'12 teams including South Korea, U.S., and Japan to compete' Ulsan-KBO Fall League opens on the 15th... Lotte forms alliance with Yomiuri Giants and Chiba Lotte Marines

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

A stage for providing more practical game opportunities to promising players at home and abroad, as well as for exchanging baseball cultures, will be held again this year.

The 2026 Ulsan-KBO Fall League, hosted by the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) and sponsored by Ulsan Metropolitan City and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, will be held from October 15 to 31 at Ulsan Munsu Baseball Stadium and the Gijang-KBO Baseball Center.

Now in its third year, the Ulsan-KBO Fall League is a tournament designed to provide off-season opportunities for promising players at home and abroad to gain sufficient practical experience and grow by experiencing different baseball cultures.

This year, 12 teams will participate: eight domestic teams including the LG Twins, Samsung Lions, NC Dinos, Lotte Giants, KIA Tigers, Goyang Heroes, Ulsan Whales, and the Independent League All-Stars; and four overseas teams including the Long Beach Coast from the United States, the Melbourne Aces from Australia, a Japan Independent League select team, and the Jiangsu Horses from China.

The Ulsan Whales, a citizen-owned club based in Ulsan Metropolitan City that participated in the KBO Futures League for the first time this year, will enter the tournament after successfully completing their inaugural season. From the United States, the Long Beach Coast, a member of the Pioneer Baseball League (PBL), an MLB partner league, will join as a new participant.

The Long Beach Coast, which advanced to the league championship series in its inaugural 2026 season, will make its first appearance on Korean soil through this tournament. With the addition of the Long Beach Coast, the number of overseas participating teams has increased from three last year to four, further elevating the Ulsan-KBO Fall League's status as an international educational league.

The preliminary round, held at three stadiums with up to five games per day until the 28th, will be conducted in a round-robin format with each team playing 11 games. The top four teams by winning percentage will advance to the final round. The semifinals on October 30 and the championship game on October 31 will take place at Ulsan Munsu Baseball Stadium. The champion will receive a prize of 10 million won, and the runner-up will receive 5 million won, along with trophies for both teams.

Of the games held at Ulsan Munsu Baseball Stadium, a total of 10 matches—including seven preliminary games, two semifinals, and the championship game—are scheduled to be broadcast. All 10 games will be live-streamed on the official KBO YouTube channel, while five of them will also be televised live via KBSN SPORTS and the KBS Life channel.

To allow various players to participate, KBO clubs can register up to seven additional players separately, regardless of club affiliation, nationality, or KBO status, to field in the tournament. Additionally, rookie players drafted in the 2027 Rookie Draft held last September are eligible to participate. In the previous tournament, NC's Shin Jae-in, who participated with rookie eligibility at the time, won the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award and garnered fan attention even before his official debut in the KBO League.

Beyond the games, programs will be arranged for players and local communities to share baseball and culture. A youth clinic will be held for Ulsan-area little baseball teams, providing young players with opportunities to learn and experience baseball. Overseas participating teams will visit major landmarks in Ulsan to experience the region's nature, history, and culture.

The Ulsan-KBO Fall League, which has continued to expand over the past three years, plans to develop into a venue for international exchange where promising players at home and abroad can grow by experiencing diverse baseball environments and cultures in the future as well.

Meanwhile, Lotte will enter this tournament as an allied team with the Yomiuri Giants, a prestigious club in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), and the Chiba Lotte Marines. The Lotte club explained that the purpose is to strengthen ongoing exchange and cooperative relationships, and to share practical experience and operational know-how for player development and performance improvement.

From Yomiuri, pitcher Fukita Shito and infielder Nakata Ayumu; from Chiba Lotte, pitcher Nakashima Kosuke and infielder Tanimura Tsuyoshi are scheduled to participate in the tournament alongside the Lotte roster.

These players will enter the country on this day and are expected to join Futures League team training on the 14th. Rosters from both clubs, along with staff responsible for player development, are also scheduled to be dispatched according to separate schedules, while Chiba Lotte plans to additionally dispatch a trainer to participate in team training and management.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original