LEC Versus 2026 Week 1 Recap & Highlights: Caps' failed TP, GIANTX and Shifters in a crazy late game, Mikyx takes down Fnatic

The first week of LEC Versus has come to an end, and no team managed a perfect week. Seven teams finished with two wins and one loss, four others had the opposite record, while only Los Ratones failed to win a single game. Several teams confirmed their status, including GIANTX, Karmine Corp, and Movistar KOI.

Other teams also impressed, notably Natus Vincere and Shifters, who both sit at 2–1. G2 Esports had a shaky start, finishing the week 1–2, level with KCB, SK Gaming, and Team Heretics, who are also struggling at the beginning of the season.

Martin "Rekkles" Larsson hadn’t played in the LEC for two and a half years, his last stint being in 2023 as Fnatic’s AD Carry. Last Saturday, “the King in the North” returned to Europe’s Tier 1, this time as a support for Los Ratones. In the opening match of LEC Versus 2026, the Swedish support faced his former team, Fnatic, on Braum, finishing the game 0/0/0 without participating in any of Los Ratones’ two kills.

After a rather dull opening game in the LEC between LR and Fnatic, the second match was a completely different story, as GIANTX and Shifters delivered an exciting showdown. The game was closely contested throughout, with Ilias "nuc" Bizriken and Adrian "Trymbi" Trybus showing great proactivity for Shifters, while Oh "Noah" Hyeon-taek and Yoon "Jun" Se-jun often came out on top for GX.

In a dramatic finish, Shifters pushed all the way to GX’s Nexus, just a few auto-attacks away from winning, when GX managed an unexpected defense, saving their base. They then countered by teleporting into the enemy base, finishing the game, it was just a few auto-attacks short of victory for the Swiss organization.

Since Karmine Corp Blue won the EMEA Masters Summer 2025, they earned the right to compete in LEC Versus, and what better way to start their year than against their sister team, Karmine Corp. While the game was largely dominated by KC LEC, the academy’s young players still put up a respectable fight, with their mid-jungle duo delivering a particularly strong performance.

In the final game of the opening day, Rasmus "Caps" Winther and G2 suffered a heavy defeat against Movistar KOI. Early in the match, Joseph Joon "Jojopyun" Pyun solo killed Caps in the midlane after a misclick from Caps, who accidentally used his teleport on the spot, allowing Jojopyun to secure the kill. The rest of the game turned into a complete stomp in favor of the Spanish team.

On the second day, Los Ratones and Karmine Corp Blue delivered a remake of a BO we saw in the ERL in 2025, with the game largely dominated by the French team. Johnny "Yukino" Dang built a CS lead of over 100 against Veljko "Velja" Čamdžić. Meanwhile, Xu "Tao" Hongtao Alessandro secured the first LEC win ever on Zaahen, becoming only the third toplaner to do so. worldwide.

On the second day, SK Gaming faced Fnatic, with Mihael "Mikyx" Mehle, who recently joined SK to build his team, going up against his former squad. While few expected much from SK’s new roster, the Slovenian support proved them wrong. Adam "LIDER" Ilyasov and Martin "Wunder" Hansen delivered strong performances, helping their team secure the victory.

Fnatic started the third day at 1-1 and needed a win to secure a strong position near the top of the standings, but it wasn’t easy against a 2-0 Natus Vincere. The game was largely dominated by the Ukrainian organization until Fnatic turned things around, thanks to a standout performance from Iván "Razork" Martín Díaz, who finished 1/2/15 with 16 kill participations out of 17.

In the game between Team Vitality and Karmine Corp Blue, there wasn’t much competition between the two teams. The Bees completely dominated the match, with Turkish toplaner Kaan "Naak Nako" Okan on Renekton building a Seeker's Armguard before completing a Zhonya's Hourglass—an unconventional item choice on The Butcher of the Sands.

To close out the week, Los Ratones gave their all to make a strong impression in their first LEC appearances. The game started in favor of Karmine Corp, but Tim "Nemesis" Lipovšek’s team fought back to even out the gold. Despite a strong performance from the Slovenian midlaner, Karmine Corp ultimately secured the win, finishing their week 2–1.