V League Covid cancelations continue as time runs out

A health official disinfects Pepper Stadium in Gwangju on Feb. 24 after a match between the GS Caltex Kixx and Pepper Savings Bank AI Peppers. [YONHAP]

The women's V League is in danger of ending early due to surging Covid 19 cases.

The V League is currently postponed for another week because Suwon Hyundai Engineering & Construction Hillstate, GS Caltex Kixx and Korea Ginseng Corporation are unable to field the required 12 players.

The league is currently scheduled to restart next Wednesday, which will put the total number of days missed due to Covid-19 so far this season at 22, just inside the KOVO limit before the regular season gets cut short.

On Feb. 12, the women’s V League had to take a one-week break due to surging cases among the teams. The men’s V League also took a 13-day break in February with two clubs, the Korean Air Jumbos and Hyundai Capital Skywalkers, unable to field the minimum 12 players.

In the women's V League, seven teams play a total of 36 matches during the regular season, facing the six other teams six times each. Then for the postseason, the winner of the regular season will advance to the best-of-five championship series to face the winner of the playoff between the runner up club and the third club of the regular season.

According to the Covid-19 countermeasures announced by KOVO, if the league is postponed for between 14 and 23 days, teams will be able to play all 36 regular season matches but the number of postseason matches will be reduced.

If the league is postponed for between 24 and 28 days, the regular season will end after the sixth round and the postseason will be canceled.

If the league is stopped for more than 28 days, the season will immediately end.

Currently, the league has been stopped for a total of 22 days and if the restart is pushed back two more days, the regular season will have to end earlier than usual.

Suwon Hyundai Engineering & Construction Hillstate is currently on top of the table, just one win away from securing their season title. That coronation, which could have come on March 4 against the Kixx, will have to wait as both teams are unable to field the required 12 players.

Hillstate are looking to win the V League for the first time in 11 years. The last time the team took home the trophy was in the 2010-2011 season, when they won 20 out of 24 matches.

Hillstate missed out on their chance at winning in the 2019-2020 season, which was cut short after the first five rounds. They had topped the table that season after winning 20 matches and losing seven.

Last season, Hillstate finished at the bottom of the table, winning only 11 of their 30 matches.

BY YUN SO-HYANG [yun.sohyang@joongang.co.kr]