Analysis
KBO Playoff 2026: Samsung beat KIA 6-1 in Game 5 in Daegu to take the series 3-2 and meet KT in the Korean Series, Game 1 Monday November 2 at 18:30 KST in Suwon
Samsung won Game 5 in Daegu 6-1 on Sunday, November 1 to close out the best-of-five Playoff 3-2. The Korean Series is a best of seven between first-place KT and second-place Samsung, starting Monday, November 2 at 18:30 KST in Suwon.
Clinch Desk · Mon, Nov 2
The Playoff went the distance. Samsung won Game 5 in Daegu 6-1 on Sunday, November 1, and the series finished Samsung three, KIA two. Samsung move on to the Korean Series; KIA's 2026 ends here.
The scores and the series record below come straight from the data behind this site's postseason page, as of 15:00 KST on November 2. A result is used only once two separate outlets report the same score.
The five games. KIA won Game 1 in Daegu 5-1 on Monday the 26th; Samsung won Game 2 8-3 on Tuesday the 27th. In Gwangju, Samsung won Game 3 6-4 on Thursday the 29th and KIA won Game 4 4-2 on Friday the 30th to level the series at 2-2, before Samsung took Game 5 back in Daegu 6-1. Over five games Samsung scored 23 runs to KIA's 17.
The shape of the series. Samsung lost Game 1, won Games 2 and 3 to reach two wins first, lost Game 4 and then won Game 5. The home side won three of the five games (Samsung in Games 2 and 5 in Daegu, KIA in Game 4 in Gwangju) and the visitors won two (KIA in Game 1, Samsung in Game 3).
The Korean Series pairing. First-place KT (90-49-5 in the regular season) meet second-place Samsung (83-58-3) in a best of seven. The regular-season gap between them was 8 games (games behind = (wins difference + losses difference) ÷ 2). KT went straight to the Korean Series as the pennant winners; Samsung arrive after five Playoff games.
Schedule. Game 1 Monday November 2, 18:30 in Suwon; Game 2 Tuesday November 3, 18:30 in Suwon; Game 3 Thursday November 5, 18:30 in Daegu; Game 4 Friday November 6, 18:30 in Daegu; Game 5 Saturday November 7, 14:00 in Daegu (if needed); Game 6 Monday November 9, 18:30 in Suwon (if needed); Game 7 Tuesday November 10, 18:30 in Suwon (if needed). All times KST. Home games are split 2-3-2: Games 1, 2, 6 and 7 at the first-place club, Games 3, 4 and 5 at the second-place club. A rained-out game moves to the next day.
How to read these numbers. The Korean Series goes to the first club to four wins: a sweep ends it in four games, a 4-3 series in seven. This site works only from results and KBO rules, with no probabilities or predictions. The 'who lifts the trophy' card on the postseason page shows both clubs' wins still needed after every game.