It was undoubtedly the most anticipated best-of-five series of the year, the one with the highest stakes since the start of the 2025 LEC season. In the end, it was G2 Esports who overturned Karmine Corp 3-1 and punched their ticket to Worlds 2025. They are the first team from the EMEA Championship to secure qualification. First qualification to Worlds for Rudy "SkewMond" Semaan.

This marks their fourth consecutive appearance, and the ninth in their ten-year history competing in Europe since 2016. G2 also lock in a spot in the winner’s bracket final of the LEC playoffs, while Karmine Corp dropped to the lower bracket. There, they will face Team Vitality in an all-French showdown.

The Samurai's statement

If the dream isn’t shattered yet, it has certainly taken a heavy blow. Despite showing a reassuring level of play, the Blue Wall lost a few bricks this Sunday. In their third best-of-five clash of the year, the Samurai put away their katanas and picked up hammers to prove who was strongest this Summer Split. Make no mistake—G2 delivered a statement. Overall, this was the highest-level series of the playoffs so far. Kim "Canna" Chang-dong was suffocated across the BO5, as G2 consistently drafted to neutralize his impact.

The series opened with a scrappy back-and-forth, G2 holding their own in early skirmishes before stumbling on coordination. A single overextension from the Samurai’s botlane at 26 minutes flipped the script, letting Karmine Corp’s frontline and Caliste "Caliste" Henry-Hennebert’s Corki seize control. From that moment, the Blue Wall never let go, shutting down G2’s composition and striking first in the series.

But the Samurai answered immediately. After weathering 20 minutes of KC pressure, their front-to-back setup finally clicked, turning fights decisively in their favor. Even Canna’s hyper-fed Aurora couldn’t stop the momentum shift, and G2 tied the series. The third game was more methodical, with both sides trading objectives until a slow, suffocating fight around the Atakhan at 23 minutes gave G2 the edge.

Everything came down to Game 4, a far more one-sided affair. Rasmus "Caps" Winther brought out his third career Ziggs to put the finishing touches on a BO5 he completely dominated. Across the game, G2 were always one step ahead, while Canna’s Jayce counterpick fell flat against Sergen "BrokenBlade" Çelik ’s Sion. In 2025, G2 holds the head-to-head edge over Karmine Corp, leading 2–1 in best-of-fives, 1–0 in best-of-threes, with KC taking the lone best-of-one at the start of Winter.

G2 now move on to the winner’s bracket final, where they will face the victor of tomorrow’s series between Fnatic and Movistar KOI. Karmine Corp, meanwhile, must fight their way through the lower bracket, needing back-to-back wins to qualify for the first Worlds in their history. Their run begins on Sunday, September 14, against a surging Team Vitality, which are currently in their best form of the year. Next weekend promises high-stakes storylines.