*This content was translated by AI.
In the recently concluded 2025-2026 KBL regular season playoffs (PO), a historic upset occurred. In both matchups, lower-ranked teams defeated higher-ranked teams, resulting in 'upsets' across the board.
On the 16th, Goyang Son, ranked 5th in the regular season, swept Seoul SK, ranked 4th, with three consecutive victories to advance to the semifinals. Then on the 17th, Busan KCC, ranked 6th, defeated Wonju DB, ranked 3rd, also with three straight wins, sparking a 'lower-team rebellion.'
This marks only the second time in KBL history that both teams in the quarterfinals have achieved upset victories, and the first time in exactly 20 years. In the 2005-2006 season, 5th-ranked Jeonju KCC defeated 4th-ranked Busan KTF with two wins without a loss (at the time, best-of-three with two wins required), while 6th-ranked Daegu Orions beat 3rd-ranked Wonju Dongbu with two wins and one loss. This is the first time in history that both teams have achieved upsets without any losses.
Up to last season, in 28 quarterfinal matchups, the 5th-ranked team defeated the 4th-ranked team 13 times, a success rate of 46.4%, roughly half. The 6th-ranked team defeating the 3rd-ranked team was far rarer, occurring only four times out of 28, or 14.3%. This time, KCC has passed through that difficult 'needle's eye.'
So, what were the remaining playoff results for lower-ranked teams that won in past quarterfinals? To put it bluntly, their momentum did not last. Of the 17th teams that have participated in the quarterfinals up to last season, 16 were eliminated in the semifinals.
There was only one exception: KCC in the 2023-2024 season, two years ago. Finishing 5th in the regular season, KCC swept 4th-ranked SK in the quarterfinals with three wins without a loss, then defeated 1st-ranked Wonju DB in the semifinals with three wins and one loss. Riding a wave of momentum into the championship series, they beat 2nd-ranked Changwon LG with four wins and one loss, achieving the historic miracle of the first 5th-ranked team to win the championship in KBL history.
Son will face 1st-ranked LG in a best-of-five semifinals series starting on the 23rd, while KCC will take on 2nd-ranked Anyang Jeonggwanjang starting on the 24th. There has been only one instance in history where a 5th-ranked team won in the semifinals, and never has a 6th-ranked team achieved such a victory.
However, Son was evenly matched against LG this season with three wins and three losses, particularly winning two consecutive away games in the final two matchups. KCC is the only team in history to have experienced a semifinal upset. If they win again this time, they will make history as the first 6th-ranked team to reach the championship series. However, they struggled against Jeonggwanjang in the regular season with only one win and five losses.
As Son, making its first playoff appearance since its founding, pushes forward, and as KCC aims to become the protagonist of another miracle for the first time in two years, the semifinals have become even more thrilling.
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*This content was translated by AI.
