Seoul's championship condition '10 points'...above is 15-point lead solo run, below is three teams within 4 points mixed
K League 1 regular round has 3 matches remaining. Leader FC Seoul is 15 points ahead of second place, and if 10 points are added in the remaining 8 matches, they win the championship. Daejeon-Jeonbuk on the 9th, Seoul-Jeju match on the 10th will be held.
Translated from Korean with AI assistance. Read the original. Sources and original publication dates are retained.
15 points. This is the points difference between K League 1 leader FC Seoul and second-place Ulsan HD (as of October 8, 2026, 09:00). Since the maximum points for one match is 3 points, it's a distance that requires winning five consecutive matches to close. Conversely, from 4th place Jeonbuk to 6th place Daejeon, three teams are within 4 points. The two issues of this week's round 31 are: whether Seoul is stopped by Jeju, and whether Daejeon catches up to Jeonbuk.
Seoul's championship condition 10 points, the trap of '3 matches remaining'
It's common to say '3 matches remaining in the regular round,' but the season doesn't end there.Korean Professional Football League competition guidelineshave a separate Finals 5 rounds after the regular 33 rounds. Now, after 30 matches played, each team has 8 remaining matches, not 3. The championship calculation must also be based on 8 matches.
Yonhapnewsreported that Seoul, in the remaining 8 matches,10 pointswould win the championship even if Ulsan wins all matches, they explained. If Ulsan wins all 8 matches, adding 24 points to 47 points results in a maximum of71 points. If Seoul adds 10 points to 62, it becomes 72 points, exceeding this ceiling by 1 point. To summarize in one line: Seoul needs 3 wins and 1 draw to clinch, and even if Ulsan wins all 8 matches, their maximum is 71 points.
This calculation doesn't mean the championship is confirmed. If Seoul fails to accumulate points and Ulsan wins consecutively, the gap narrows. According to the official Jeju SK FC standings, Seoul has 19 wins, 5 draws, 6 losses in 30 matches, and Ulsan has 14 wins, 5 draws, 11 losses (as of October 8, 2026, 09:00). The difference in wins is only 5. The loss difference is Seoul with 6 losses and Ulsan with 11 losses, a gap of nearly double.
K League 1 ranks 4th-6th with 4-point difference, Daejeon-Jeonbuk head-to-head on the 9th
Top 6 clubs standings (as of October 8, 2026, 09:00, Jeju SK FC official standings)
| Rank | Club | Points | Record (30 matches) | Difference from leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FC Seoul | 62 | 19 wins 5 draws 6 losses | - |
| 2 | Ulsan HD | 47 | 14 wins 5 draws 11 losses | 15 |
| 3 | Jeju SK | 46 | 12 wins 10 draws 8 losses | 16 |
| 4 | Jeonbuk Hyundai | 44 | 11 wins 11 draws 8 losses | 18 |
| 5 | Gangwon FC | 43 | 10 wins 13 draws 7 losses | 19 |
| 6 | Daejeon Hana Citizen | 40 | 10 wins 10 draws 10 losses | 22 |
The Daejeon-Jeonbuk match will be held at Daejeon World Cup Stadium on October 9 at 14:00. Fourth-place Jeonbuk has 44 points, and sixth-place Daejeon has 404 pointsdifference. Between them sits 5th place Gangwon (43 points), so it's not just a battle between the two teams. If Daejeon wins, they tie with Gangwon at 43 points and the difference with Jeonbuk shrinks to 1 point. If Jeonbuk wins, they'll have 47 points, tying with second-place Ulsan.
Daejeon has been undefeated in the recent 4 league matches, and Jeonbuk leads with 1 win and 1 draw in the two previous head-to-head matchups this season against Daejeon (as of October 8, 2026, 09:00). There are also sections where the numbers differ by source. Yonhapnews's report on the 7th listed Gangwon as '44 points' but wrote the difference from Daejeon as 3 points. Following the official standings and league preview, this article used 43 points.
K League 1 championship prize 500 million won, Seoul-Jeju head-to-head on the 10th at Sangam
The Seoul-Jeju match will be held at Seoul World Cup Stadium on October 10 at 14:00. The two teams split the previous two head-to-head matchups this season with 1 win each. Jeju has been undefeated in the recent 5 league matches with 3 wins and 2 draws.Korean Professional Football League previewcited whether Seoul maintains the lead and whether Jeju continues its undefeated streak as viewing points of interest for this match.
According to Article 31 of the league competition guidelines, the K League 1 championship prize is500 million won, and the runner-up prize is 200 million won. The difference is 300 million won, making the championship prize 2.5 times higher. It's premature to call Jeju a championship contender. The league preview only addressed whether Jeju could secure points in the Seoul match, without anticipating an upset championship. Jeju's realistic target is second-place Ulsan, 1 point ahead.
If Seoul beats Jeju, they'll have 65 points with 7 points remaining until the championship target of 10, and if they draw, they'll have 63 points with 9 points remaining. If Daejeon beats Jeonbuk, 6th place Daejeon and 5th place Gangwon tie at 43 points. The rankings and calculations in this article are all based on the 8th at 09:00 (Korea time). Club standings update regularly, and the championship countdown is only a conditional calculation, not confirmed reporting.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. What is Seoul's championship condition?
According to Yonhapnews, if Seoul adds 10 points in the remaining 8 matches, they win the championship even if Ulsan wins all matches. This is because Seoul's 72 points exceed Ulsan's maximum of 71 points (as of October 8, 2026, 09:00).
Q. How much is the K League 1 championship prize?
According to the Korean Professional Football League 2026 competition guidelines Article 31, the championship prize is 500 million won and the runner-up prize is 200 million won.
Q. When are the Seoul-Jeju and Daejeon-Jeonbuk matches scheduled?
The Daejeon-Jeonbuk match will be held at Daejeon World Cup Stadium on October 9 at 14:00, and the Seoul-Jeju match will be held at Seoul World Cup Stadium on October 10 at 14:00.
Q. If 3 matches remain in the regular round, why are there 8 remaining matches?
This is because the competition guidelines have a separate Finals 5 rounds after the regular 33 rounds. Adding the regular round's 3 matches and the Finals 5 matches results in 8 remaining matches per team.
Related official websites
- K League official homepage — You can view match schedules and official previews.
- K League official team standings and records — You can check updated standings and points after matches.
- Jeju SK FC official homepage — Contains Jeju club news and league standings.
Featured image · stock photo · not current match footage in the article · photo=Wikimedia Commons(Exj), CC BY-SA 4.0
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