After five intense games between
Karmine Corp and
Fnatic, the Blue Wall secured a 3-2 victory, eliminating Fnatic from the LEC Winter Split 2025 and joining
G2 Esports in the grand final. The match will be played tomorrow at 6 PM CET, and will determine who gets to represent EMEA at the year's first international event, First Stand.
Karmine Corp dominated the first two games of the series, leading everyone to believe they were better prepared and on track for a clean sweep. Game 1 was a pure draft diff, kicking things off with a K’Sante, Ivern, and Azir rotation. The Blue Wall's players were untouchable, completely steamrolling through the first game. They repeated the performance in Game 2, largely thanks to
Vladimiros "Vladi" Kourtidis, who played Hwei for the first time in a competitive setting. He ended up with the highest KDA this split in a Tier 1 League on Hwei, finishing 11/1/14 for a 25 KDA ratio.
To everyone's surprise, with their backs against the wall, Fnatic took the red side in Game 3—an unusual choice, given how the blue side is often seen as the go-to in competitive play. Turns out, they were right. With an Aurelion Sol last pick,
Marek "Humanoid" Brázda carried his team, keeping Fnatic alive. From there, it was a short step to hope.
Elias "Upset" Lipp stepped up with a stellar performance on Kai'Sa, participating in 20 of his team’s 23 kills, sending "Silver Scrapes" through the LEC broadcast and shaking the studio walls and KC fans' hearts. Fortunately for Karmine Corp, the final game was decided early on. Fnatic couldn’t find a way through Karmine's draft, and
Martin "Yike" Sundelin's Jarvan IV, combined with Vladi's Aurora, left no chance for their opponents. The Greek midlaner was named MVP of the series.
For Karmine Corp to reach the LEC final feels like a natural outcome, given their performance this split, but KC fans had to endure a long struggle before finding success. Their first year in the LEC saw them finish at the bottom of the standings in both the Winter and Spring splits. Summer was a redemption arc, with a fourth-place finish that put them just short of a Season Finals spot. Now, they have delivered the split of confirmation: keeping
Kim "Canna" Chang-dong in the toplane, rookie Vladi in the midlane, and the heavily criticized support
Raphaël "Targamas" Crabbé, while adding Yike and, most notably, Europe’s most anticipated talent,
Caliste "Caliste" Henry-Hennebert.
It has been exactly two years since Fnatic kept the same Top-Jungle-Mid trio, yet they haven’t managed to break past second place in the LEC. This time, they've fallen short before the final, finishing third—a familiar disappointment for the black and orange, still struggling to reclaim their former glory. Their botlane has seen constant changes, from
Carl Martin Erik "Rekkles" Larsson to
Oh "Noah" Hyeon-taek, and most recently Upset, but none have been able to push the team past its ceiling. However, it’s not all doom and gloom for Fnatic. Their regular season performance was strong, a promising sign for their fans and a solid foundation to build on for a better showing in the Spring Split.
