KT's Daniel vs. Samsung's Choi Won-tae set for Korea Series Game 1 showdown

Davis Daniel of the KT Wiz and Choi Won-tae of the Samsung Lions will start against each other in Game 1 of the Korea Series, a best-of-seven championship.

KT Manager Lee Kang-chul and Samsung Manager Park Jin-man named the two pitchers as their Game 1 starters Monday at the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO Korea Series media day, held at the Ramada Plaza Hotel in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province. The two clubs open their title chase Tuesday at Suwon KT Wiz Park.

KT, the regular-season pennant winner, will lean on Daniel, who emerged as a key figure in the team's second-half rotation. Daniel joined the club in late July as a replacement for Matt Sauer and went 5-2 with a 2.13 ERA over 10 starts. He was particularly sharp from September onward, going 5-1 with a 1.85 ERA over seven outings. At KT's home park in Suwon, he was even more dominant, posting a 1.16 ERA across five starts.

Notably, Daniel has not faced Samsung once this season, meaning Samsung's hitters have no in-game experience against him — a factor KT is counting on. "I considered testing him against Samsung late in the regular season, but decided it was better not to show him at all," Lee said. "I settled on Daniel as the Game 1 starter early on."

Daniel last pitched in an official game Oct. 6 against the Kiwoom Heroes, giving him roughly a month of rest. While the extended break should leave him physically fresh, how quickly he regains his competitive edge will be worth watching.

Samsung is handing the ball to Choi Won-tae for the opener. Choi went 7-5 with a 4.68 ERA over 24 regular-season starts this year, but struggled in two outings against KT, going 0-1 with a 6.94 ERA. His most recent appearance was also underwhelming: in Game 3 of the playoff series against the KIA Tigers on Thursday, he allowed three hits and a walk over 1⅔ innings, giving up two runs before being pulled early.

However, he threw only 38 pitches that day, so fatigue should not be a major concern. He also showed he can go deep into games against KT, having pitched 6⅔ innings and allowed four runs in a start against them on June 9.

"With Won Tae-in moving to the bullpen, Choi Won-tae comes up in the rotation," Park said. "He was a bit off in the playoff, but he has a lot of experience. I hope he can show the same form he had in last year's postseason."

On the KT side, Kim Hyun-su has a strong track record against Choi. Over the past two seasons, Kim has gone 5-for-10 with five RBIs against the Samsung right-hander.

History underscores the importance of Tuesday's opener: the Game 1 winner has gone on to win the Korea Series in 31 of 42 editions, a success rate of 73.8 percent. The battle between KT, who earned a direct berth as regular-season champions, and Samsung, who advanced through the playoff round, is set to be fierce from the very first pitch.