KT WIZ has advanced to the semifinals of the best-of-five (best-of-three) playoffs after pulling off the upset of the fifth-place team for the first time in the history of the KBO Wild Card Decision.

KT defeated the Doosan Bears 1-0 in the second game of the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO Postseason Wild Card Decision at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on Wednesday, thanks to a complete-game shutout by starter Wes Benjamin and a walk-off single by Kang Baek-ho.

KT, which had won Game 1 4-0 the day before to send the series to a best-of-seven series, made history by becoming the first fifth-place team to defeat a fourth-place team to advance to the semifinals since the wild-card deciding game was introduced in 2015 to pit the fourth- and fifth-place teams in the regular season.

KT will take on the LG Twins, who finished third in the regular season, in the first round of the semifinals at 2 p.m. on Friday at Jamsil Stadium.

KT will be looking for revenge in the return matchup against LG, who they defeated in the Korean Series (KS) last year.

For the second straight year, Doosan failed to cross the threshold of the Wild Card Game (WC), the first gateway to fall baseball.

Last year, they finished fifth and lost to the fourth-ranked NC Dinos to end their postseason run in one game, and this year, they were swept in two consecutive games in the Wild Card Game, needing only one win to advance.

If the fourth-place team wins the wild-card game, it's a one-game playoff. The fifth-place team must win to advance to the final two games, 카지노사이트 with the fourth-place team needing only a draw or better in the second game to advance to the semifinals, while the fifth-place team must also win the second game to advance to the semifinals.

KT carried the momentum of a dramatic fifth consecutive postseason appearance, thanks to Mel Rojas Jr.'s game-winning three-run homer in the first-ever fifth-place game against SSG Landers, into the two wild-card games, turning the tables on Doosan.

KT didn't have much of a chance until Jang Sung-woo singled to center in the bottom of the first inning and Kim Ki-yeon singled to left in the top of the third, both off left-handed starters Choi Seung-yong (Doosan) and Benjamin, respectively.

Then, in the fifth inning, they squandered a golden opportunity.

First, KT put runners on first and second with back-to-back singles by Oh Yoon-seok and Jeong Jae-dae.

Doosan manager Lee Seung-yup pulled Choi Seung-yong, who had been pitching well, and replaced him with Lee Young-ha, but Lee gave up a walk to Shim Woo-joon and handed the baton to Lee Byung-heon with the bases loaded.

KT manager Lee Kang-cheol brought in Moon Sang-chul, who had been the team's strongest hitter against Lee Byung-heon this season with three hits in four at-bats, but Moon ended the inning with a fly ball to center field.

Doosan had runners on first and second with one out after a leadoff single to left by Yang Seok-hwan and an infield grounder by Kang Seung-ho.

Heo Kyung-min lined a single to left field, but as Yang tried to round third base, he was thrown out at home by KT left fielder Rojas' accurate throw to first base, eliciting a deep sigh from the Doosan dugout.

KT's Benjamin, who cooked Kim Ki-yeon on a pitcher's choice at second base in the ensuing at-bat, could not contain his roar of joy.

KT didn't waste its second chance in the sixth inning.

After leadoff Rojas led off with a double down the left field line, Jang Sung-woo sent Rojas to third with a big fly ball to right field.

With runners on first and third, Kang Baek-ho drove a low pitch from Doosan's Byung-heon Lee into the gap in left field to break the tie.

After Benjamin tossed seven scoreless innings, allowing just three hits and a walk while striking out six, Ko Young-pyo (eighth) and Park Young-hyun (ninth) pitched one inning each to combine for the team's second consecutive shutout.

Benjamin was awarded the Daily Most Valuable Player (MVP) prize of 1 million won after the game. Kang Baek-ho, the hero of the game-winning hit, also received 1 million won in prize money and Nongshim snacks.

Doosan manager Lee Seung-yeop made an early move to bring in closer Kim Taek-yeon to face Rojas with runners on first and second in the seventh inning, but it didn't pay off due to the tight batting order.

Partly due to Yang's absence with a sore collarbone, Doosan's bats went cold just four days after finishing the regular-season finale on March 28, condemning them to an 18-inning stretch of scoreless, lethargic losses.