Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic,
Nippon Professional Baseball pushed back the start of the season from March 20 to June 19 and shortened it from 143 games to 120 games. To maximize the number of intraleague games that could be played,
interleague play and the
All-Star Series were eliminated. The First Stages of the
Climax Series were originally scheduled to be played from October 24 to 26, with the Final Stages taking place between October 28 and November 2. However, with the start of the season being delayed, the series was postponed three weeks. The
Pacific League (PL) also decided to eliminate the First Stage to instead only play a modified Final Stage. The league's champion and the runner-up competed in a best-of-five series, with the champion receiving an automatic one-win advantage. As with the regular season's pandemic-related change, the games in the series would end in a
tie if no winner was determined after ten innings, a change from the usual 12-innings from previous seasons. The first team to win three games advanced to the
Japan Series. The
Central League decided to eliminate their Climax Series altogether, instead opting to sending the regular-season champion directly to the Japan Series. For the third year in a row,
Persol Holdings sponsored the
naming rights for the Pacific League Climax Series, and it is officially known as the "2020 Persol Climax Series PA". In accordance with government guidelines, attendance of the games was limited to 50% of the stadium's capacity. The
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks clinched the PL pennant on October 27, securing the opportunity to host the runner-up in the Climax Series. The title was the Hawks' first since
2017. A reigning Japanese baseball dynasty, the team had finished either first- or second-place in the league in nine of the last 11 seasons, including every year since
2014, and was fighting for a chance to win their fourth straight
Japan Series championship. A week before the end of the Pacific League's season, three teams were battling for second place and the Climax Series' final playoff slot. The
Chiba Lotte Marines,
Saitama Seibu Lions, and
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles were all within 2.5
games of each other. Lotte and Seibu's second-to-last game of the season was head-to-head. The Marines' win over the Lions secured the team a second-place finish and a place in the Climax Series. It was the Marines first playoff appearance since
2016. During the regular season, the Hawks and the Marines played 24 games against each other. The Marines won the season series with a record, however the Hawks won seven of the last eight games. Previously the two teams met in the Climax Series a total of five times, twice in the First Stage, three times in the Final Stage. Lotte won three of the five of those series, however SoftBank is in the last two series played. ==Summary==