Samsung Lions vs. KT Wiz Korean Series Game 1: How to Watch, Start Time, Full Schedule

Samsung and the KT Wiz open the Korean Series on Tuesday at 4:30 a.m. ET (6:30 p.m. KST) at Suwon KT Wiz Park. Samsung arrived by beating the KIA Tigers 6-1 in a winner-take-all Game 5 on Sunday, with Ariel Jurado throwing seven innings of one-run ball and taking series MVP honors (full recap). KT, the regular-season champion, has been idle since the season ended.

Best-of-seven. KT has home field: Games 1, 2, 6 and 7 in Suwon, Games 3, 4 and 5 in Daegu.

How to Watch the Korean Series

Every game streams free worldwide outside South Korea on SOOP — kbo.sooplive.com and the SOOP app — the KBO’s international partner. No subscription required. The broadcast is in Korean; the site and app are in English. Inside South Korea, TVING has the digital rights. No U.S. network is carrying the series.

Full Schedule and U.S. Start Times

Game 1 — Tuesday, Nov. 3, 4:30 a.m. ET, Suwon
Game 2 — Wednesday, Nov. 4, 4:30 a.m. ET, Suwon
Game 3 — Friday, Nov. 6, 4:30 a.m. ET, Daegu
Game 4 — Saturday, Nov. 7, 12:00 a.m. ET, Daegu
Game 5* — Sunday, Nov. 8, 12:00 a.m. ET, Daegu
Game 6* — Tuesday, Nov. 10, 4:30 a.m. ET, Suwon
Game 7* — Wednesday, Nov. 11, 4:30 a.m. ET, Suwon

*if necessary

Weekday games start at 6:30 p.m. local, which is 4:30 a.m. Eastern the same calendar day. Weekend games start at 2 p.m. local, which is midnight Eastern — meaning Game 4 begins Friday night by your clock and Game 5 begins Saturday night. Thursday, Nov. 5 and Monday, Nov. 9 are travel days.

A Mansfield, Texas Slugger Is the Best Hitter in Korea

Sam Hilliard spent seven seasons in the majors with Colorado and Atlanta and hit 44 home runs across 332 games, batting .218.

In his first KBO season, he hit 44 home runs in 142 games.

The 32-year-old outfielder led the league with 139 RBIs, finished second in home runs, and batted .304 with a .593 slugging percentage. He went to Mansfield High School outside Fort Worth, played at two junior colleges and then Wichita State, and went to the Rockies in the 15th round of the 2015 draft. He homered and drove in three in KT’s final tune-up before the series.

Game 1 Starters: Two Pitchers Cincinnati Didn’t Want

KT: Davis Daniel, RHP. An Atlanta native who went to Auburn, Daniel was drafted by the Angels in the seventh round in 2019 and threw eight shutout innings against Detroit in his first big-league start in 2023. The Angels traded him to his hometown Braves in December 2024, and he made three appearances for Atlanta in 2025.

This season he was at Triple-A Louisville in the Cincinnati system, where he went 5-7 with a 4.80 ERA. The Reds released him on July 29 without ever calling him up. He signed with KT days later and has been the best pitcher on the best team in Korea since: 5-2, 2.13 ERA, 69 strikeouts in 55 innings. At home in Suwon he’s been close to unhittable — 4-0, 1.16 ERA, 37 strikeouts in 31 innings across five starts. He has never faced Samsung. In a tune-up against the military club Sangmu on Oct. 27, he threw five no-hit innings with 10 strikeouts on 62 pitches.

Samsung: Won-tae Choi, RHP. Samsung is starting its No. 3 because it has no choice — Jurado and Chris Paddack were both spent getting past KIA. Choi posted a 4.68 ERA in the regular season and gave up nine runs in two starts against KT. His one playoff start lasted 1 2/3 innings: two runs on three hits before Samsung pulled him.

Daniel’s turnaround is the hardest thing to explain about this series. A Triple-A club released him in July. Three months later he is starting Game 1 of the Korean Series with a sub-2.00 home ERA for the best team in the league.

The Asian Quota’s First Korean Series

This is the first KBO season with an Asian Quota, which lets each club sign one player from Japan, Taiwan or Australia beyond the usual three foreign players. Both teams in this series used it on a Japanese right-hander, and both have already pitched in October.

Satoshi Miyamori, RHP, Samsung is the Lions’ second quota player of the year, signed in August after Samsung parted with Yura Miyaji. He saved Game 3 of the playoff round and took the loss in Game 4.

KT’s quota pitcher is Japanese right-hander Sugimoto, who reached the KBO without a single NPB appearance, coming up entirely through Japan’s independent leagues. Japanese baseball media framed his signing as a possible new path for players outside NPB.

KIA, Samsung’s playoff opponent, used its slot on Keisho Shirakawa, who won a semi-playoff game and was available in relief in Game 5.

Former MLB Players on Both Rosters

Chris Paddack, RHP is from Austin and pitched for four organizations in 2026 — the Marlins, Reds and Rangers — before Samsung signed him on July 11 for $473,333. He has 132 big-league games behind him and went 7-3 with a 2.95 ERA for the Lions.

Lewin Diaz, 1B is a former Marlins first baseman and bats cleanup for Samsung.

KT. Logan Allen, LHP pitched for Cleveland and forms KT’s import rotation with Daniel. Sam Hilliard, OF played for Colorado and Atlanta.

The Matchup

KT was the most complete team in the KBO. The Wiz finished second in runs per game at 5.73 and second in fewest runs allowed at 4.51, led the league in hits, doubles and OPS, and their rotation ranked second with a 3.83 ERA. Their staff allowed the fewest walks in the league and ranked third in strikeouts.

Samsung was close behind — fourth in ERA, sixth in strikeouts, third in OPS, fourth in home runs, second in triples and third in runs scored.

If Samsung wins, the Lions become the first team since the SK Wyverns, now the SSG Landers, to take the Korean Series without the league’s best regular-season record, and only the third to do it since 2002.

Koo Ja-wook’s First Shot

Samsung captain Ja-wook Koo debuted in 2012 and has never won a championship. He came closest in 2024, when Samsung reached the Korean Series and he watched from the sideline — he had torn a ligament in his left knee in Game 2 of that year’s playoff round against LG.

He is matter-of-fact about it now, saying he pushed himself too hard then and has moved past it, and that the Korean Series doesn’t feel different because the team has played the same way since the regular season. Asked about facing KT, he said Samsung has nothing to fear and that it feels like the right time to win.

Koo is also one of two Samsung players headed for free agency when the season ends, along with ace-turned-closer Tae-in Won.

The Short Version

Samsung at KT, best-of-seven, starting Tuesday at 4:30 a.m. ET in Suwon. Free on SOOP at kbo.sooplive.com. Won-tae Choi for Samsung, Davis Daniel for KT. Weekday games 4:30 a.m. ET, weekend games midnight ET.

Sources: Korea JoongAng Daily, The Korea Herald, Chosun Ilbo/OSEN, Star News, Yahoo Sports/Fort Worth Star-Telegram, World Baseball Network, MyKBOStats, Baseball-Reference, MLB.com, SOOP.