The 2026 KBO League has set another milestone. It rewrote the record for surpassing 4 million spectators in the fewest games in history.
KBO announced that on the 21st, a total of 68,838 spectators attended five games held in Jamsil, Gocheok, Daejeon, Gwangju and Pohang, bringing the cumulative attendance to 4,035,771. With this, the KBO League this season surpassed 4 million spectators in just 222 games.
This pace is eight games faster than the previous fastest mark of 230 games in the 2025 season. After surpassing 3 million spectators on May 7, it reached 4 million in just 14 days, proving the accelerating box-office appeal.
Last year the KBO League set an all-time attendance record with 12,312,519 spectators, marking a second consecutive year above 10 million, and it continues a steep upward trend this season. It has broken the fewest-games record for reaching 1 million, 2 million, 3 million and now 4 million spectators.
Average attendance also increased. Based on 222 games, the average was 18,179, about 8% higher than the same number of games last year.
There was a balanced rise in attendance across clubs. Samsung ranked first in home attendance with 546,949, and LG also surpassed 500,000 with 544,560. Doosan (493,175) and SSG (409,136) brought the total to four clubs exceeding 400,000 spectators.
KT stood out in growth rate. KT showed the highest growth, recording 334,634, a 30% increase from last year. Kiwoom also continued a steady increase in attendance, rising 13% to 306,544.
LG led in average attendance with 23,677. Samsung (22,790), Doosan (22,417) and Lotte (20,660) were the four clubs averaging over 20,000 and leading the box-office appeal.
Sellout streaks continued. Of the 222 total games, 130 were sold out, recording a high sellout rate of about 59%. LG and Hanwha each had the most sold-out games with 20 apiece, and Hanwha had the highest seat occupancy rate at 99.8%. LG (99.7%), Samsung (99.0%) and Doosan (94.4%) followed.
The KBO League's box-office heat has not cooled even as the season moves past its early stages.<
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