The third week of
LEC Versus concluded on Monday, February 2, after three additional matches for each team. The regular season is nearing its conclusion, and team dynamics continue to take shape following this opening phase of the year.
Only two more matchdays remain over the weekend to determine the eight teams that will qualify for the playoffs and the four that will be officially eliminated. Before this final week of the regular season begins, Sheep Esports looks back at the five standout moments from the weekend.
First teams qualified — and eliminated
Three teams have already secured their places in the LEC playoffs. Sitting alone at the top of the standings with a 7–2 record, Karmine Corp confirmed their qualification with two additional victories on Sunday and Monday against Fnatic and Shifters. The French organization was soon joined by NAVI and GIANTX, each with one fewer win but with records strong enough to guarantee advancement to the next stage.
While Karmine Corp's main roster stands alone at the top of the league, its sister team sits just as firmly at the bottom — and is the only squad to have been eliminated. After another 0–3 week, Karmine Corp Blue are officially out and will play their final two matches next week without any playoff hopes. Despite promising early games, KCB repeatedly failed to convert their advantages through objective control and struggled to manage the mid game effectively.
Banter week
As is often the case, the past week produced plenty of post-match banter from the teams. After a difficult set of results, Shifters became a frequent target, with several teams enjoying the opportunity to poke fun at them. NAVI and Karmine Corp, for instance, joked about the organization’s rebranding.
This week also marked a reunion between Vladimiros "Vladi" Kourtidis and Karmine Corp. To preempt any tension, the French organization playfully teased its former midlaner, who appeared to take it well — as did fans in response to the post.
Los Ratones to First Stand?
Remarkably, Los Ratones are no longer bottom of the LEC and remain very much in contention for a playoff spot, thanks to two victories over the two most recent LEC champions, G2 Esports and Movistar KOI. The compositions fielded by Marc "Caedrel" Lamont’s squad, centered around Veljko "Velja" Čamdžić’s Dr. Mundo and the mage picks of Tim "Nemesis" Lipovšek, paid off throughout the week.
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Prior to their loss against NAVI, the team even held the longest win streak in the LEC with four consecutive victories. Their final two matches this week, particularly the one against SK Gaming, will be decisive in determining whether their run in LEC Versus continues.
Jungle diff, need HELP
After a difficult start to the season, Mehdi "Boukada" Lahlou was unfortunate enough to run into a particularly in-form Martin "Yike" Sundelin. With a dominant Jayce performance, the multiple-time LEC champion overwhelmed his counterpart’s resource-starved Nocturne. By the end of the game, Yike held an 8.8k gold lead over Boukada — a record in LEC history.
In the same match, fans suspected a hidden cry for help from Shifters mid laner Ilias "nuc" Bizriken. During the draft, he prelocked Hwei, then Evelynn, then LeBlanc, then Pantheon — whose initials spell out "HELP." He later clarified on X that it was just a simple joke for his team's community manager.
Even more pentakills
Pentakills continue to pile up in the LEC. After
Yoon "Ice" Sang-hoon’s double pentakill last week, a jungler claimed the spotlight this time. Ismaïl "
ISMA" Boualem’s Xin Zhao achieved the feat
by killing Polat "Parus" Çiçek’s Pyke twice. Although several seconds separated the fourth and fifth kills, the game still credited the play as a pentakill.
Later that same day, Josip "Jopa" Čančar secured his first LEC pentakill with SK Gaming on Xayah against Team Heretics. Finally, Ice added yet another pentakill to his collection the following day — his sixth since joining the LEC — to close out Karmine Corp Blue once and for all.
No more K'Santé-Rumble pls
If you didn’t know about the Rumble vs. K’Santé matchup, then you probably weren’t watching the LEC this Monday. Out of six BO1 games, five featured The Mechanized Menace against The Pride of Nazumah in the toplane.
League of Legends fans can thank Martin "
Wunder" Hansen for his innovative — albeit unsuccessful — attempts with Ryze top, but they are patiently waiting for the end of BO1s to see a bit more diversity as the competition continues.
Januray 31
- Team Heretics 0-1 SK Gaming
- NAVI 0-1 GIANTX
- Shifters 1-0 Fnatic
- Karmine Corp Blue 0-1 G2 Esports
- Team Vitality 1-0 Karmine Corp
- Movistar KOI 0-1 Los Ratones
February 1
- Shifters 0-1 NAVI
- Team Heretics 1-0 Karmine Corp Blue
- Team Vitality 1-0 GIANTX
- SK Gaming 0-1 Movistar KOI
- Karmine Corp 1-0 Fnatic
- Los Ratones 1-0 G2 Esports
February 2
- Karmine Corp Blue 0-1 Fnatic
- SK Gaming 0-1 GIANTX
- NAVI 1-0 Los Ratones
- Team Vitality 0-1 G2 Esports
- Team Heretics 1-0 Movistar KOI
- Shifters 0-1 Karmine Corp
