KT Wiz defeated the Samsung Lions 8-7 on Tuesday at Suwon KT Wiz Park in Game 1 of the 2026 KBO postseason Korean Series, per 한겨레. KT rode three home runs and a lockdown finish from closer Park Young-hyun to take the opener of the best-of-seven series.
According to 한겨레, teams that win Game 1 of the Korean Series have gone on to win the championship 31 of 42 times, a 73.8% rate. Game 2 is scheduled for Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at the same ballpark.
Why it matters
The 73.8% figure reported by 한겨레 frames the stakes of the opener: history favors the team that strikes first, though it is far from a guarantee. For KT, the win validates an aggressive approach at the plate despite nearly three weeks without competitive games. For Samsung, the loss leaves a narrow margin for error in a series that continues the next day.
The game also showcased the depth KT manager Lee Kang-chul will need across the series. 한겨레 reports Lee said before the series he hopes Park Young-hyun can become the series MVP, and the closer's outing in Game 1 supported that wish.
An 8-0 lead that nearly vanished
KT scored in the first inning against Samsung starter Choi Won-tae. Sam Hilliard drove in two runs with a double, and Kim Sang-su added an RBI infield single as KT took a 3-0 lead, according to 한겨레.
The lead grew in the third when Kim Min-hyuk doubled and Ahn Hyun-min followed with a two-run homer. Han Seung-taek added a solo shot in the fifth, and Kim Hyun-soo — the Korean Series MVP last year with LG Twins — hit a two-run homer in the sixth to make it 8-0, 한겨레 reports. The attack mixed extra-base hits, aggressive baserunning and production from the bottom of the order. KT captain Jang Sung-woo had said at media day on Monday that his concern was that the team's bats were too hot, and 한겨레 notes that remark proved accurate.
Samsung had managed just two hits through six innings against KT starter Davis Daniel. The lineup turned over for a second time and came alive in the seventh. Park Seung-kyu singled, and Koo Ja-wook followed with a two-run homer over the left-center wall. Consecutive hits by Lewin Diaz, pinch-hitter Kim Sung-yoon and Kim Young-woong brought in another run, and Lee Jae-hyun's RBI single plated two more as Samsung cut the deficit to 8-5, per 한겨레.
In the eighth, Samsung added two more against the KT bullpen on a Kim Sung-yoon RBI single and a wild pitch, pulling within 8-7. The rally stalled with two outs and runners on second and third when Kim Hyun-jun flied out to left, 한겨레 reports.
Park then closed it out in the ninth, striking out all three batters he faced. His final line: 1⅔ innings, no runs, three strikeouts. 한겨레 describes him as the pitcher who stopped Samsung's bats when the game was slipping.
Starting pitching and what comes next
Daniel, entrusted with the No. 1 starter role for the regular-season champions, went six innings, allowing five hits — including one home run — with seven strikeouts and three runs, according to 한겨레. Left-hander Logan Allen, who followed Daniel, struggled: one-third of an inning, two hits, two runs.
Hilliard finished 4-for-4 with three hits and two RBIs and was named daily MVP, 한겨레 reports. He also made a first-inning play in center field, taking away a well-struck ball by Park Seung-kyu with a runner on first to prevent an early Samsung run.
Choi Won-tae's outing was short: two innings, five hits including a home run, three strikeouts and five runs. 한겨레 notes it followed a rough playoff appearance in which he lasted 1⅔ innings and allowed three hits and two runs, despite manager Park Jin-man's hope that Choi would repeat his form from last year's postseason.
For Game 2, KT will start Ko Young-pyo, who went 3-1 with a 2.25 ERA against Samsung this season, while Samsung will send Chris Paddack, who started two playoff games against KIA Tigers and pitched 10 innings with six runs allowed, according to 한겨레.
The immediate question is whether Samsung's late surge carries into Game 2 or whether KT's bullpen — and Park — can hold a lead again. First pitch is Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. in Suwon.
