K League 1 Round 33: Incheon-Jeju clash decides last Final A spot… Seoul aims to clinch title

Six K League 1 Round 33 matches kick off simultaneously at 2 p.m. on the 24th. Incheon and Jeju are fighting for the last Final A spot, while Seoul aims for its first title in 10 years in its match against Gangwon.

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

Three-line summary

Jeju (46 points) reach Final A even with a draw against Incheon, while Incheon (43 points) would overtake them on goals scored, 40 to 38, if they win.
First-place FC Seoul (66 points) will confirm their seventh overall title, and their first in 10 years since 2016, early if they beat Gangwon.
The K League 1 title prize is 500 million won. Goal-scoring co-leaders Yago and Klimala (16 goals) are chased by Mugosa (14 goals), 2 goals behind.

"It would have been nice to have sealed the title last week, but we just need to win this match." Kim Gi-dong, FC Seoul head coach, said ahead of the Gangwon FC match, as told to Sports Kyunghyang, reflecting his determination. Seoul drew 2-2 with Gimcheon Sangmu on the 18th, delaying their title confirmation by a week. On the same day at 2 p.m. in Incheon, sixth and seventh place face off for the last Final A spot.

Seventh-place Incheon trail sixth-place Jeju by 3 points, but have scored 40 goals, two more than Jeju's 38 (as of 22:00 on Oct. 22, 2026). This is due to K League 1 rules, which rank goals scored above goal difference when points are tied.

Final A scenarios: Incheon 40 goals vs. Jeju 38 goals

Per the official K League preview, as of the end of Round 32 (as of 22:00 on Oct. 22, 2026), Jeju SK have 12 wins, 10 draws, and 10 losses (46 points, 38 goals scored), and Incheon United have 11 wins, 10 draws, and 11 losses (43 points, 40 goals scored). For Jeju, who finished 11th last season and went through the relegation playoffs, a Final A spot is at stake for the first time since 2022, after four years.

Round 33 results	Incheon points	Jeju points	Final A qualification
Incheon win	46	46	Incheon (better goals scored)
Draw	44	47	Jeju
Jeju win	43	49	Jeju

Team	Points	Notes
FC Seoul	66	1st place, 16 points ahead of 2nd
Ulsan HD	50	2nd place
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	47
Gangwon FC	47	Final A confirmed
Daejeon Hana Citizen	46	51 goals scored, league says "the chance of being pushed out of 6th place is low"
Jeju SK	46	38 goals, 6th place
Incheon United	43	40 goals, 7th place

Incheon has not lost to Jeju this season, with one win and one draw, and the league preview reported that if Incheon qualifies, it would be the ninth case of making Final A in a first season after promotion. In head-to-head history, Jeju leads with 22 wins, 21 draws, and 19 losses. This match will be broadcast by MAXPORTS and Coupang Play.

FC Seoul title conditions: 7th overall title if they beat Gangwon

Seoul has 20 wins, 6 draws, and 6 losses, with 66 points, 16 points ahead of second-place Ulsan HD (50) (as of 22:00 on Oct. 22, 2026). If Seoul wins, they will reach 69 points. Ulsan HD would reach only 68 points even if they win all six remaining matches. Segye Ilbo reports that this would be the first in 10 years since 2016 and, including the Anyang LG era, the seventh overall title. It would be the third early title confirmation before the final round, after Jeonbuk in 2018 and 2025.

There is also prize money at stake. Under Article 31 of the league competition regulations, the K League 1 winner's prize is 500 million won, with 200 million won for the runner-up. However, the actual amount received by clubs may vary depending on distributions and other factors. The match at Seoul World Cup Stadium will be broadcast by ENA SPORTS and Coupang Play.

K League 1 scoring ranks: Yago and Klimala with 16 goals, Mugosa with 14

The race for the scoring title is also shifting on the same day. According to official records, Yago (Ulsan) and Klimala (Seoul) have 16 goals each, but Yago, with fewer appearances (25 matches), ranks first. Mugosa, with 14 goals, is 2 goals behind and ranks third.

Rank	Player	Club	Goals	Appearances
1	Yago	Ulsan HD	16 goals	25 matches
2	Klimala	FC Seoul	16 goals	29 matches
3	Mugosa	Incheon United	14 goals	29 matches
4	Mateus	FC Anyang	12 goals	30 matches
5	Lee Dong-gyeong	Ulsan HD	11 goals	31 matches
6	Thiago	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	10 goals	24 matches
7	Kim Dae-won	Gangwon FC	10 goals	30 matches

Montenegrin striker Stefan Mugosa (34) scored 19 goals in his first season after joining Incheon in 2018, left for Vissel Kobe in summer 2022, and returned as a free agent in July 2023. He led Incheon to the K League 2 title and promotion in 2025, and he is the club's all-time leading scorer.

The bottom of the table could also be decided on this day. If last-place Gwangju FC (18 points) lose to 11th-place Bucheon (32), the gap widens to 17 points. Because Gimcheon Sangmu will be automatically relegated due to the expiration of their hometown agreement, the 12th-place team will face the loser of the K League 2 promotion decider in a relegation playoff. Gwangju head coach Lee Jung-gyu said, "We will never give up until the very end."

Standings and scoring figures are all as of the end of Round 32 and will change after matches. Incheon head coach Yoon Jung-hwan said this in August: "Our goal is Final A… We will keep fighting until the end."

Related official sites

K League official website (Korea Professional Football League) — check Round 33 schedules, results, and latest standings
K League official player records (scoring ranks) — live tally of goals by Yago, Klimala, and Mugosa
K League competition regulations (prize money and ranking methods) — original text of the goals-scored priority rule and title prize

Representative image · Archive photo · Not a photo from the current match in this article · Photo: Wikimedia Commons (Waka77), CC0