K League 2 confirms its playoffs group as Bluewings miss out

K League 2 runner-up Chungnam Asan FC, No. 3 Seoul E-Land, No. 4 Jeonnam Dragons and No. 5 Busan IPark booked tickets to the playoffs after finishing their 2024 regular season campaigns on Saturday.

Chungnam Asan FC pose for a photo after winning the K League 2 match against Chungbuk Cheongju FC at Cheongju Sports Complex in Cheongju, North Chungcheong, in a photo shared on Chungnam Asan's official Facebook page on Saturday. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

K League 2 runner-up Chungnam Asan FC, No. 3 Seoul E-Land, No. 4 Jeonnam Dragons and No. 5 Busan IPark booked tickets to the playoffs after finishing their 2024 regular season campaigns on Saturday, with the Suwon Samsung Bluewings missing the cut through goals scored on the last day.

Asan will play the promotion-relegation playoffs against the yet-to-be determined, second-last-placed K League 1 team to secure a berth in the top tier next season. The No. 3. No. 4 and No. 5 clubs are set to go through a more complicated playoff process for the one other ticket on the line for promotion.

The fifth-placed Busan and fourth-placed Dragons will first play each other, with the winner of that game playing the third-placed E-Land. The winner of that match will then play the 10th-placed K League 1 team in another playoff, with the winner of that final playoff playing in the K League 1 the following year.

For Asan, promotion to the K League 1 would be another club first, on top of their best finish in the K League 2 this season.

Reformed from the remnants of the former police football club Asan Mugunghwa, Asan has only competed in the second tier since joining the K League 2 in 2020. The runner-up finish this year is their best result in the second division.

Promotion to the K League 1 would also be a first for E-Land, who have never ever made it into the promotion-relegation playoffs. Booking a ticket to the first division would allow them to introduce themselves to a bigger audience and set a K League 1 capital derby against FC Seoul for the first time.

Seoul E-Land fans support the team during the team's match against the Jeonnam Dragons at Mokdong Sports Complex in western Seoul in a photo shared on Seoul E-Land's official Facebook account on Saturday. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

As for the Dragons, promotion would mean returning to the top tier after facing relegation in 2018. The return to the K League 1 could also bring back the Honam derby — a clash between Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors and the Dragons. However, even promotion would not guarantee that the derby would happen next year, with Jeonbuk currently sitting in 11th place on the 12-team K League 1 table.

If Jeonbuk slip down to the K League 2, the top division would be losing one of the league's most historically successful clubs. Jeonbuk have the most K League 1 titles at nine.

For IPark, promotion would also mark their return to the first division four years after being relegated, and to the league where the club used to shine in the 1980s and 1990s — when they won the title four times in 1984, 1987, 1991 and 1997.

This season is also a chance for them to redeem themselves from last year, when they failed to book a place in the top tier after losing the promotion-relegation playoffs to Suwon FC.

The sixth-placed Bluewings, meanwhile, will have to spend one more year in the K League 2 after failing to finish in fifth.

The Suwon Samsung Bluewings react during the K Leauge 2 match against Chungnam Asan FC at Yongin Mireu Stadium in Yongin, Gyeonggi, in a photo shared on the Bluewings' official Facebook account on Oct. 31. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

If the Bluewings had won their last game, and either the No. 4 Dragons or No. 5 Busan had lost, they could have finished in fourth or fifth place and entered the playoffs for a chance to return to the K League 1, where they faced relegation for the first time last year.

But that scenario did not happen, as both the Dragons and Busan won their last matches. If the Bluewings had ended the season with more goals, they would have been able to edge out Busan. Despite the two clubs ending the season on the same points, at 56, Busan's 55 goals beat the Bluewings' 46.

Over at the top of the K League 2 table, FC Anyang already secured a berth in the K League 1 on Nov. 2 by locking in the K League 2 title.

The victory was not only the club’s first trophy, but the club’s first promotion to the top tier since their foundation in 2013.

In the K League 2, league winners earn direct promotion to the top tier, while the last-placed K League 1 side faces direct relegation to the second division.

As things stand in the K League 1, Incheon United sit at the bottom with 36 points, two points behind Jeonbuk as of press time Sunday.

The two clubs both have two matches left to go until the end of the regular season. Their last league fixtures are scheduled on Nov. 24.

The playoffs between the No. 4 Dragons and No. 5 Busan kick off on Nov. 21, with the winner of that game playing against No. 3 E-Land on Nov. 24.

The promotion-relegation playoffs then begin on Nov. 28.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]