This is what KT Wiz manager Lee Kang-chul told reporters after Game 5 of the semi-playoff (best of five) between the LG Twins in the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO postseason at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on the 11th.
In fact, KT’s fans showed an upgraded performance in five semi-playoff games compared to last year. The sold-out capacity of Suwon KT Wiz Park (17,600 seats) is a basic rule, and the team even filled the away seats at Jamsil Stadium, which can accommodate 23,750 spectators. Up until last year’s Korean Series, the team barely filled the seats among the away seats at Jamsil Stadium in southern Seoul, but for the first time in a year, KT’s flagship cheering tool “Beatbat” embroidered all the seats in the infield and outfield seats. KT’s fans were as enthusiastic as those of LG, a popular baseball team.
The scene after the game was also impressive. KT fans didn’t come home despite losing two to three games in the semi-playoff, and cheered for their coaches and players around the center entrance. They sang cheering songs and team cheering songs for each player, comforting and encouraging the players who provided a magical journey from the 5th place match to the 5th place match. It was in stark contrast to the spread of “Lee Sung-yong get out” in the 5th place match and “Lee Seung-yeop get out” in the wild card match. “Lost” manager Lee Kang-chul was a hero of KT fans.
Since this year’s regular season, KT has achieved a dramatic increase in attendance. It sold out 18,700 seats in the final game of the season against the Suwon Kiwoom Heroes on April 28 and accumulated attendance of 843,942, surpassing 800,000 spectators for the first time in a single season. The previous highest number of spectators in a single season was 697,350 last year. KT had already set a new record of 699,745 spectators in the match against the Doosan Bears in Suwon on September 7.
KT also posted its 12th sales this season, setting a new record beyond the previous season’s biggest sales of five innings in 2023. KT, the 10th heart of the 롤토토 League of Legends, which entered the top tier for the first time in 2015, has transformed Suwon into a baseball city in just nine years beyond settling down. It was a huge upset for the team, which also enjoyed 3,000 spectators at home games during the early days of the top tier team.
In other words, the biggest reason for the unpopularity label is that he is good at baseball. Since Lee Kang-chul’s inauguration in 2019, he has been on the postseason stage for five consecutive years from 2020 to this year, and achieved his first unified championship in 2021, attracting numerous fans. In addition, it is analyzed that the marketing team’s planning of various events, the “Water Festival,” which has established itself as a representative summer event in the KBO League, and uniform collaboration with popular characters also contributed to the increase in fans. And the enthusiasm continued to the fall baseball, leading to the result of occupying the third base stands at Jamsil Stadium.
After the fifth game, head coach Lee Kang-chul said, “I told you during the Wild Card match and the first round of the semi-playoff, but thank you so much for being our fans. I came here today (11th) to break the 0% chance with them, and thankfully, they cheered me up until the end. I will prepare well to meet fans with better performance next year,” he said on behalf of the club.