The final winner of the Final A war is Gangwon, K League 1 split confirmed + 3 million paid spectators
Oct 19, 2025
|
|
The regular league was concluded after the 33rd round of Hana Bank's K League 1 2025 on the 18th. This season's K League 1, which ended on February 15, continued its breathtaking race for eight months. K League 1 is divided into two floors after 12 teams play 33 rounds per team. After that, the final ranking will be determined through five split round matches. The teams ranked 1st to 6th compete for the championship title (1st place) and the Asian Champions League (ACL) qualification in 'Final A'. On the other hand, teams ranked 7th and 12th are thrown into a survival competition of escaping from the relegation zone in 'Final B'.
At last, there was a division between 'Utter water' and 'Utter water'. Gangwon got on the last train. Gangwon tied Daegu FC 2-2 in the 33rd round of 'Hana Bank K League 1 2025' at Daegu iM Bank PARK on the 18th. Gangwon, which added one point, ranked sixth with 44 points (11 wins, 11 draws, 11 losses), beating FC Anyang and Gwangju FC (42 points). He succeeded in advancing to the Final A for two consecutive seasons following last season when he was the runner-up. This is the first time that Gangwon has reached the Final A for two consecutive seasons. Coach Chung Kyung-ho, who took the helm of the K-League for the first time after 11 years as a coach, showed off his leadership from his first year in office.
If they win, they will reach the semi-finals on their own, and Gangwon, which had to watch Gwangju's results in the event of a draw or loss, scored two goals in the first half alone, setting the tone early. Starting with Heon's first goal in the fifth minute of the first half, Seo Min-woo scored an additional goal in the 15th minute. However, the atmosphere changed at the end of the second half. Following Cesinha's penalty comeback goal in the 34th minute of the second half, Edgar scored the equalizer in extra time. However, Gwangju lost 0-2 to Ulsan HD, and Gangwon confirmed its pre-season goal of 'Entering Final A'.
|
|
As Jeonbuk's victory was decided early, Final A's eyes and ears are now focused on the direction of the ACL ticket. As Gimcheon cannot play in the ACL due to licensing issues, Daejeon and Pohang are likely to be in a situation. However, Seoul and Gangwon Province are not in the stage to give up yet. If Jeonbuk, which has already advanced to the Korea Cup final, wins the championship, the fifth-place team can also have a chance. In the K-League, 2+1 teams will participate in ALC Elite and 1 team in ACL2.
Anyang (42 goals), Gwangju (34 goals, 42 points or more), Ulsan (40 points), Suwon FC (38 points), Jeju SK (32 points), and Daegu (27 points) fell to Final B. It's just hell. The difference between the 10th and 7th places, which are the relegation Maginot Line, is only four points. No one is free from the risk of relegation. In K League 1, the lowest rank will automatically advance, and the 11th-ranked team will play the second-ranked team in K League 2 in the promotion playoff (PO). The 10th place team will have a K League 2 PO winner and a promotion PO.
Daegu, the farthest away, is likely to be demoted, but the story is different if you look at the recent momentum. Daegu steadily accumulated points and narrowed the point gap with 11th-ranked Jeju to five points. As a six-point showdown continues in the split round, a fierce match continues until the end. The K-League's ranking battle begins now.
Meanwhile, the K-League continues to be a box office sensation this year. 84,263 people gathered at six stadiums on the 18th, and K League 1 exceeded 2 million spectators (2047,564). The total number of paid spectators, including 1,010,6102 in the K League 2, is 3,063,666, achieving the feat of exceeding 3 million paid spectators for the third consecutive year. With Seoul recording an average of 24,417 per game, the K League 2 surpassed 1 million spectators for the first time in history.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
