K League 2 promotion race 2026: Suwon FC, Seoul E-Land and Daegu clinch the top five, Busan need 4 for the last place and Suwon need 4 for the title

Three more top five places were settled this round. Suwon FC beat Ansan 1-0 on November 1. Seoul E-Land lost 4-2 at Yongin on October 31 but clinched anyway, because Hwaseong lost 1-0 at Gyeongnam the same day. Daegu drew 2-2 with Suwon Samsung and, with Hwaseong failing to win, clinched too. All three met the clinch conditions in our previous piece. Counting Suwon, who clinched on October 18, four of the five places are now taken. At the other end Gimpo lost 5-1 at Chungnam Asan and can reach 47 at most by winning their last three, short of Busan's 48, so they are out.

Every figure here is as of the November 1 update, 248 of the season's 272 matches, with 24 left. On Saturday, October 31, Daegu FC and Suwon drew 2-2, Gyeongnam FC beat Hwaseong FC 1-0, Chungnam Asan beat Gimpo FC 5-1 and Yongin FC beat Seoul E-Land 4-2. On Sunday, November 1, Jeonnam Dragons and Seongnam FC drew 2-2, Suwon FC beat Ansan Greeners 1-0, Paju Citizen won 2-1 at Chungbuk Cheongju, and Gimhae FC and Cheonan City drew 3-3. Busan IPark did not play. Clinch numbers assume the worst case, that every rival takes maximum points from every match it has left, and a rival who can finish exactly level is counted as a threat.

The table reads Suwon 63, Suwon FC 57, Seoul E-Land 54, Daegu 53, Busan 48, Hwaseong 45, Chungnam Asan 42, Gimpo 38, Gyeongnam 38, Paju 34, Yongin 33, Chungbuk Cheongju 32, Seongnam 32, Cheonan 30, Jeonnam 25, Ansan 25 and Gimhae 18. Gimpo sit above Gyeongnam, Chungbuk Cheongju above Seongnam and Jeonnam above Ansan because the K League separates clubs level on points by goals scored first: 37 to 33, 36 to 32, and 35 to 33. Hwaseong, Chungbuk Cheongju and Ansan have two matches left and everyone else three.

The line for the last place is 52. Hwaseong, sixth on 45 with two matches left, and Chungnam Asan, seventh on 42 with three, can both reach 51. On 51 a club could still be caught level, so it is not enough, while 52 is out of reach of both. That gives Busan in fifth a clinch number of 4 from their last three matches, a win and a draw or better. The same arithmetic is why Suwon FC, Seoul E-Land and Daegu are now safe: Hwaseong's ceiling dropped from 54 to 51, below Daegu's 53. Below Busan the elimination numbers are Hwaseong 2 and Chungnam Asan 2. Only three clubs are left in the race for the last place: Busan, Hwaseong and Chungnam Asan.

The title is the place that carries automatic promotion to K League 1, and the clubs below go through the promotion playoffs. Suwon's title number fell from 5 to 4. Suwon FC in second can reach 66, so 67 is beyond everyone, and Suwon on 63 need 4 from their last three matches, a win and a draw or better. Daegu failed to beat Suwon, their ceiling fell to 62 and they are out of the title race. Three clubs can still finish first: Suwon, Suwon FC (title elimination number 2) and Seoul E-Land (1). Suwon's lowest reachable place has moved up from fourth to third.

We ran all 6,561 win, draw and loss combinations of the next round through the engine behind the site's tables. The big one is Suwon against Yongin on Sunday, November 8, and Suwon FC against Gyeongnam the day before sets the terms. If Suwon beat Yongin, they are champions unless Suwon FC have beaten Gyeongnam. If Suwon draw, they are champions only if Suwon FC have lost. Suwon FC drop out of the title race if they draw and Suwon win, or if they lose and Suwon avoid defeat. Seoul E-Land drop out unless they beat Jeonnam, and even a win is not enough unless Suwon lose to Yongin.

Only Busan can clinch the last top five place that weekend. A win at Cheonan clinches it unless Hwaseong win at Gimhae or Chungnam Asan win at Paju. A draw clinches it only if Hwaseong and Chungnam Asan both lose, and a defeat cannot clinch it that weekend. The other way round, Hwaseong and Chungnam Asan are each eliminated if they lose and Busan avoid defeat, or if they draw and Busan win. The two do not meet in this round.

The full round. On Saturday, November 7, Daegu are at Seongnam, Gyeongnam at Suwon FC, Jeonnam at Seoul E-Land, Ansan at Gimpo and Hwaseong at Gimhae. On Sunday, November 8, Yongin are at Suwon, Busan at Cheonan and Chungnam Asan at Paju. Chungbuk Cheongju have the week off.

How to read these numbers. A clinch number is the smallest further return, counted in league points, that guarantees an outcome even if every rival takes maximum points from everything it has left. A tragic number is the count of further defeats after which the outcome becomes impossible even if the club wins everything else, assuming rivals stay where they are. Zero means already settled, and a blank means arithmetic alone cannot settle it yet. These numbers treat each rival on its own, so the combinations above, which use the real fixtures, can settle things sooner. A rival who can finish exactly level counts against a club when we decide a clinch, so our clinch can trail an official announcement by a day. Goals scored, goal difference and the official tiebreakers are not part of this arithmetic. The live table is at, the fixtures at, the promotion and tiebreak rules at, every club's figures at and the method at. Club pages: Suwon, Suwon FC, Busan, Hwaseong and Chungnam Asan. To set the November 7 and 8 results yourself, use.