum to win the 2024 Premier 12 was not a coincidence. Taiwan also won the Premier 12 in 2024, 6-3. On the other hand, Korean baseball allowed its archrival to lose for the first time in WBC history, and faced the disastrous reality of tapping the calculator from the edge of the cliff to advance to the quarterfinals.

Now all eyes are on the showdown between South Korea and Australia, which will take place on the 9th. Taiwan took a quiet break and waited for a miraculous ticket to the quarterfinals, and South Korea must break through the needle-hole probability of "winning by more than 5 points and losing less than 2 runs" to catch a faint hope.

Baseball fans around the world are paying attention to whether Taiwan's tears at Tokyo Dome will lead to a festival of joy or whether Korean baseball can write a drama of the last twist in despair.

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*This content was translated by AI.