KT Wins Fourth Straight, Magic Number 5… Samsung Wins but Gap Stays at 3 Games, 3 Head-to-Head Matchups Remain

KT beat KIA 7-5 in Gwangju for its fourth straight win. Its magic number for the title is down to 5. Samsung also beat Hanwha 3-2, but the gap remains 3 games.

Translated from Korean with AI assistance. Read the original. Sources and original publication dates are retained.

Three-Line Summary

KT beat KIA 7-5 in Gwangju on October 1. With its fourth straight win, it cut its regular-season title magic number to 5.
Samsung also defeated Hanwha 3-2, but its gap with KT remains 3 games (as of 00:00 on 2026.10.02).
The remaining head-to-head games between KT and Samsung were reported as three: October 7 in Suwon and 11-12 in Daegu.

Magic number 5. That is the number KT is left with after beating KIA 7-5 in Gwangju on October 1. On the same day, second-place Samsung also beat Hanwha 3-2 in Daegu. Yet the gap did not shrink. YTN reported that KT extended its winning streak to four with this win. The combined total of KT wins plus Samsung losses needed for the regular-season title also fell to 5.

KT Beats KIA 7-5 for Fourth Straight Win, but Gap Stays at 3 Games

Xports News reported that KT beat KIA 7-5 on the road in Gwangju. By the official KBO standings, KT is 84 wins, 49 losses and 4 draws in 137 games, a .632 win percentage. Samsung is 81 wins, 52 losses and 3 draws in 136 games, a .609 win percentage. It sits second, trailing the leader by 3 games behind, in 2nd place (as of 00:00 on 2026.10.02).

If Samsung wins and KT wins as well, the 3-game gap stays the same. The table below shows that third-place LG is 10 games behind the leader and 7 games behind Samsung.

Rank	Team	Games	Record	Win Pct.	Games Behind Leader
1	KT	137	84 wins 49 losses 4 draws	.632	-
2	Samsung	136	81 wins 52 losses 3 draws	.609	3.0
3	LG	136	75 wins 60 losses 1 draw	.556	10.0
4	KIA	135	72 wins 61 losses 2 draws	.541	12.0
5	Doosan	138	70 wins 63 losses 5 draws	.526	14.0

KT Magic Number 5: Calculating the Conditions for Clinching the Title

KT has 7 games left and Samsung has 8 (as of 00:00 on 2026.10.02). Calculating directly from the KBO standings, it works out like this. If KT adds 5 wins and 2 losses, it finishes 89-51, a win percentage of 89/140, or about .636. Even if Samsung wins all 8 of its remaining games, it would finish 89-52, or 89/141, about .631. Even if both teams end with the same number of wins, KT stays ahead by one fewer loss.

The variable is the head-to-head games. When KT beats Samsung, KT's 1 win and Samsung's 1 loss are added at the same time. So the magic number drops by 2 at once. If KT wins all 3 remaining head-to-head games, it would drop by 6, going past 5. However, this calculation holds only if there are no draws in the remaining schedule.

Date	Venue
October 7	Suwon
October 11	Daegu
October 12	Daegu

SPOTV News reports that the 3 head-to-head games are scheduled as shown above. KBO added the 11 games that had gone unscheduled after the September 30 rainout, extending the schedule to October 12. On August 25, the Seoul Shinmun had given October 7 as the end date, but this announcement changed the schedule. KT's other 4 games have not been confirmed.

Manager Park Jin-man's Salary Is 500 Million Won… "Are They Wizards or What" Remark Came Before the Game

Samsung manager Park Jin-man (49) told reporters before the October 1 game against Hanwha in Daegu: "KT doesn't lose. Seriously, are they wizards or what~" SPOTV News relayed the remark. It came before KT beat KIA that day to complete its fourth straight win.

Park Jin-man was born on November 30, 1976. According to KBO's official retired-player records, he played as an infielder for Hyundai from 1996 to 2004, Samsung from 2005 to 2010, and SK from 2011 to 2015. He left a career line of a .261 average, 1,574 hits, 153 home runs and 781 RBIs in 1,993 games. He served as Samsung's acting manager in 2022 and has led the team as full manager since the 2023 season.

According to YTN and OSEN, Samsung re-signed Manager Park on November 3, 2025 to a 2+1 year deal worth up to 2.3 billion won. The structure is a signing bonus of 500 million won, a salary of 500 million won, and annual incentives of 100 million won. The 2.3 billion won is the maximum, reached if he completes all 3 years and also earns the full 300 million won in incentives, 100 million won per year. The additional 1 year is an extension conditional on agreement by both sides.

The 7-5 game was confirmed through multiple reports, without cross-checking against the KBO box score. According to Newspim, KT beat Samsung 1-0 in the first-place tiebreaker on October 31, 2021 to clinch its first regular-season title. The two teams are now battling for first place again for the first time in five years. If Samsung wins, the gap narrows by 1 game each time.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What is KT's magic number?

As of 00:00 on October 2, 2026, it is 5. Calculated from the KBO standings, KT's final win percentage becomes higher than Samsung's when KT's wins plus Samsung's losses in the remaining games reach 5. This assumes there are no draws.

Q. When are the KT-Samsung head-to-head games?

According to SPOTV News, 1 game remains in Suwon on October 7 and 2 games in Daegu on October 11-12. KBO announced that it has scheduled the regular season through October 12.

Q. How old is Manager Park Jin-man, and what is his salary?

Manager Park Jin-man was born on November 30, 1976, and is 49 by international age. In November 2025 he re-signed with Samsung on a 2+1 year deal worth up to 2.3 billion won, and his salary is 500 million won.

Related Official Sites

KBO Official Website — Check live regular-season standings and announcements
KBO Official Schedule and Results — Check KT's and Samsung's remaining schedules and results
KT Wiz Official Club History — Club records, including the first regular-season title in 2021
KBO Park Jin-man Retired Player Record — Detailed career statistics from his playing days

Representative image · Archival photo · This is not an on-site photo of the current game in the article · Photo: Wikimedia Commons (Louise Kang), CC BY-SA 4.0