One apiece in the Franco-Spanish showdowns. On Tuesday, Karmine Corp Blue (LFL#2) advanced to the semifinals of the EMEA Masters Spring 2025, dispatching Los Heretics (SL#3) with a 3–1 victory. The most decorated team in the history of the competition
will now take on Barça eSports (SL#1), who defeated Gentle Mates (LFL#3) by the same margin. Both best-of-five series followed an identical pattern: the winning side claimed the first two games, dropped the third, then sealed the deal on their second match point.
For KCB, Johnny "
Yukino" Dang stood out as arguably the most impactful player. The American jungler was dominant in the opening two matches, going deathless in both: 4/0/16 on Wukong in game one, followed by a particularly commanding 9/0/8 on Skarner in game two.
The carries for Karmine shared the spotlight in the remaining matches, with the final game largely dictated by Thomas “
3XA” Foucou, piloting the team’s “secret botlane” pairing of Nilah and Senna. This duo was originally unveiled during the quarterfinals of the EMEA Masters Summer 2023 by the club’s current LEC botlane —
Caliste “Caliste” Henry-Hennebert and Raphaël “Targamas” Crabbé — who went on to win that edition of the tournament.
For Barça, Paweł "
Czekolad" Szczepanik delivered the most consistent performance across the series. The Polish midlaner finished the match with his team’s highest KDA (9). However, the deadliest presence on the Rift was once again the in-form man of the Blaugranas, Sergio "Legolas" Gispert. The Spanish AD Carry tallied 19 kills across the series and played a decisive role in closing out the final game, delivering a 6/1/4 performance on Jinx, perfectly supported by Alexandru "whiteinn" Kolozsvari on Lulu.
The support will now face his former club for the first time since leaving KC in May 2023. His tenure with the Blue Wall was largely uneventful, and he never truly managed to win over the fanbase during a disappointing Spring Split for the French side. In addition to settling the score between French and Spanish contenders, Thursday’s match at 19:00 carries extra weight due to the personal narratives surrounding it.
Alongside whiteinn, Czekolad will also be eager to take his revenge on the team that denied him the LFL title in Summer 2023, back when he was still playing under the BK ROG banner. The possibility of potentially facing BKR again in the grand final will no doubt serve as an added source of motivation. The first finalist of this edition will indeed be determined on Wednesday, following the clash between
the LFL Spring champions and the EM reigning kings, Los Ratones (NLC#1).
