[2PM] Tiger and lion battle...Who will be the owner of the throne?

■ Host: Na Kyung-chul, Lee Se-na, anchor
■ Video call: Choi Dong-ho, sports critic

* The text below may differ from the actual broadcast content, so please check the broadcast for more accurate information. Please specify [YTN New Square 2PM] when quoting.

[Anchor]
Professional baseball, which has exceeded 10 million spectators, will begin today to determine the strongest player this season.

Baseball fans are excited by the two teams' showdowns with Kia and Samsung for the first time in 31 years.

This time, let's take a look at the points to watch with the experts in advance.

Choi Dong-ho, a sports critic, is connected. How are you, critic?

[Choi Dongho]
Hello.

[Anchor]
Yesterday's media day was a great war of nerves between the coaches of both teams. Some even said, "A lion or a tiger, or haven't you been to Everland?" How did you see the battle of momentum between the two teams?

[Choi Dongho]
As you said, Kia and Samsung both guaranteed to finish in Game 5 yesterday. Today's first-round match is expected to determine the atmosphere of the Korean Series in the future. Objectively, lions and tigers are brave, but it is true that starvation is ahead. Moreover, Kia maintains its record of ranking first in the regular season. After the final game of the season on September 30, I took a break and prepared for the Korean Series. On the other hand, Samsung's foreign pitcher Connor Seabold went back to the U.S. because of his injury, and among Korean pitchers, Park Jong-hyun was injured. Furthermore, it's the core of the lineup. Koo Ja-wook. He's injured now. Of course, it was included in the entry of the Korean Series, but it is questionable whether he will be in normal condition, so it is true that Kia is ahead in objective power.

[Anchor]
You pointed out that Kia is ahead in both offense and defense, but if you look at the offense and defense, Kia ranked first in the team's batting average in the regular season, and Samsung boasted the team's home run. The attack strategy of both teams, what difference do you expect?

[Choi Dongho]
Of course, Kia has long balls, but having both has advantages in small balls. It has stolen bases and detailed plays. On the other hand, Samsung can be summed up as a home run team in a word this year. It has the power to determine the outcome with one big shot. For this reason, the head coaches of both teams said yesterday that the match between Samsung and Kia will be decided in terms of slugging power, but it is true that Samsung is ahead in home runs, but Kia has created many chances and has a high batting average in the scoring position. Therefore, the biggest home run, the most important thing to say, is whether Samsung's home run will hit or not. Since Kia is ahead in objective power, if Samsung hits a home run, it will be a close game. If Samsung does not hit a home run, the game is expected to eventually return to starvation.

[Anchor]
What do you think of the starters for both teams? Kia has nails with the highest earned run average. In addition, Samsung has Won Tae-in, who is tied for the most wins, and which side do you think will prevail in the starting lineup?

[Choi Dongho]
As a whole, Samsung and Kia can be seen as heavy. Kia is expected to have Nail, Yang Hyun-jong, and Yoon Young-chan. Samsung is expected to be Kwon Tae-in, Raith, Lee Seung-hyun, and Hwang Dong-jae, and even if the starter throws well, the bullpen should protect the victory in the end, but the important thing is that Kia is a little harder than Samsung. There are Jang Hyun-sik and Jeon Sang-hyun in Kia. There is also Jung Hye-young, who ranked No. 1 in saves this year. Samsung, on the other hand, feels a little urgent. Because out of the four starters, only Won Tae-in and Naes played as built-in starters this season. Lee Seung-hyun was injured in August, returned to fall baseball, played in the playoff bullpen, and returned as a starter in the Korean Series. Hwang Dong-jae is also a substitute in the regular season, but I expect that there will be a hole in the bullpen as we urgently set up the starting lineup in time for the Korean Series.

[Anchor]
You analyzed that the bullpen should protect the victory, and what do you think about the errors? Both teams showed conflicting mistakes during the season.

[Choi Dongho]
In the regular season, Samsung had the least errors and Kia had the most errors, but he pointed out the important point. So, in the past Korean Series, in such a big game, all the players show 100% of their power, but there were many cases where the game was decided in unexpected places. The representative one is the big one. And one small error changes the flow of the game. There were a lot of cases like this. In terms of errors, Samsung is considered solid, and not only Samsung but also Kia can be an important variable in winning the Korean Series by how much they reduce errors in the Korean Series.

[Anchor]
You said earlier that the first and second games are important, but in fact, there are statistics that the first game is really important. The winning team has a 70% chance of winning, what are your prospects for the first round?

[Choi Dongho]
The prospect of the first game seems to be equal between the two teams, but in short, Samsung continues its rise in the Korean Series, and Kia prepared well by taking a break for about three weeks and playing practice games as if waiting for Samsung. But I'm most curious about the nail player. It's because I prepared well for the nail player, but I got a big injury in August, treated, rehabilitated, and rested, and came back, but it's my first official game today after the injury. A three-week gap. On top of that, will he be able to show his ball power that he showed during the regular season without suffering major injuries from surgery? I think this is the biggest key.

[Anchor]
In short-term games such as fall baseball, new star players also appear, so who do you think is the key player of the Korean series?

[Choi Dongho]
I'm sorry, but in Kia, it's not a new face, and I think Kim Do-young is also important as a player who will solve Kia's play. As you know well, I believe that Kia can live only when Kim Do-young is released, given that he runs, runs, runs, and hits 38 home runs and 40 steals to revitalize Kia. In addition, Koo Ja-wook is difficult for Samsung, so instead of Koo Ja-wook, there should be a player who will lead the Samsung lineup by hitting one shot from the lineup. In that sense, I think Kim Young-woo should lead the Samsung lineup.

[Anchor]
I see. I talked with sports critic Choi Dong-ho about the first game of the Korean Series between Kia and Samsung in Gwangju today. Thank you for talking today.