Karmine Corp qualify for their first-ever Champions

After defeating FUT Esports on Friday in the opening match of the VCT EMEA Stage 2 Finals Weekend, Karmine Corp secured their place in the competition’s grand final and, in doing so, earned their first-ever qualification for VALORANT Champions. Amid the players’ and coaching staff’s tears and celebrations, Karmine Corp are celebrating this historic achievement after a particularly difficult year.

The last meeting between KC and FUT had taken place in Stage 1, when the Turkish team extinguished the Blue Wall’s final hopes of reaching the playoffs, leaving them at the bottom of their group without a single victory. Four months later, the French organization exacted revenge in the most emphatic fashion, further confirming their remarkable resurgence.

Karmine Corp have secured their first qualification for an international event since Masters Madrid 2024. At the time, the French team had just won the VCT EMEA Kickoff, with American Marshall “N4RRATE” Massey the only member of that roster still present today. After a difficult start to the year with Sentinels, the player returned to his former organization and has steadily grown throughout the season, eventually reaching an exceptional level.

Ahmed “ZE1SH” Sheikh, who has been part of Karmine Corp’s coaching staff since the organization first entered VALORANT, took over as Head Coach for the first time during Stage 2. After facing extensive criticism over the years, he has now earned the most significant reward of his career by securing the organization’s first-ever qualification for a Tier 1 esports World Championship, with the possibility of adding a second VCT title to his achievements this Sunday.

At the same time, the VCT EMEA Stage 1 champions saw their hopes of qualifying for Champions disappear with this result. Team Heretics needed neither KC nor Fire Flux Esports to reach the grand final in order to secure their own qualification, but that hope proved to be short-lived. As a VCT EMEA finalist, Karmine Corp will enter the upcoming Champions as either the region’s first or second seed, with the tournament set to begin on September 24 in Shanghai.