KB Insurance Stars to face Jumbos for V League title

The Uijeongbu KB Insurance Stars celebrate after beating Suwon Kepco Vixtorm 3-1 in the postseason semi-playoffs at Uijeongbu Sports Complex on Sunday. [YONHAP]

The Uijeongbu KB Insurance Stars will compete in the first V League championship series in the club's history starting Tuesday, where they will take on reigning champions Incheon Korean Air Jumbos.

The KB Insurance Stars beat Suwon Kepco Vixtorm 3-1 in a playoff at Uijeongbu Sports Complex in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi on Sunday to earn their spot in the best-of-three championship series.

In the V League, an additional playoff is held if the difference in points between the third and fourth-place teams is three points or less. This season, that playoff was held as just one match instead of a best-of-three due to the surging Covid-19 cases in the V League. The championship series will also be shortened from a best-of-five to a best-of-three format.

KB Insurance finished the regular season in second place, eight points behind the top placed Korean Air. Seoul Woori Card WooriWON finished their regular season with 59 points in third place while Suwon Kepco Vixtorm finished in fourth place with 56 points.

Kepco beat Woori Card 3-1 on Friday to face KB Insurance on Sunday. KB Insurance’s win on Sunday enabled them to reach the final for the first time since the club was established in 2005.

KB Insurance will vie for the championship trophy against the Jumbos.

The Jumbos are a strong club. They won the men's V league title last year after beating the Seoul Woori Card Wibees — now the WooriWON — in the championship series to take both the regular season and championship titles for the first time in the club's history. It was also the first time in seven years that the V League has seen one team win the double. The last time the feat was achieved was back in the 2013-14 season, when Samsung Fire Insurance won both.

The first game of the championship series will be held on Tuesday at Gyeyang Gymnasium in Incheon, with the second game on Thursday at Uijeongbu Sports Complex in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi.

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