▲ Kim Dae-won
Gangwon FC's key forward Kim Dae-won (29) has been named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of Round 18 of the Hana Bank K League 1 2026, marking his fourth MVP honor of the season.
The Korea Professional Football League announced on July 21 that Kim was selected as the round's MVP for leading Gangwon to a 2-0 victory against Gimcheon Sangmu on July 18 with his two goals.
With this selection, Kim has now been named round MVP four times this season, following his honors in Round 7 (1 goal), Round 9 (2 goals, 1 assist), and Round 11 (1 goal).
According to the Korea Professional Football League, Kim is the fourth player to be named round MVP four or more times in a single season since the introduction of the promotion-relegation system in K League 1, following Lopes (Jeonbuk) in 2016, Jeric (Gangwon) in 2018, and Cesinha (Daegu) in 2021.
Against Gimcheon, Kim scored the opening winning goal via a free kick in the 22nd minute and completed his multi-goal performance with a long-range shot in the 42nd minute. He has now recorded 7 goals and 3 assists this season, tying with Matheus (Anyang, 6 goals and 4 assists) for the most offensive points in the league.
The match between Daejeon and Ulsan, which ended in a 2-2 draw, was selected as the Best Match of K League 1 Round 18, while FC Seoul, which defeated Bucheon FC 3-1, was named the Best Team.
The Best 11 for K League 1 Round 18 includes Kim Dae-won (Gangwon), Klimala (Seoul), Seo Jin-su (Daejeon) as forwards; Gerso (Incheon), Lee Yu-hyeon (Gangwon), Italo (Jeju), and Jung Seung-won (Seoul) as midfielders; Kim Gun-hee (Incheon), Ross (Seoul), and Choi Seok-hyun (Ulsan) as defenders; and Kim Dong-heon (Incheon) as goalkeeper.
(Photo: Courtesy of Korea Professional Football League, Yonhap News)
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