'Four-time consecutive champions' Hanwha finished second, while the Army team achieved an impressive 15-year winning streak and topped the Northern League despite being relocated... Individual award winners announced [2026 Futures League]

*This content was translated by AI.

The 2026 KBO Futures League, which opened on March 20, concluded its regular season schedule on the 20th.

The 2026 KBO Futures League featured 12 teams after the new franchise Ulsan Whales joined. The league was divided into two divisions: Northern (Army, Hanwha, LG, SSG, Doosan, Goyang) and Southern (Ulsan, Lotte, NC, KT, KIA, Samsung).

The Army team, previously in the Southern League, has been moved to the Northern League this year. Meanwhile, Ulsan, established under local government leadership, joined the Southern League for the first time.

In the Northern League, the Army team secured the championship with 62 wins and 34 losses (winning percentage 0.646), finishing 9.5 games ahead of second-place Hanwha (55 wins, 46 losses, winning percentage 0.545). The Army team had finished first in its division for 14 consecutive years from 2012 to last year while in the Southern League and maintained this record by winning again after moving leagues, achieving a 15-year consecutive championship streak. Hanwha, which won the Northern League four times consecutively from 2022 to last year, finished second this season.

In the Southern League, Ulsan, participating for the first time this year, claimed the championship in its inaugural season with 58 wins, 37 losses, and one tie (winning percentage 0.611), finishing three games ahead of second-place Lotte (54 wins, 39 losses, one tie, winning percentage 0.581).

Individual titleholders in the Northern League: Son Yong-jun (LG) led with a batting average of 0.347. Park Han-gyeol (Army) topped both home runs and RBIs with 20 home runs and 69 RBIs, respectively. In pitching, Lee Jun-ki (SSG) recorded an ERA of 2.66 to lead the category. For wins, Kim Min-gyu, Kim Min-jae, and Shin Heon-min (Lee Sang (SVP)) tied for first place with eight wins each.

In the Southern League, Jo Min-young (Lotte) led with a batting average of 0.335. Han Jae-hwan (NC) topped home runs with 18, while Hol (Ulsan) led in RBIs with 70. In pitching, Han Cha-hyun (KT) recorded an ERA of 2.18 to lead the category, and Park Se-jin (Lotte) earned ten wins to top the wins category.

Meanwhile, the 2026 KBO Futures League will hold its Championship Series for the second consecutive year. The Futures League Championship Series was introduced last year to provide meaningful experience for players with fewer opportunities to play in the first division, aiming to improve performance and boost motivation.

The Championship Series begins on September 22 with semifinal matches: Army (Northern League champion) vs. Lotte (Southern League runner-up) at Army's home stadium, and Ulsan (Southern League champion) vs. Hanwha (Northern League runner-up) at Ulsan's home stadium.

These semifinals feature matchups of each team's core strengths. At 1:00 PM on September 22, Army, led by Park Han-gyeol (Northern League leader in both home runs and RBIs), will face Lotte, anchored by Park Se-jin (Southern League wins leader). Later at 6:30 PM, Ulsan, which built a formidable pitching staff with Okada (ERA 2.40), Kobayashi (ERA 2.94), and Naga (ERA 3.57) among its top performers in the Southern League, will take on Hanwha.

The winners of each semifinal match will advance to the Futures Championship Series at Gocheok Sky Dome at 6:30 PM on September 28. The champion team will receive a prize of 30 million won, while the runner-up will receive 10 million won. The MVP, selected by media vote, will be awarded 1 million won. The Fighting Spirit Award and Outstanding Batter Award recipients will each receive 500,000 won, and the winning team's manager will receive both the Manager of the Year award and 1 million won. The Futures League Championship Series semifinals and finals can be viewed on tvN SPORTS, TVING, and other platforms.

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*This content was translated by AI.