KBO Playoff 2026: Samsung beat KIA 6-4 in Game 3 in Gwangju to lead the series 2-1, can clinch the Korean Series in Game 4 on October 30, and a KIA win forces Game 5 in Daegu on November 1

Three games into the Playoff, the series stands at Samsung two, KIA one. KIA won Game 1 in Daegu on Monday, October 26 by 5-1, Samsung won Game 2 in Daegu on Tuesday, October 27 by 8-3, and Samsung won Game 3 at Gwangju Kia Champions Field on Thursday, October 29 by 6-4. Of the ways our previous piece set out, the series ending in Game 3 is gone, and Game 4 is a KIA home game at the same park at 18:30 on Friday, October 30.

The scores and the series record here come straight from the data behind this site's postseason page and Playoff page, as of the morning of October 30. The Game 1 record comes from the game page. For Games 2 and 3, the game pages did not yet show a line score on the morning of October 30, so only the final scores appear here. Dates, start times and parks follow the schedule the KBO announced on October 7, moved one day later by the rainout of October 25. This piece covers only the finished games' scores and the arithmetic of the games left, and makes no forecast.

Game 1. KIA scored two in the first, two in the third and one in the fourth to win 5-1, out-hitting Samsung 7-2. The game-winning hit was Harold Castro's single to right with two out and a runner on second in the first; Castro then hit a two-run homer off Samsung starter 페덱 in the third and finished 3 for 4 with three RBI. 한준수 added a solo homer off 페덱 in the fourth. Samsung's run came in the fifth, driven in by 김영웅. KIA starter James Naile allowed one run on one hit in four and a third innings (57 pitches); Samsung starter 페덱 allowed five runs on five hits, two of them home runs, in four and two-thirds (94 pitches). 이의리 took the win with an inning and a third of scoreless relief, and 페덱 the loss. Each side made one error.

Games 2 and 3. Samsung won Game 2 8-3 to level the series at 1-1, and then won Game 3 in Gwangju 6-4 to go ahead 2-1. Over the three games Samsung have scored 15 runs to KIA's 12. The line scores and player records for those two games will be on the game pages once they are posted.

The arithmetic of the games left. It is a best of five between second-place Samsung (83-58-3 in the regular season) and third-place KIA (79-63-2), and Samsung lead 2-1. Samsung need one more win: take Game 4 in Gwangju on Friday, October 30 and the series ends 3-1 that night, with no Game 5. KIA need two more: win Game 4 to make it 2-2, and Game 5 at Daegu Samsung Lions Park at 14:00 on Sunday, November 1 decides it. The home pattern is 2-2-1, so Game 4 stays in Gwangju and Game 5 returns to Daegu. A rainout moves a game to the next day, so later dates can still change.

The Korean Series. First-place KT (90-49-5) wait for the Playoff winner in the Korean Series. On the postseason page Game 1 is at 18:30 on Monday, November 2 at Suwon KT Wiz Park, and the series runs from November 2 to 10. If the Playoff ends in Game 4, the winner gets two days off (October 31 and November 1) before the Korean Series; if it goes to Game 5, Game 1 in Suwon is the day after the Daegu game. The October 7 announcement sets at least one travel day between series, but as of the morning of October 30 the site still shows the Korean Series opening on November 2, and whether that date moves is for the KBO to announce. In terms of the wait for a title, KT are chasing their first since 2021 (five years), Samsung their first since 2014 (twelve years) and KIA their first since 2024 (two years).

How to read these numbers. The Playoff goes to the first club to three wins, and the Korean Series to the first to four. Postseason games run to a maximum of 15 innings and are drawn if still level, and a draw does not count as a win. The Semi-Playoff (KIA 3-0 LG) is in our earlier piece. The postseason page shows the bracket and each series' score, the Playoff page each game's result and the schedule, the game pages the line score and player records, and the fixtures the games left. Each club's record is on its team page: Samsung, KIA and KT.