KBO postseason bracket set with two days left in regular season

SEOUL, Oct. 4 (Yonhap) -- The postseason bracket in the top South Korean baseball league was set Sunday, two days before the end of the regular season.

The postseason in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) will open on Wednesday, with the first-ever Wild Card Game between the Nexen Heroes and the SK Wyverns. There are three games remaining, as teams will play out the string to complete their 144-game schedule.

The Doosan Bears defeated the Kia Tigers 9-0 on Sunday to squeeze past the Heroes for third place. The Heroes dropped to fourth place by half a game.

The Tigers' loss also gave the Wyverns the fifth and final playoff spot, setting up the play-in game between the Heroes and the Wyverns.

The Heroes will host the Wild Card Game at Mokdong Stadium in Seoul, and the Heroes will enjoy a one-game advantage.

If they win the game Wednesday, they will move on to the next round to face the Bears in the best-of-five series. However, if they lose the Wednesday showdown, they will get a second life the next day.

As the lower seed, the Wyverns must beat the Heroes on back-to-back days to advance to the next stage.

The first playoff round is scheduled to open on Saturday at the Bears' home, Jamsil Stadium in Seoul.

The NC Dinos, by virtue of finishing second in the regular season, have earned a bye to the best-of-five second round, which is set to start on Oct. 18.

The winner of that round will reach the Korean Series, where the four-time defending champion Samsung Lions will be waiting. The Lions clinched a record fifth straight pennant. No KBO club has ever won five straight Korean Series.

The best-of-seven championship final is scheduled to open on Oct. 26.

Games will end in a tie if the teams remain deadlocked through 15 innings. All weekday games will start at 6:30 p.m., and all weekend games will start at 2 p.m.

jeeho@yna.co.kr
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