A nail-biting race at the top! "Are they going to have another title-deciding showdown with Samsung? Even the draws are matching up... It's been like this for a month..." Lee Kang-cheol offers a helpless smile

*This content was translated by AI.

Will the tense "tiebreaker (title-deciding game)" nightmare or classic showdown from 2021 unfold once again?

The top-spot race between KT Wiz and Samsung Lions has plunged into fog where nothing can be predicted. With games remaining on the 20th, first-place KT (62 wins, 41 losses, 2 draws, winning percentage 0.602) and second-place Samsung (63 wins, 42 losses, 2 draws, winning percentage 0.600) are locked in an ultra-close battle with a gap of effectively "0.0 games behind" — merely two points in winning percentage.

Ahead of the game on the 20th, KT Wiz manager Lee Kang-cheol (60), who met with on-site reporters, burst into a helpless laugh at the stubbornly persistent ranking battle against Samsung. The manager said, "I wonder if we're going to have another title-deciding showdown with Samsung. That thought has kept coming back since about a month ago," as he shook his head.

It is because of the coincidence that whenever they try to escape, they get chased; when one loses, both lose; and even the number of draws (2) matches exactly. The manager stated, "Strangely, whenever a gap in games seems to open up, it gets closed again, and even the draws end up being identical. I don't know why the flow is twisting out so similarly to what happened back in 2021," and added that he even joked with his players, "Are we heading for another tie (tiebreaker)?"

If both teams finish the season tied, a title-deciding game will be held once again following 2021. At that time, KT secured the foundation for its first-ever integrated championship by relying on Cuévas's dazzling performance in a single decisive match held in Daegu. However, considering head-to-head records and the burden of away games, it is certainly not a battle any manager would want to relive. This season, the head-to-head record between KT and Samsung stands at 8 wins and 3 losses in favor of Samsung.

Therefore, if winning percentages are tied, the title-deciding game will be held in Daegu. Manager Lee Kang-cheol remarked, "If it happens, I think we'll play it in Daegu. It's burdensome either way. We must not reach that (tiebreaker)," as he vowed to go all out in the remaining games.

Most importantly, with So Hyoung-jun along with Oh Won-seok and Park Young-hyun set to be drafted for the Asian Games to be held in September, manager Lee is carefully monitoring starting rotations and bullpen pitch counts while preparing for a final sprint. It remains highly intriguing how the top-spot race between KT and Samsung, which evokes memories of the 2021 drama, will conclude.

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*This content was translated by AI.