Korean baseball's 2026 Shinhan SOL postseason begins October 14 when the LG Twins host the Doosan Bears at Jamsil in a wild-card series that can end in as few as one game if the fourth-place club wins or ties.
The Korea Baseball Organization confirmed the format on October 7: LG finished the regular season fourth, Doosan fifth, and the higher seed needs only one victory or a tie across two potential games because both contests are played at the fourth-place team's park.
Table context
KT Wiz secured the top seed and a direct path toward the Korean Series with 87 wins, while Samsung locked up second. KIA and LG spent the final weekend jockeying for third, but the wild-card matchup pairs two Seoul rivals with recent October history.
Doosan must win twice on the road to advance. LG rested key bullpen arms during the last series, while Doosan rode a patchwork rotation after injuries in September.
Schedule mechanics
Semifinals start October 18 in a best-of-five format, followed by the playoff round October 25. The Korean Series opens November 2 using a 2-3-2 home layout tied to regular-season seeding. Postseason games suspend rather than rain out, and extra innings can end in ties that force replay sessions—rules that matter for bullpen planning.
Fan impact
Metro Seoul expects crowded subway lines after 6 p.m. on game nights, and ticket resale prices for Jamsil already exceed face value. For neutrals, the series is a preview of whether LG's rebuilt lineup can survive October pressure after falling short in 2025. Doosan's path requires consecutive road wins—a task no fifth seed has celebrated lightly in the wild-card era.
Roster notes
LG manager Yeom Kyung-yeop said he will open with left-hander Choi Won-tae if the series begins on schedule, while Doosan is leaning on foreign ace Dylan File after a September elbow scare. Both clubs share Jamsil as a home park in the regular season, but wild-card ticketing is controlled entirely by LG, giving the Twins gate revenue and last at-bat in a tied game.