“The Miracle of Fall Is Reserved Only for Third Place”... The Race for Third Between Kia and LG Is as Thrilling as the Battle for First

[Financial News] Under the current KBO League postseason system, the gap between third and fourth place is more than a single step in the standings.
It is a boundary between heaven and earth—or, put more harshly, between the “protagonists” and the “extras” of fall baseball. As the regular season enters its final stretch, LG Twins and Kia Tigers are set for a brutal, winner-take-all battle over the third-place spot that neither side can afford to surrender.
As of the 8th, the standings show that LG and Kia are in sharply contrasting yet strangely intertwined situations. Third-place LG has fallen into a three-game losing streak, widening its gap with second-place KT Wiz to five games. With KT having 25 games remaining and LG 21, and only one head-to-head game left between them, it is frankly difficult for LG to reclaim second place.
Ultimately, LG’s realistic—and only—goal is to hold on to third place. Rather than exhausting its players by looking too far up the standings, LG must secure a direct ticket to the Semi-playoffs and preserve the chance to turn things around in the postseason.
The problem is that even third place is highly precarious. Only 0.5 games separate LG from fourth-place Kia, which has relentlessly pursued the spot and closed the gap to within striking distance.
Kia, too, has staked everything on moving up to third place. The history of the KBO League postseason since the 10-team system was established in 2015 has shown just how important third place is.
Over the past 11 years, the regular-season leader has won the overall championship nine times. The only two exceptions were the Doosan Bears, who won the Korean Series after finishing third in the 2015 regular season, and the SK Wyverns, who won the title after finishing second in 2018. In other words, no fourth- or fifth-place team has ever risen from the bottom to claim the Korean Series crown. Finishing third and advancing directly to the Semi-playoffs provides the minimum stamina and justification needed to dream of a miracle.

There is also the practical matter of substantial postseason prize money.
The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) allocates 20% of the total postseason prize pool to the regular-season champion and distributes the remaining 80% according to final results: 50% to the champion, 24% to the runner-up, 14% to the playoff loser, 9% to the Semi-playoff loser, and 3% to the wild card decider loser. A team that barely finishes fourth and is eliminated in the wild card decider receives only 3%, while a third-place team that advances directly to the Semi-playoffs secures at least 9% and can receive as much as 14% by reaching the playoff. With the prize pool having grown sharply amid record recent attendance and viewership, the financial difference between third and fourth place is considerable for the clubs as well.

Money, prestige, and the last line of hope for a miracle leading to the championship are all at stake as LG and Kia prepare for a five-game showdown over third place.
The two teams will play a two-game series at Gwangju-KIA Champions Field on September 26 and 27, followed by a fierce three-game series at Jamsil from October 3 through 5.
Depending on the results of these five games, one team will pack its bags and be pushed into the difficult wild card decider, while the other will calmly welcome fall at the Semi-playoffs. The opening chapter of a desperate “war for third place,” in which neither side can afford to yield, has arrived.
[email protected] Jeon Sang-il Reporter