A 13-inning tiebreaker, which cannot be seen in the first division of professional baseball, took place in a second division game. After three tie games at 6-6, 8-8, and 11-11, the Hanwha Eagles Futures team demonstrated the excitement of a tiebreaker with a walk-off comeback victory.

The Hanwha Futures team, led by Manager Lee Dae-jin, won 12-11 with a walk-off hit by Jang Gyu-hyun in the bottom of the 13th inning in a home game against the SSG Landers in the 2025 Mediheal KBO Futures League held at Seosan Stadium on the 24th. Although it was a Futures League game, it turned out to be a nail-biter that went all the way to the 13th inning.

The game entered a tiebreaker after being tied 4-4 until the ninth inning. Starting with no outs and runners on first and second base in the 10th inning, neither team scored, leading to the 11th inning.

The aggressive SSG scored first. In the top of the 11th, with two outs and the bases loaded, a fielding error by Hanwha catcher Jang Gyu-hyun allowed Kim Soo-yun's infield hit to bring in two runs, but Hanwha responded with two runs in the bottom of the 11th. With two outs and the bases loaded, a two-run single by pinch hitter Heo Kwan-hui tied the game at 6-6.

The contest that continued into the 12th inning did not end easily. In the top of the 12th, SSG took the lead 8-6 with back-to-back bases-loaded walks from Heo Jin and Jeong Hyun-seung with one out. However, Hanwha equalized again in the bottom of the 12th. With no outs and runners on first and second, Bae Seung-soo hit a one-RBI double into right field, and after a walk to Jang Gyu-hyun, Jeong Min-kyu's sacrifice fly tied the game again at 8-8.

In the 13th inning, SSG again took the lead. With no outs and runners on first and second, Lee Jeong-beom hit a three-run home run to left field after pulling Hanwha pitcher Park Bu-seong's first pitch, covering a distance of 120 meters. Although a three-run lead seemed comfortable, Hanwha's counterattack in the bottom of the 13th was fierce.

In the bottom of the 13th, with no outs and runners on first and second, Jeong An-seok's ground ball was missed by SSG second baseman Heo Jin. With the error leading to a bases-loaded opportunity, the game was tied 11-11 through a series of events: Song Ho-jung's bases-loaded walk, Yu Ro-gyeol's one-RBI single, and Bae Seung-soo's bases-loaded walk. Following this, Jang Gyu-hyun connected with the first pitch from Choi Su-ho for a walk-off hit that ended the long game.

With the battle continuing into the 13th inning, Hanwha used eight pitchers while SSG used six. A total of eight batters from both teams stepped to the plate seven times. Hanwha's Bae Seung-soo contributed with two doubles, recording two hits and three RBIs out of five at-bats, while SSG's Lee Jeong-beom had three hits including a home run, with four RBIs in six at-bats.

The 13-inning tiebreaker that took place in Seosan could not be seen in KBO League first division games. Starting this year, the KBO has reduced the previous 12-inning extra innings to 11 innings due to requests from the field that highlighted pitching difficulties. Implementation of tiebreakers like in Major League Baseball has not been adopted.

Major League Baseball temporarily implemented a tiebreaker starting with a runner on second base with no outs from the 10th inning during the COVID-19 pandemic for game time reduction and player protection until 2022, and it was permanently implemented starting in 2023. The aim was to increase scoring probabilities, reduce game time, and determine outcomes. After trial operations in 2022, the KBO also began using a tiebreaker starting with a runner on first and second base in the 10th inning in the Futures League from 2023. Although tiebreaker regulations have been applied in various international competitions, they are still not seen in the KBO League's first division.

Meanwhile, the Hanwha Futures team, which achieved a walk-off victory that day, swept all three games against SSG, including two wins in the doubleheader on the previous day (23rd). The recently winning-streak Hanwha Futures team won four consecutive games, reaching a record of 17 wins and 11 losses, surpassing a .600 winning percentage (.607) and securing the top spot in the northern league.

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