The KBO has entered the second round of the playoffs here in Korea as the Lotte Giants upset the Doosan Bears in the first round.
The KBO playoffs are set up a little differently than what most are used to. The league consists of eight teams with the top four making the playoffs. The first round pits the third and fourth place teams against one another. The winner advances to face the second place team, while the first place team automatically advances to the Korea Series.
With Lotte advancing, they set up a rematch of last season’s second round match with the SK Wyverns.
The Wyverns have reached a record five straight Korea Series winning 3 of the 5. They have a wealth of playoff experience heading into the start of the second round on Tuesday.
Last season the rolls were reversed as the SK Wyverns were seeded third and Lotte second. SK knocked off the Giants in five games to reach the championship series.
The Giants are looking to reach the finals for the first time since 1999. The franchise’s lone title came back in 1992.
The regular season match up was very close with SK winning the season series 10-9.
The series kicks off Tuesday with game 1 in Incheon as the Wyverns will host the first two games. The series will move to Busan on Friday for game 3 with game 4 Saturday if necessary.
The winner will take on the defending champion Samsung Lions in the Korea Series which is stated to start October 24.
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This post was written by
Eric Bynum is Managing Editor here at Baseball de World and an ESL teacher in South Korea. He has played and/or written about baseball for the past 30 years and is an avid Atlanta Braves fan. Eric also writes for Braves Baseball World and for Call to the Pen.
