Wiz beat Dinos to advance to Korean Series

The KT Wiz celebrate after beating the NC Dinos 3-2 in a playoff game at Suwon KT Wiz Park in Suwon, Gyeonggi on Sunday. [NEWS1]

The KT Wiz edged out the NC Dinos to win the second round of the KBO playoffs 3-2 on Sunday, advancing to face the LG Twins in the Korean Series.

The Wiz came from behind to win Sunday’s game at Suwon KT Wiz Park in Suwon, Gyeonggi, after conceding runs at the top of the third and fifth innings.

The Wiz got two back at the bottom of the fifth to tie things up and then added one run in the sixth for a 3-2 lead, holding on until the end of the game for the win.

NC Dinos sweep SSG Landers to advance in KBO playoffs

Sunday’s win tracks the Wiz’s performance in the playoffs in general — the Suwon team, who finished second in the KBO season, lost the first two games of the five-game series to the Dinos and then came back to win the series 3-2.

The Dinos won the opening game at Suwon KT Wiz Park 9-5 on Monday, doubling down on Tuesday with a 3-2 win.

The Wiz fought back on the road at Changwon NC Park in Changwon, South Gyeongsang, winning 3-0 on Thursday and 11-2 on Friday to tie the series.

Back at home on Sunday, the Wiz rounded off the comeback with a 3-2 win to take the playoff series and advance to the Korean Series to take on the Twins.

The Wiz have only previously been to one Korean Series, in 2021 when they topped the table and beat the Doosan Bears to take both the pennant and the Korean Series title.

The Bears that year had fought their way from the Wildcard after finishing fourth, the same feat that the Dinos were on track to pull off before the Wiz ended their run this series.

The Dinos finished in fourth place in the regular season this year. They went on to beat the Bears over two games in the Wildcard Series and the SSG Landers in the first round of the KBO playoffs.

The Wiz will now advance to the playoffs where they will take on the pennant-winning Twins starting Tuesday.

The Twins advanced to the Korean Series after winning the KBO regular season, earning an automatic bye to the championship.

It was the Twins’ first regular season title since 1994. That year they also went on to win the Korean Series, and it was also the last time the Seoul club lifted the championship trophy.

The Twins are one of the five remaining teams that founded the KBO back in 1982, although at the time they were owned by broadcaster MBC and played as the MBC Chungryong.

Alongside the OB Bears, now the Doosan Bears, the Haitai Tigers, now the Kia Tigers, the Lotte Giants, the Samsung Lions and the now-defunct Sammi Superstars, the Twins were there from the very birth of the KBO — although they finished third in that opening season.

Over the years, the Twins have seen little success when it comes to silverware.

Although they saw some results when the KBO played with different formats — in 1983 they won the second half split and in 2000 they topped the Magic League, one of two four-team leagues at the time — the Twins have only actually topped a full-length, all-team KBO table twice, in 1990 and 1994.

On both occasions, the Twins went on to win the Korean Series title as well, adding the championship to the pennant for the only four major trophies the club has ever won.

The Korean Series begins Tuesday at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in southern Seoul.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]