Professional Baseball Surpasses 11 Million Fans in Record-Low 626 Games, Sets Sights on 13 Million

[Financial News] The KBO League has surpassed 11 million fans in the fewest games ever, continuing its unprecedented surge in popularity. It is the second consecutive year that the league has drawn more than 11 million fans, and a new record achieved 17 games earlier than last year's previous mark for reaching the milestone.
The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) announced on the 12th that a total of 80,942 fans attended games at four stadiums nationwide—Jamsil, Daegu, Suwon and Gocheok—bringing the season's cumulative attendance to 11,049,504. The KBO League reached the 11 million mark in just 626 games, breaking last year's record of 643 games for the fewest games needed to reach the milestone.
The KBO League's pace this season has been unparalleled. Starting with the league reaching 1 million fans in just 55 games after opening day, every 1-million-fan milestone through the latest 11 million mark has set a new record for the fewest games ever. The league also previously became the second in history to draw 7 million fans in the first half of a season and reached 10 million fans for the third consecutive year.
The atmosphere in the stadiums has been equally intense. Nearly half—about 48%, or 298 of the 626 games played this season—have been sellouts. Overall seat occupancy stands at 85.2%, while average attendance per game is 17,651, well above the all-time record of 17,101 set in the 2025 season. If the current trend continues, the league is expected not only to break last year's single-season record of 331 sellouts but also to come within reach of becoming the first in history to surpass 13 million fans.
Competition among the clubs for popularity is also fierce. Seven of the 10 clubs—Samsung, LG, Hanwha, SSG, Lotte, Kia and Doosan—have already surpassed 1 million fans.
The Samsung Lions are leading the way in home attendance, drawing 1,453,477 fans. They also rank first with 50 home sellouts and an average home attendance of 23,443. The LG Twins are close behind with 1,432,238 fans, an average home attendance of 22,034 and 39 sellouts. Both clubs are aiming to become the first to surpass 1.5 million home fans in a single season. The Doosan Bears rank third in average attendance at 21,291, while the Hanwha Eagles have added to the excitement with sellouts in 47 home games. On the road, the Kia Tigers have recorded 51 sellouts, demonstrating their nationwide ticket-drawing power.
[email protected] Park Ji-hyun Reporter