It took 31 years for the two teams to meet again on the biggest stage.

The first Korean Series matchup since 1993. The Kia Tigers and Samsung Lions will meet on a wooden bridge to the top.

The two teams will face off in the 2024 Korean Series, which kicks off on June 21 at Champions Field in Gwangju. It’s one of the most anticipated matchups in baseball. The storylines are many.

For starters, Kia and Samsung are two of the most decorated franchises in history, ranked first and second in terms of most wins.

Kia enters the V12 with 11 championships, the most of any of the 10 teams. Their last victory came in 2017, making it seven years since they won the title.

Samsung follows with eight wins. Its last win came in 2014, at the end of its ‘dynasty’. It will be the first V9 in 10 years.

Pride is also at stake between business rivals.

In baseball, Samsung is challenging Kia for the regular season title.

However, Samsung Group, the parent company of Samsung Lions, is the clear favorite. Samsung is determined to use its recent semiconductor troubles to rebound from its recent slump by winning a popular baseball title.

Hyundai Motor Group, the parent company of the Kia Tigers, ranks third in terms of wealth after Samsung SK, but is exploding toward the top of the wealth rankings. The baseball team, V12, is expected to be the engine that will greatly expand the energy of the entire group in the parent company’s growth path to lead the future industrial reorganization. The interest within the group is also relatively high.

As a prestigious team representing Yeonghonam, the fans’ firepower confrontation is also hot. Both teams have suffered from overheated fan sentiment in the past due to regional feelings between East and West. In the 1986 Korean Series Game 3 in Daegu, 파워볼사이트 a Haetae team bus was set on fire by some fans.

Even today, when local sentiment has evolved in a positive direction, the rivalry is still very much alive. The fans of both teams who fill the stands are just as exciting to watch as the on-field action.

Game 1 will determine the course of the series.

It has a 72.5% chance of winning. Who will it be?

James Nail (KIA Tigers) and Won Tae-in (Samsung Lions) are the starting pitchers for Game 1 of the 2024 Korean Series. KIA manager Lee Bum-ho and Samsung manager Park Jin-man named the two players as their starting pitchers for Game 1 at the Korean Series media day in Gwangju on Tuesday.

It’s a matchup of foreign versus homegrown starters for the 2024 KBO League.

In a KIA uniform this year, Nail pitched in 26 games and 149⅓ innings, posting a 12-5 record with a 2.53 ERA. He is the team’s all-time leader in ERA. On August 24, he was hit by a Matt Davidson pitch while pitching against the Changwon NC Dinos, fracturing his jaw joint and facing a possible season-ending surgery, but he rehabilitated with determination and made it to the Korean Series.

In 28 games and 159⅔ innings, Won went 15-6 with a 3.66 ERA.

His best start of the season came in Game 1 of the playoffs against the LG Twins in Daegu on April 15, when he pitched a quality start (at least six innings pitched and no more than three earned runs allowed), allowing one run on seven hits with two walks and three strikeouts in 6⅔ innings.

“I think he’s been our best pitcher all season,” Lee said of Nail’s decision to start Game 1. He also has the No. 1 ERA. I was thinking about Yang Hyun-jong, but I thought it would be better to send Nail out first.” As for his physical condition, he said, “I started pitching a month ago. There are no problems at all. I’m doing 100 percent in my daily life and training,” he added.

Manager Park Jin-man said, “Won Tae-in is the No. 1 pitcher in the world. We’ve been through the playoffs, and he should be in the rotation. He’s also the No. 1 pitcher with a lot of wins and is very reliable.”

Both pitchers are undefeated in their regular-season matchups this season.

Nail pitched 11 innings in two games against Samsung Electronics with no wins and a 4.09 ERA. Won Tae-in had a 2.25 ERA in 12 innings in two games against KIA, but like Nail, he was winless.

The key is performance.

Unlike the regular season, the pressure in the shortened Korean Series is unimaginable. Nail had been working through a step-by-step pitching program and practice games to regain his feel. However, this will be his first start in more than two months, and the pressure of Game 1 of the Korean Series will be key.

Won had plenty of time to rest after Game 1 of the playoffs, but there’s no guarantee that he’ll be able to perform the same way in his second start of fall baseball in enemy territory.

Historically, the winner of Game 1 has a 72.5% chance of winning the KS (29 out of 40 times, excluding the 1982 tie).

The odds of winning the first game are 90% if the winner of the second game is able to hold on. That’s how important a first-round win is. That’s why a matchup between the best foreigner and the best native is so intriguing.