This is why jinxes are supposed to be broken. One of the most talked-about issues in the K League of Legends recently was the “jinx escape”. Coincidentally, Ulsan Hyundai, a strong favorite to win the championship, was a victim of jinx escape. Apparently, being such a strong team, it was inevitable that there were many cases of jinxing.
On the 22nd round of the K League 1 last month, Incheon won 2-1 against Ulsan, breaking the Ulsan jinx after more than four years. It was the first win in 14 games for the team, which had lost five games and drawn eight, starting with a 0-3 loss on April 14, 2019.
A month later, in the 26th round on April 12, Gangwon tasted more joy than Incheon. With a 2-0 win, Gangwon broke the Ulsan jinx after going 25 games without a win (21 wins and four draws) since July 15, 2012. Ulsan was not the only victim. In the 21st round match against Pohang (1-0 win) on the 8th of last month, they won the ‘East Coast Derby’ away from home for the first time in one year and 10 months since September 2021, and won the ‘East Coast Derby’ for the first time in one year and four months after losing 2-2.
Like the world, sports jinxes are bound to be broken at some point, but there are teams that look at their neighbors’ jinxes with envy. There are still some major jinxes in the K League that have yet to be broken.
One of the most egregious of these jinxes is the “FC Seoul jinx” of K League 1 Pohang. Pohang drew 2-2 with Seoul in the 25th round of the K League 1 on April 4, ending a nine-match winless streak (five draws and four losses). It is a jinx that has been going on for two years and four months since April 2021. The power of the jinx was such that Pohang, who were on the verge of defeat at 1-2, had to be content with narrowly avoiding defeat with Ha Chang-rae’s theater goal just before the end of the match. 스포츠토토
Seoul Eland’s “Jeonnam jinx” in the K League 2 is not the only one. In the 19th round of the K League 2 against Jeonnam last month, the team missed out on a 3-3 draw when they conceded a penalty kick to Valdivia just before the end. As a result, Lee Land has not been able to escape the ‘Jeonnam jinx’ for more than three years with 7 draws and 4 losses since their 2-1 win in Round 14 in August 2020.
On the other hand, as if to prove the ‘turning jinx’, Lee Land lost 0-1 against Gimpo FC in the 22nd round of the last K League 2, breaking a pleasant jinx. Until then, Lee Land had been dominant with 3 wins and 2 draws, including an undefeated record against Gimpo in the 2022 season (3 wins and 1 draw) before suffering their first loss.
Busan IPark also recently shed tears in the rain due to the ‘Bucheon Jinx’. Busan drew 0-0 away from home against Bucheon in the 24th round of the K League 2 on March 30, making it four draws, five losses and no wins in more than two years since a 2-0 victory on May 2, 2021. At the time, Busan was looking for a chance to regain a foothold in the lead, but the team had to deal with the harsh Bucheon jinx, as they were unable to prepare for the game due to the unexpected heavy rain that poured down in the first half to the point where the ball could not roll.
Daejeon has also suffered from a strange ‘first goal = loss’ jinx. They lost 0-3 in the 25th round of the K League 1 against Gwangju on April 4, and have not won a game in 12 matches this season after conceding an early goal.
On the other hand, some teams are beginning to break the jinx. Jeju was the team with the largest drop in summer (July and August) win percentage in the KFA’s recently released “Comparison of July and August Performance in K League 1 (based on win percentage in 10 seasons from 2013 to 2022”. However, this year, after a 1-0 loss in July, the team turned things around with a 1-0 win in August and is starting to show hope.