Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the magic number and how is it computed?
- If RIOT says that my team's first-place elimination number is zero, does that mean my team has clinched first place?
- If RIOT shows * for my team's first-place clinch number, does that mean my team has been eliminated from first place?
- How are the playoff teams and home-field advantage determined in the KBO League?
- What happens when there are ties for playoff spots in the KBO League?
- What is the magic number and how is it computed?
- If RIOT says that my team's first-place elimination number is zero, does that mean my team has clinched first place?
- If RIOT shows * for my team's first-place clinch number, does that mean my team has been eliminated from first place?
- How are the playoff teams determined in the KBO League?
- What happens when there are ties for playoff spots in the KBO League?
- If two teams finish the regular season tied for first place, they play a special first-place game to break the tie.
- If two teams finish the regular season tied for fifth place, they play a special fifth-place game to break the tie.
- If two teams are tied for 2nd through 4th place, their win-loss record against each other is the first tiebreaker. If the season series between the two teams is tied, then the team that scored more runs in the series wins the tiebreaker, and if that doesn't break the tie then the team that finished higher in the previous year's standings wins the tie.
- If three or more teams are tied for any playoff spot, win total in the games played between the tied teams is the first tie-breaker, runs scored in the games played between the tied teams is the second, and the previous year's standings is the third tie-breaker
The traditional magic number is usually defined as the smallest number such that any combination of wins by the first-place team and losses by the second-place team totaling the magic number guarantees that the team currently in first place team will finish the season in first-place.
In the example below, NC's magic number is 95.
Team | W | L | D | GB | PCT | Games Left | 1st Place | Postseason |
NC | 32 | 14 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.696 | 98 | 95 | 93 |
Kiwoom | 30 | 18 | 0 | 3.0 | 0.625 | 96 | 101 | 93 |
Doosan | 28 | 19 | 0 | 4.5 | 0.596 | 97 | 103 | 96 |
LG | 27 | 20 | 0 | 5.5 | 0.574 | 97 | 104 | 95 |
KIA | 24 | 21 | 0 | 7.5 | 0.533 | 99 | 107 | 96 |
Samsung | 24 | 24 | 0 | 9.0 | 0.500 | 96 | 107 | 96 |
Lotte | 22 | 23 | 0 | 9.5 | 0.489 | 99 | 109 | 97 |
KT | 21 | 26 | 0 | 11.5 | 0.447 | 97 | 110 | * |
SK | 14 | 33 | 0 | 18.5 | 0.298 | 97 | 117 | * |
Hanwha | 12 | 36 | 0 | 21.0 | 0.250 | 96 | 119 | * |
Kiwoom has 30 wins and 96 games left in the season; and so, their maximum win total for the season is 126. NC has 32 wins, so they are guaranteed to finish the season with more wins than Kiwoom if they win 127 - 32 = 95 more games. Likewise, if Kiwoom loses 95 more games they will finish the season with at most 31 wins while NC will have at least 32. Any other combination of NC wins and Kiwoom losses adding up to 95 works the same. For example, if NC wins 50 more games and Kiwoom looses 45, then NC will finish with at least 82 wins will Kiwoom finishes with at most 30 + (96 - 45) = 81.
Sites such as MyKBO Stats take this a step further and compute magic numbers for all the teams. In the example above, NC can finish the season with at most 130 wins. If Kiwoom wins 101 more games, then will finish the season with 131 wins. So, Kiwoom's magic number is 131 - 30 = 101, and last-place Hanwha's magic number is 131 - 12 = 119.
RIOT's Major League Baseball FAQ gives a derivation of the formula for the traditional magic number. The formula is easy to use, but it has some draw backs: it doesn't take the number games left in the regular-season series between two the teams being compared into account, and it doesn't consider the possibility of a third team over taking the current first-place team. Furthermore, it's not appropriate for leagues like the KBO League where games can end in a tie. In example above it turns out that NC clinches first place in every scenario in which it wins 93 more games (125 total) as illustrated in these two examples: scenario 2 and scenario 3.
Not necessarily. It simply means that there is at least one scenario in which the remaining games in the season play out in a way that your team doesn't win any more games but ends up finishing in first place anyway.
Not necessarily. It simply means that the team cannot guarantee themselves a first-place finish solely by winning all of their remaining game.
The top five teams determined by winning percentage ignoring ties (wins/(wins + losses)) make the playoffs. The team with the best record during the regular season receives a bye all the way to the championship series. The No. 4 and No. 5 seeds face off in a wild-card playoff with the winner meeting the No. 3 seed, and then the winner of that series plays the No. 2 seed for a chance to reach the finals. The higher-seeded team gets gets home-field advantage in each series.