The 2018 NPB season didn't quite go the way the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks had planned. Even so, they're going to end it right where they expected to be all along.

In the Japan Series.

The dynastic Hawks have won four of the last seven Japan Series titles and will play for another next week after clinching the Pacific League Climax Series crown with a 6-5 win over the Seibu Lions in Game 5 of their final-stage series on Sunday.