KT Wiz clinch 2026 KBO regular-season title with 9-0 win over Lotte
Version 2: New details were added after the clinch, including KT's first one million home attendance, manager Lee Kang-chul's post-game comments and the club's rebuilding background; outlets also differ on whether this is KT's second or third Korean Series appearance.
In short
KT Wiz clinched the 2026 KBO regular-season title on Oct. 5, beating the Lotte Giants 9-0 at Suwon KT Wiz Park behind Logan Allen's eight scoreless innings and two home runs by Jang Jun-won. At 86-49-5 (.637), KT leads second-place Samsung by 4.5 games after Samsung lost 5-7 to Doosan the same day, and goes straight to the Korean Series. It is KT's second regular-season first place and its first since 2021, and the club passed one million home attendance for the first time.
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KT Wiz clinched the 2026 KBO regular-season title on Oct. 5, beating the Lotte Giants 9-0 at Suwon KT Wiz Park for its sixth straight win and its second regular-season first place, five years after 2021, Yonhap and Newsis reported. Yonhap reported KT finished 86-49-5, a .637 winning percentage, 4.5 games ahead of second-place Samsung (82-54-3, .603), leaving it uncatchable with four games remaining. Newsis reported Samsung lost 5-7 to the Doosan Bears in Daegu the same day, clearing KT's magic number of two in a single day. [ 4 , 7 , 12 , 21 , 24 ]
The game was settled early. Kyunghyang Shinmun reported KT scored seven runs in the first inning against Lotte starter Kim Jin-wook, including a three-run home run by Jang Jun-won; Jang added a second home run in the sixth and Ahn Hyun-min hit a solo shot in the seventh, according to Newsis. Starter Logan Allen pitched eight innings, allowing seven hits and no runs with 14 strikeouts for his seventh win against five losses, while Kim Jin-wook took his ninth loss after giving up nine hits and seven runs over four innings. Leadoff hitter Choi Won-jun added two hits, leaving him one short of 200 for his career, Newsis reported. [ 7 , 16 , 21 , 24 ]
KT reached one million home attendance for the first time on the same day. Kyunghyang Shinmun and Hankook Ilbo reported the game was sold out at 18,700 seats and that the club's cumulative home attendance rose to 1,004,272, above last year's 970,941. Seoul Shinmun framed the day as a title celebration on the day the club passed one million fans. [ 16 , 24 , 25 , 29 ]
KT was founded in 2013 and joined the KBO's first division in 2015 as its 10th club, Hankook Ilbo and Yonhap reported. It won the integrated title in 2021 after a tiebreaker with Samsung in Daegu and was runner-up to LG in 2023, Hankook Ilbo reported. Last season KT finished sixth, half a game behind NC, and missed the postseason; Seoul Economic Daily reported that it lost franchise hitter Kang Baek-ho to Hanwha in free agency, signed Kim Hyun-soo, Choi Won-jun and Han Seung-taek for 10.8 billion won and dealt with early injuries to Ahn Hyun-min and Jang Sung-woo. Yonhap reported KT moved between second and third before taking sole lead on Aug. 1, briefly losing it to Samsung in late August and regaining it on Sept. 10. [ 4 , 12 , 16 , 24 ]
Manager Lee Kang-chul thanked the sold-out crowd and the front office after the game, saying the team had reached its first goal and would prepare to finish the season in a higher place, Newsis and Hankook Ilbo reported. KT advances directly to the Korean Series. Dong-A Ilbo reported that even if KT loses its remaining four games and Samsung wins all five, the standings will not change. [ 7 , 16 , 24 , 25 , 27 ]
Why it matters
The result sends KT directly to the Korean Series, the best-of-seven championship, where it will try for a second overall title after winning in 2021. The clinch came at home with four games still to play, unlike 2021, when KT needed a tiebreaker against Samsung. As a domestic league outcome, its significance is mainly for KT and its Suwon fans.
