Only 4 games until the split, the ‘A-match break’ is over… K League 1 is now ‘the real test’
After the A-Match break, the League of Legends breathed heavily as there were no matches. With four rounds left, there are no more breaks until the fateful ‘split quarterfinals’.
The A-Match is over. The day is approaching. The regular rounds conclude on October 8th. After that, the teams will be split into Final A for places 1-6 and Final B for places 7-12 for five more rounds. The real battle begins now.
K League 1 resumes this weekend. Final A and B are worlds apart. Final A is a stage of jubilation. They’re fighting for the title and a ticket to the Asian Champions League (ACL). Final B, on the other hand, is a desperate battle for survival. The bottom 12 teams in K-League 1 will be relegated to the second division, while 10th and 11th will play a relegation playoff with K-League 2.
Leaders Ulsan Hyundai (61 points) and second-place Pohang Steelers (53 points), as well as 10th through 12th-place Suwon FC (29 points), Suwon Samsung (22 points), and Gangwon FC (21 points), have their Final Round fates decided. There are four spots left in Final A.
It’s a slippery slope. The fate of third-place Gwangju FC (45 points) to ninth-place Jeju United (35 points) is unknown. FC Seoul, Jeonbuk Hyundai (43 points), Daegu FC (41 points), Incheon United (40 points), and Daejeon Hana Citizen (37 points) are in between. Daegu is currently in sixth place, just outside of Final A. Seoul, Jeonbuk, Daegu, and Incheon are within striking distance, separated by just three points. The war for the sixth place is far from over.
The rankings are bound to fluctuate as soon as the odds change. Right now, it is a ‘war’ from the 30th round of the ‘Hana OneQ K League 1 2023’ on the 16th and 17th. The matches between Incheon and Jeju on the 16th and Seoul and Gwangju on the 17th are worth 6 points. Jeju, which has drawn one and lost two of its last three games, 바카라 has no hope if it fails to turn things around. Final B is virtually booked.
Gwangju has forgotten the defeat. In the 29th round, just before the A-match break, they pulled off a huge upset to catch Ulsan. They are unbeaten in their last nine matches (4 W, 5 D). They’re in the driver’s seat for Final A, but they can’t rest on their laurels just yet. Gwangju can still reach the threshold of the Final A if they beat Seoul. However, Seoul is no pushover. Gwangju has two wins over Seoul this season. Seoul will be riding high on the momentum of their Super Match victory and will look to reclaim third place at home. Jeonbuk and Daegu will face Gangwon and Suwon, respectively. However, there are no ‘easy’ three points as Gangwon and Suwon are also fighting for survival.
The race for the top spot is also a new battleground. Ulsan, the ‘absolute number one’, is faltering. They have just one win, two draws, and two losses in their last five games. Pohang, which is slowly accumulating points, is unbeaten in eight matches (W4 D4 L). The gap between Ulsan and Pohang has shrunk to a single-digit eight points. Ulsan has the ‘Pohang Trauma’ at every turn. If the slump continues, the club is not guaranteed to lose its first two games in a row.