The CTBC Brothers host the Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions on Oct. 9 at Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium to open the Chinese Professional Baseball League challenge series, entering with a one-win head start after clinching the second-half championship on the regular season’s final weekend.
Series format and stakes
CPBL rules award the half-season champion a 1–0 lead in the best-of-five challenge round, meaning the Brothers need only two on-field victories while the Lions must win three of four possible games. The winner advances to the Taiwan Series against the Wei Chuan Dragons, who claimed the first-half crown and will enjoy five home games at Taipei Dome if the series reaches seven.
Game 2 shifts to Tainan’s Asia-Pacific Baseball Stadium on Oct. 10, giving the Lions one home date before the bracket returns to Taichung for Games 3 and 4 if necessary.
How each club arrived
The Brothers finished the first half near the cellar, then surged to a 36–24 second-half mark to overtake the Rakuten Monkeys. Their reward is home-field edge and the free win. The Lions, playing under a “orange sea” retirement tour for veteran Chen Chiang-hsi, grabbed the final playoff berth with a 34–26 second-half record.
Uni-President pitching depth—including foreign arms rested for October—will test a Brothers lineup that leaned on late-season momentum rather than early consistency.
Storylines for fans
Taichung crowds expect a packed Friday opener at 5:05 p.m. Broadcasters have scheduled national feed coverage with Mandarin and Taiwanese commentary. Ticket packages bundle the potential four-game Taichung set, reflecting confidence that the series will not end in a sweep.
Lions supporters are organizing coordinated orange apparel for the lone Tainan home date, while Brothers fans revive their “reclaim the title” chant from the 2024 championship run.
Taiwan Series outlook
Should the Brothers advance, all Taiwan Series home games would be scheduled at Taipei Dome under league announcements—a boon for metro fans but a travel grind for southern clubs. A Lions upset would send two games to Tainan, keeping the championship in central-south baseball heartland.
Wei Chuan finished 28–32 in the second half but holds the first-half trophy, illustrating how CPBL’s split-season format can crown different leaders. The Dragons will rest arms while scouting the challenge series, looking for bullpen mismatches to exploit.
What Thursday means
Game 1 is less about immediate elimination than psychological edge: the Lions must beat the Brothers twice in Taichung just to level the ledger. Expect aggressive bullpen usage and pinch-hit moves from the first pitch. For Taiwan’s sporting calendar, the series opens the most concentrated week of baseball before National Day travel competes for attention.