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PHOTOS SK Wyverns captures 2018 Korean Series crown

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SK Wyverns pitcher Kim Kwang-hyun celebrates winning the Korean Series at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul, Monday. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

The SK Wyverns made it for the first time in eight years.

The Wyverns captured the 2018 Korean Series over the Doosan Bears, thanks to a 5-4 victory in 13 innings in Game 6 on Monday at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul.

Han Dong-min delivered the game-winning solo home run in the top of the 13th inning, and No. 1 starter Kim Kwang-hyun came on in the bottom 13th to close out the victory on two days' rest.

The Wyverns frittered away a 3-0 lead by giving up three in the sixth and another in the eighth, but slugger Choi Jeong evened the score with a solo shot in the top of the ninth.

Then Han Dong-min, who sent the Wyverns to the Korean Series with a walk-off home run in Game 5 of the previous playoff series, again played the hero, with his towering shot off Doosan reliever Yoo Hee-kwan with two outs in the 13th.

Wyverns players celebrate winning the Korean Series at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul, Monday. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

Wyverns players celebrate winning the Korean Series at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul, Monday. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

Han Dong-min slams a critical solo home run in the top of the 13th. / Yonhap

Han Dong-min delivers the winning run with a solo homer in the top of the 13th. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

Yonhap

The Wyverns entered the series as the underdogs, having finished 14.5 games behind the Bears in second place in the regular season. That the Wyverns split the season series with the Bears at 8-8 was conveniently forgotten, and many were ready to anoint the Bears the champions before the Korean Series even began.

But the Wyverns, who had to play an extra round in the postseason, outpitched and outhit the favored opponents from start to finish.

The championship is a perfect sendoff for the Wyverns' manager, Trey Hillman, who won't be returning to the dugout next year after deciding to spend more time with his ailing parents in the United States.

Hillman is the first manager to have won a championship in South Korea and Japan, having earlier guided Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters to the Japan Series title in 2006. (Yonhap)

Wyverns players throw team manager Trey Hillman into the air. / Yonhap

Yonhap

Yonhap

Players throw their hats into the air. / Yonhap