Key facts
- KT Wiz clinched the 2026 KBO regular-season title on Oct. 5, its second regular-season first place and its first since 2021. [ 4 , 7 , 12 , 24 ]
- KT beat the Lotte Giants 9-0 at Suwon KT Wiz Park. [ 4 , 7 , 16 , 24 , 27 ]
- KT finished 86-49-5, a .637 winning percentage, 4.5 games ahead of second-place Samsung (82-54-3, .603). [ 4 , 12 , 24 , 27 ]
- Samsung lost 5-7 to Doosan in Daegu the same day, clearing KT's magic number of two. [ 7 , 16 , 21 , 24 , 27 ]
- KT advanced directly to the Korean Series, where it will seek its second overall title. [ 4 , 12 , 16 , 24 , 27 ]
- KT reached one million home attendance for the first time, with the Oct. 5 game sold out at 18,700 seats and cumulative attendance of 1,004,272. [ 16 , 24 , 25 , 29 ]
- Starter Logan Allen pitched eight scoreless innings with 14 strikeouts and Jang Jun-won hit two home runs, including a three-run shot in a seven-run first inning, Newsis and Kyunghyang Shinmun reported. [ 7 , 16 , 21 , 24 ]
- Manager Lee Kang-chul thanked the fans and said the team would prepare to finish the season higher, Newsis and Hankook Ilbo reported. [ 24 , 25 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- KT Wiz clinched the 2026 KBO regular-season title on Oct. 5. [ 3 , 4 , 7 , 21 , 24 ]
- It is KT's second regular-season first place and its first since the 2021 season. [ 4 , 7 , 12 , 21 , 24 ]
- KT beat the Lotte Giants 9-0 at Suwon KT Wiz Park and finished 86-49-5, .637, 4.5 games ahead of second-place Samsung. [ 4 , 7 , 12 , 16 , 24 , 27 ]
- Samsung lost 5-7 to the Doosan Bears in Daegu the same day, clearing KT's magic number of two. [ 7 , 16 , 21 , 24 , 27 ]
- KT advances directly to the Korean Series. [ 4 , 6 , 12 , 16 , 24 ]
- KT reached one million home attendance for the first time; the Oct. 5 game was a sellout of 18,700. [ 16 , 24 , 25 , 29 ]
- Logan Allen pitched eight scoreless innings with 14 strikeouts, and Jang Jun-won hit two home runs. [ 7 , 16 , 21 , 24 ]
Still unclear
- Whether the 2026 Korean Series is KT's second or third appearance Chosun Ilbo describes a third Korean Series appearance, while Hankook Ilbo says KT goes directly to a second Korean Series even though it also reports a 2023 runner-up finish against LG.
- Which Samsung result the 0-12 defeat cited by Chosun Ilbo refers to Chosun Ilbo's early-morning headline cites a 0-12 Samsung defeat alongside KT's 2-2 draw with Lotte, while four outlets report Samsung losing 5-7 to Doosan on Oct. 5; the documents do not state the date of the 0-12 game.
- The article text carried under the Newsis and Korea Economic Daily KT headlines The body text under both KT headlines concerns a DMZ mine explosion and the military's findings, which is a separate event, so only the headlines were used here.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Chosun Ilbo reports the 2026 regular-season champion could be decided as early as Oct. 5, after KT drew 2-2 with Lotte in 11 innings at Suwon on Oct. 4. [ 1 ]
- Yonhap and Newsis report that KT has clinched the regular-season title, its second and first since 2021. [ 3 , 4 ]
- Newsis reports the 9-0 win over Lotte and Samsung's 5-7 loss to Doosan, which cleared KT's magic number, with Allen's 14 strikeouts and Jang's two home runs. [ 7 , 21 ]
- Kyunghyang Shinmun reports the sellout and KT's first one million home attendance, along with the first-inning scoring details. [ 16 ]
- Newsis reports manager Lee Kang-chul's post-game comments thanking the fans and the front office. [ 25 ]
- Dong-A Ilbo reports KT's 86-49-5 record and 4.5-game margin, noting the standings cannot change even if KT loses its remaining four games and Samsung wins all five. [ 27 ]