KT beat the Samsung Lions 8-7 in Game 1 of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO Korea Series on the 3rd at Suwon KT Wiz Park, but the finish was far rougher than the 8-0 lead suggested. Park Yeong-hyeon entered with one out and bases loaded in the eighth inning and still helped close out the win after a bullpen stretch that nearly vanished the advantage.
That is why KT Vs Samsung is being searched now: the opener of a best-of-seven title series turned into a late survival act, and the first game mattered all the more because the winner of Game 1 has gone on to take the championship 31 times in 42 previous Korea Series, a success rate of 73.8 percent. KT built its cushion with consecutive home runs from Ahn Hyun-min, Kim Hyun-soo and Han Seung-taek, then watched the game narrow fast when Daniel Davis gave up a two-run homer to Koo Ja-yuk in the seventh.
The breakdown did not stop there. Logan Allen was summoned with no outs and a runner on first in the top of the seventh and allowed two hits and two runs in one-third of an inning. Son Dong-hyeon was replaced by Kim Jung-woon after eight pitches, and Kim Jung-woon then gave up a two-RBI hit to Lee Jae-hyun before walking Park Seung-gyu and leaving the game in the eighth. Oh Won-seok followed and allowed hits to Koo Ja-yuk and Kim Seong-yoon, then a walk to Kim Young-woong, before he was removed with the bases loaded. From Davis' exit until Park arrived, four bullpen pitchers combined for 1⅓ innings and four runs allowed.
Park was left to clean up the mess and did it with damage control rather than flash. He allowed one inherited runner to score on a wild pitch, but retired all five batters he faced over 1⅔ innings and struck out three straight hitters on swings and misses in the ninth. Lee Kang-cheol had already been uneasy about matching left-handed bullpen arms against Samsung's left-handed lineup, which is why Logan Allen and Oh Won-seok had been shifted from starting roles into relief for the Korea Series. Oh Won-seok's recent bullpen numbers had been strong, too, with two wins, no losses, two holds, a 1.32 ERA and 10 strikeouts in 13⅔ innings over 10 games since moving there in September.
KT still escaped with the opener, and that matters because Game 1 has long shaped the rest of the series. The problem now is not whether KT can score enough to win; it is whether a bullpen that almost gave away an 8-0 lead can hold up again when the series tightens.
