Seoul: The South Korean baseball league has reached over 9 million fans in the fewest number of games in its history, with the single-season record firmly in sight. The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) said the five games played Friday evening drew 87,523 fans, pushing the total attendance for 2025 to 9,076,699 after 528 games -- the fastest to 9 million in league history.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the KBO has topped 9 million fans only one other time -- drawing a record 10,887,705 fans last season. The league needed 610 games to get to 9 million then. The KBO has surpassed every million mark so far at a record pace, and it took only 63 games to go from 8 million to 9 million this season.
With about a month and a half left in the season, it appears to be a matter of time before the KBO shatters its attendance record. The teams are averaging 17,191 fans per game this season, up about 16 percent from the same point last year.
Four clubs have surpassed 1 million fans this year, led by the Samsung Lions with 1,212,294. Six teams topped 1 million last year. The KBO broke the previous single-season sellout record of 221 on July 25 and pushed the total to 248 -- about 47 percent of the games -- with two more sellouts Friday.
The league's top two teams, the LG Twins and the Hanwha Eagles, squared off in front of 23,750 fans at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul. The Samsung Lions visited the KT Wiz at KT Wiz Stadium in Suwon, some 30 kilometers south of Seoul, with 18,700 fans filling the seats.
Elsewhere, the Lotte Giants hosted the SSG Landers with 20,091 fans at Sajik Baseball Stadium in the southeastern city of Busan. The Doosan Bears and the Kiwoom Heroes played before 12,841 fans at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, while 12,141 fans watched the NC Dinos host the Kia Tigers at Changwon NC Park in Changwon, 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul.
The Eagles have sold out a league-high 46 games out of 52 at home, followed by the Lions with 41 sellouts.