LoL - LEC: Karmine Corp start their loser bracket run by defeating Team Vitality 3-1

The most French series of the year in the LEC has reached its verdict. Karmine Corp emerged victorious with a 3-1 win over Team Vitality, ending the bees' season and fueling KC's dreams of reaching the 2025 World Championship. This series encapsulated the highs and lows experienced by both teams throughout a tumultuous season.

For Karmine Corp, this victory means they are once again just one best-of-five away from a historic first qualification to the Worlds. They will play it next week in Madrid in front of an audience of 12,500, which could be hostile. A scenario they actually appreciate. In contrast, Team Vitality faced an abrupt end to their year, falling short of expectations despite showing promising signs of growth late in the split.

Karmine Corp’s victory, hard-fought and well-earned, comes after a rollercoaster summer split marked by uncertainties and shifting team dynamics. The team showed remarkable adaptability throughout the series, bouncing back decisively after dropping the first game—a 53-minute marathon that sums up how close and tense the whole series was. With key players like ADC Caliste "Caliste" Henry-Hennebert delivering standout performances (38/4/24), KC managed to recalibrate their strategies effectively, shifting from a shaky start to dominant displays in games two through four.

Their ability to control objectives and execute cohesive teamfights reflects a squad that, despite a somewhat challenging split, has found more confidence just when it matters most. Although still not as sharp as last Winter, this resurgence brings hope among fans that KC can secure a spot at Worlds 2025, an achievement that would cap off an unusual but ultimately promising summer campaign.

On the other side, Team Vitality’s journey ended with a sense of what could have been. Though the team showed incremental improvement and scaling throughout the season—highlighted by flashes of excellent play and strategic promise—the playoffs underscored their struggle to break past the mid-table ceiling. For the past two years, the presence of coaches like James « Mac » MacCormack and Patrick « Pad » Suckow-Breum brought hopes for organizational elevation. Still, the reality has been a series of middling results and inconsistency. The abrupt exit may signal the end of an era for Vitality. The performance of some of their rookies has not gone unnoticed throughout the year, and certain names will certainly be discussed during the next offseason.

With this crucial victory, Karmine Corp now moves forward in the LEC playoffs, set to face either Fnatic or GIANTX in a showdown for the last European slot at the 2025 World Championship. The stakes could not be higher, as KC seeks not only to claim LEC glory but also to prove they truly belong on the world stage. They will play on Friday, September 26, in front of 12,500 spectators at the Caja Mágica in Madrid, in one of the most important series of the year in the LEC.