Unbelievable! Japanese baseball sees wild card upsets across the board → What about KBO, which is just entering fall baseball?

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

The cold wind of an "upset," which is both the charm and the cruelty of short-series fall baseball, first struck the Japanese archipelago. Yomiuri Giants, the second-place team in the Central League that had secured a home advantage along with one win, and Saitama Seibu Lions, the second-place team in the Pacific League, both tasted defeat. As the KBO League has also finalized its regular season standings and is set to immediately enter the fall festival starting on the 14th, tension is at its peak.

This season's Japanese Professional Baseball (NPB) Climax Series (CS) First Stage became a graveyard for second-place teams riding the wave of enthusiastic support from home fans. Yomiuri, the Central League runner-up, suffered back-to-back losses to third-place Yokohama DeNA BayStars at home in Tokyo Dome and packed their bags in vain.

In the Pacific League as well, Seibu, the regular season runner-up, failed to overcome the fierce momentum of third-place Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters at home in Belluna Dome and tasted the bitter pill of elimination. A "simultaneous upset" was completed, with both leagues' First Stages ending in victories for the third-place teams. It served as a reminder once again that regular season winning percentages and home advantages are no safeguard against the momentum battle of short series.

Amidst the fierce wave of upsets blowing from neighboring Japan, the KBO League also finalized its 2026 regular season standings with games concluding on the 12th. The bracket for the Wild Card Series, which marks the start of the postseason, has resulted in a "Jamsil Rivalry" matchup. Fourth-place LG Twins and fifth-place Doosan Bears will clash at Seoul Jamsil Stadium on the 14th.

In the KBO League Wild Card Series, the fourth-place team starts with a one-win advantage. LG can secure a ticket to the Junior Playoffs, where KIA Tigers await, by achieving either one win or one draw, but fifth-place Doosan must win two consecutive games to turn the series around.

Although the institutional advantage leans absolutely in LG's favor, short series see momentum shift in an instant. In the 2024 season Wild Card Series, for instance, fifth-place KT Wiz achieved a historic first upset against fourth-place Doosan, breaking the "absolute formula."

The results of Japanese baseball, where even Yomiuri and Seibu crumbled under pressure, could serve as a chilling warning to fourth-place LG. On the other hand, it is a definite motivation for fifth-place Doosan, which has been pushed to the brink. Fans' eyes are focused on whether LG, the higher-seeded team, will preserve its pride in this unavoidable showdown between two rivals sharing the same home ground, or whether an upset by Doosan will swallow Jamsil, just as it did in Japan.

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.View Original