Fnatic miss LEC Spring Split playoffs as road to MSI takes shape in EMEA

The 2026 LEC Spring Split is entering its final week, but the biggest narratives are already decided. are out of playoffs for the first time in three years, the six playoff teams are officially locked, and the race for MSI is now fully taking shape ahead of the postseason.

While the remaining regular season matches will still affect seeding, the focus has already shifted toward the teams fighting for EMEA’s two MSI spots. This week’s Roadshow in Madrid will also give fans an early playoff atmosphere, with four qualified teams playing live on stage just before the playoff bracket begins.

Fnatic’s 2026 Spring Split ends early, and for the first time since 2023, they will not make the LEC playoffs stage. After six weeks of competition, Fnatic ended their LEC Spring Split with a 3-6 score, ultimately falling to and closing out a Split where they never fully found stability. There were moments where Fnatic looked like it could turn things around, but too many mid-game mistakes and lost leads kept repeating across the weeks, costing them almost two months of no official matches.

It has been a rough Split for Fnatic, with ups and downs, but not enough consistency to stay in the race for MSI. Iván "Razork" Martín Díaz said in our latest interview that expectations were already lower this year and that the team was focused more on improving step by step. He also pointed out that early game has been better, but the mid game is where things fall apart, especially around objectives and vision. Even when Fnatic seemed ahead, they often struggled to close games cleanly.

In the end, this 2026 Spring Split had Fnatic looking competitive in too few games and too many mistakes in key moments cost them results, and they finished outside the playoffs for the first time in three years.

The six teams going to the LEC Spring Split Playoffs are Team Vitality,

G2 Esports

,

GIANTX

,

Movistar KOI

,

Natus Vincere

, and

Karmine Corp

. With all playoff spots already locked before the regular season ends, the final week is now focused on seeding and momentum heading into the most important stage of the Split.

Team Vitality currently sit alone in first place with an 8-1 record and have already guaranteed a top two finish. Its only loss of the regular season came against KC, thus leaving it as the only team still capable of taking first place if it wins all of its matches during the Madrid Roadtrip — which should feel like an early playoff preview for LEC fans.

Four of the qualified teams will play live in Madrid, with KC entering as arguably the strongest team on paper thanks to its undefeated record so far. G2 are still one of the most dangerous teams in the league despite some inconsistent regular season performances, while MKOI have steadily improved after a rough start to the Split. GX, meanwhile, comes into the Roadtrip with less momentum after two weeks of no official matches due to this Split’s schedule.

The LEC Spring Split playoffs will decide which two teams qualify for MSI, and based on the regular season, there is no clear favorite yet. Vitality have looked like the cleanest and most consistent team across the past few weeks, improving steadily as the Split went on and losing only once all regular season long. As previously said, KC remain one of the scariest teams in the league after staying undefeated so far, even if the team had a slower start to the Split schedule compared to others.

However, G2 are still impossible to count out even with some shaky regular-season performances. The LEC powerhouse already proved earlier this year during LEC Versus that it can peak at the right moment, later qualifying for First Stand and putting in a strong international performance just over a month ago. Historically, G2 have often looked more dangerous once playoffs begin, and that is still the feeling around the team now.

Behind them, NAVI have been one of the biggest positive surprises of the Split after entering the league strongly and staying competitive against top teams for most of the season. MKOI recovered well after a poor opening week and now look much more stable heading into playoffs, while GX had the opposite trajectory after an undefeated start before dropping its last match in the regular season ahead of Madrid. After not playing for nearly two weeks because of the irregular regular season schedule, GX’s upcoming performance in Madrid should give fans a much clearer idea of what to expect from the team before playoffs begin.

So far, most playoff teams have shown very high peaks but also clear weaknesses during the regular season, which could make this one of the most unpredictable LEC playoff brackets in recent years.