LoL - LEC: BDS start strong against SK, Karmine Corp confirm form against GIANTX

The second day of the first week of the LEC Summer Split 2025 came to an end on Sunday, August 3, featuring three teams making their debut. First, Team BDS swept SK Gaming in a clean 2-0 — both teams had undergone significant roster changes during the offseason, and ultimately it was BDS who emerged victorious in this best-of series, which carries huge importance for the playoff race. Following that, Karmine Corp confirmed their strong form; after winning on Day 1 against Natus Vincere, they secured another victory today versus GIANTX, bringing their group record to 2-0 and very likely ensuring themselves a place in the Playoffs this split.

In the first game of the split, BDS started strong: Ilias "nuc" Bizriken welcomed Felix "Abbedagge" Braun back in the LEC with a solo kill, while BDS’s botlane secured an early double kill against Yoon "Ice" Sang-hoon. Their new toplaner, Shin "Rooster" Yun-hwan, playing Aurora, finished the game without dying once. By the end, Ice even grabbed a quadra kill on Jinx, raining bullets and rockets down on SK. In Game 2, Rooster proved Korean Jayce players have something special, dealing over 32,500 damage as the BDS rookie. With this win, the Swiss organization defeated a direct playoff contender and are delivering results quickly after roster moves.

Karmine Corp opened their Summer Split with a convincing win over NAVI, and while today’s series against GIANTX proved more challenging, they still managed to come out on top. In Game 1, KC built a nearly 13k gold lead, though GIANTX put up solid resistance. Ismaïl "ISMA" Boualem had a strong early game on Trundle, but struggled to maintain control as the game progressed. Caliste "Caliste" Henry-Hennebert shined on Ezreal, and a key Neeko ultimate from Raphaël "Targamas" Crabbé sealed the win in the late game.

Game 2 was largely dictated by GIANTX, who had the better teamfighting composition. Once Oh "Noah" Hyeon-taek’s Jinx found resets, the momentum swung completely, capped off by a pentakill for the Korean ADC. But KC responded with confidence in Game 3, drafting Xayah–Rakan, Azir for range, Galio top, and Skarner jungle to lock down the frontline. The execution was crisp—Caliste ended 7/0/9, and Karmine closed the series to finish their first week 2-0.

Only one day remains in the opening week of the LEC, with action continuing on Monday, July 4 from 5 PM CET. SK and Fnatic will play their second BO of the split, meaning both teams will have already completed half of the regular season in just one week. Later, GIANTX will also play their second series—this time against Team Vitality, marking the official LEC debut of Kadir "Fleshy" Kemiksiz.