'Ahn Hyun-min's Hee-ple is worth $1 million' 韓확보, WBC prize money + Korea prize money of 3 billion → 11.3 billion won when winning. [Sports & Money]

*This content was translated by AI.

Ahn Hyun-min (23, KT)'s sacrifice fly was worth $1 million.

As the Korean national baseball team dramatically advanced to the quarterfinals at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), attention is also being paid to financial profits.

The total prize money for this tournament, which marks its sixth anniversary, is $37.5 million (about 55.8 billion won), the largest ever. It has more than doubled from $14.4 million (about 21.4 billion won) in 2023, the previous competition.

The 20 countries that participated in the finals basically receive a participation fee of $750,000 (about 1.1 billion won). It is a structure in which prize money is added every time it rises to the upper level. If you reach the quarterfinals by ranking first and second in each group in the first round, you will be given $1 million (about 1.5 billion won).

Therefore, the prize money currently secured by Korea is 1.75 million dollars (about 2.6 billion won). In other words, Ahn Hyun-min's sacrifice fly to center field gave the national team an additional $1 million in the top of the ninth inning, which made the number of cases of advancing to the quarterfinals 7-2 in Group C against Australia in the first round on the 9th. Japan, which advanced to the quarterfinals as No. 1 in the same group, earned $750,000 more bonus for No. 1 in the group.

If South Korea wins the quarterfinals against the Dominican Republic on the 14th (Korea Standard Time) and advances to the semifinals, $1.25 million (about 1.9 billion won) will be added, resulting in a cumulative prize of $3 million (about 4.5 billion won). If they win the semifinals and reach the final, $1.25 million will be added again, and if they win the championship, $2.5 million (about 3.7 billion won) will be given, with the final prize money of $6.75 million (about 10.1 billion won). The total prize money of the team, which reaches the championship by ranking first in the first round, is $7.5 million (about 11.2 billion won).

In addition to the prize money, the national team will also receive a reward from the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO). Starting with 400 million won for the quarterfinals, it will increase to 600 million won for the semifinals, 800 million won for the runner-up, and 1.2 billion won for the championship. This reward is not added step by step, but only once based on the final grade.

Our national team has already secured 3 billion won, including 2.6 billion won in prize money and 400 million won in rewards. If South Korea, which reached the quarterfinals as the second-ranked team in the group, wins the championship, it will receive a total of 11.3 billion won by adding 1.2 billion won in rewards to 10.1 billion won in prize money.

In the past competitions, where South Korea performed at the semifinals or higher, the prize money was smaller than it is now. In 2006, the total prize money for the first tournament was about $7.8 million (about 11.6 billion won), and it was distributed at a rate according to the performance. South Korea, which reached the semifinals, received 390,000 dollars (about 600 million won), 5% of the total prize money, and about 750,000 dollars in profit dividends.

In the 2009 competition, the total prize money increased to $14 million (about 20.9 billion won), and the same step-by-step bonuses were introduced. South Korea, which finished second, collected a total of 2 million dollars ($3 million), including participation fee ($300,000), first place in the first round group ($300,000), advance to the quarterfinals ($400,000), advance to the semifinals ($500,000), and advance to the finals ($500,000).

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*This content was translated by AI.