Glance on Karmine Corp and its fans “I feel like I owe them”

Russian VALORANT player Anastasiya “Glance” Anisimova has secured a four-year residence permit in France, giving her greater freedom to travel and continue competing internationally. After spending around three years with Karmine Corp, she has also built strong ties with the organization and its fanbase, making her future with the French club an important question as her contract approaches its end.

In an interview with Sheep Esports, Glance discusses her decision to move to France, her future at Karmine Corp, and the team's struggles during the 2026 Game Changers EMEA season. She also shares her thoughts on the upcoming Game Changers Championship, the long-term prospects of the women's VALORANT circuit, and Riot Games' efforts to bring GC and the wider competitive scene closer together.

Anastasiya "Glance" Anisimova: "Being Russian and continuing to compete is a bit difficult, so my only shot to keep travelling, to attend bootcamps and tournaments, was to get a visa somewhere. Thanks to KC, because I've been working with them for about three years, my visa history is pretty good.

I was talking to our manager, and we decided to apply. Normally, they give you a visa for one year, based on your contract. He told me, “Okay, let's try to apply for a long-stay visa,” which is a residence permit that basically allows me to stay in France for up to four years. If I want to live here, I can. I told him they would never give it to me, because it's a very tricky one: I don't have a permanent contract, the kind where you work until you decide to leave the job. He said, “It’s okay, let's just apply.” I think I got very lucky because they said yes.

The whole process was quite long, and I was worried while waiting. Also, to be able to apply for this visa, you have to live in France. So I had to make a choice. I had just found a beautiful flat in Moscow. I was so happy; I really liked my place. And I had to leave everything to apply for this visa and move to France as soon as possible. I did it, and I'm actually very happy.

Glance: I was already travelling to France a lot, for concerts, for bootcamps, or just as a tourist, and I really like the country. It's very beautiful; it has nice food and nice people... except maybe Paris; it's a bit difficult in Paris. But where I live now, people are so kind to me. I apologize every time because I don't speak French, and I'm trying to understand them, and they still talk to me.

To be honest, I feel exactly like I felt in Moscow. I love Moscow a lot; the city is beautiful, and I had everything there, basically my whole life. Now I'm slowly building it here, and I think it can be a good place for me to stay. I love nature and I love to travel, and in France you can see so many places. I feel like I'm in the right place right now. I just want to see how fast I can learn the language.

Glance: Yes, of course. I think the main reason why I keep staying at KC, and why it's going well, is that the fans have been incredibly supportive. It goes both ways: I really want to win for them and bring more trophies to the organization, because I genuinely feel like nothing bad ever happened to me at KC. It was only support.

So when it comes to other offers, I don't look at them as closely as I look at KC's. If I moved to another organization, maybe I wouldn't be as happy, and it's still important for me to be in a place where people support you. It's the same reason why, when people asked how many offers I was getting or why I didn't go to trials, if KC gives me an equally good offer, of course I'll stay, because there is no reason for me to leave. I want them to see more trophies and good results. I feel like I owe them.

Glance: It's in negotiation. Nothing is decided yet. We're basically waiting for Champs and GCC to finish; there are a lot of things going on. Maybe I will even make a post, because my contract is finishing and I haven't received a new offer yet.

Glance: I'm kind of stressed, because you never know. KC is an esports organization, so they might have their own plans for the rosters they want to build, and if they want a specific roster, I might not be part of it. So it's still an open question where I'll be next year. I think I'll know in the next one or two weeks.

Glance: I wouldn't say there's a lack of motivation; it's kind of the opposite. The competitive scene grows so much every year, with new players and new teams. It's very hard to stay at a high level in this game, both for women and for men. That gives me even more motivation to qualify for Champs, get a top three, or win it, and just try to stay at the highest level. That's the most important thing for me. I've never had a moment where I didn't want to play.

Glance: I think the main reason is that we were lacking a bit of synergy, both in scrims and in official matches. Look at what happens with new teams, like Gentle Mates: you get a new roster, a new organization, and everyone is hyped up. We, on the other hand, were maybe a bit too relaxed at times. We didn't bring new things into our game plan and played pretty much the same way as last year.

That was the main issue, because teams came to play against us very prepared. They knew we already had titles and were coming back from GCC 2025, so they were extra careful against us, which is a good thing. We just weren't ready for that.

Glance: I've been there many times, and my experience helps me a lot. Some things in the game can be fixed really fast; they just come down to the mood. I think mental is the most important thing in this game. We fixed some things very quickly, like the mood in the team, how we talk to each other, and how we communicate. But there were deeper issues that we just didn't have time to fix.

So we slowly fixed what we could. Since I have all this experience, it wasn't really stressful for me. I knew we were missing something and that it might not go well this year as we approached the end of the season. But we kept believing, and I think we did our best. It just didn't happen in the end.

Glance: To be honest, I think Gentle Mates and G2 are in really good shape. Gentle Mates changed a player, so it might be a bit more difficult for them. But overall, these teams are strong because they're very experienced. Look at Team Liquid; they've been playing together for three or four years, and that's the hardest thing to face, because these teams know each other so well. I think Gentle Mates have a good shot if they play with confidence. And G2 just have an insane experience, which always helps them go far at Champs: they're top four or top three every time.

Glance: No, it doesn't worry me, for two reasons. First, Riot made Game Changers the very first big circuit for women. There was nothing comparable in CS before, just a few small events. GCC is something really big, a full circuit, and I don't see why they would close it, especially since there are so many teams. Look at EMEA: we have around 100 teams in open qualifiers, tons of girls who want to play, and every year new talents show up. Look at Spotlight Series, the mixed tournament, and how many girls showed good things there.

In CS, the gap between men and women was so big. Maybe they didn't want to invest more money and time and preferred to focus only on men's CS, I don't know the reasons. But in VALORANT it's not the same. I think it's going in the right direction. And I don't know if you saw, but next year GCC will be held at the same venue as Champs. It's insane, and it's very good. That's why I think it can improve a lot.

Glance: No, I think it's great. Let's be honest, we've been playing Game Changers in 200-person venues for four or five years. Of course, most of the people there won't come to watch GCC; they'll come for Champs. But seeing other teams and girls playing can make them interested too. There will definitely be more people around the girls; they can create content around it, and in my opinion, that's a good sign. So yes, maybe it's a budget cut, holding just one event in one place. But I still think it's a good thing for GCC.

Glance: They were good, but some of them took place right before our matches in the circuit, during the first split, for example. Of course, some teams don't want to show their agents, the comps they play, or the maps they like. G2, for example, only took part in one of them out of the six or seven held this year. The timing wasn't great. But it's a good way to test your team, whether you play with a mix or with your roster, to see how well you play together. We didn't play many of them this year either; the timing didn't fit with our split schedule.

Glance: To be honest, I really think that's what Riot wants in the end. Maybe that's also why they're holding Champs alongside GCC. In the end, they don't want girls to be on the other side; they want us to play together, and they're trying to help girls get that experience and close the gap as much as possible. In the end, there might be mixed teams, or still women's teams but with a higher level. I think that's what it's good for.

Personally, I love playing mixed tournaments. It brings a lot of experience: you see how men play, how they make fast decisions, how they communicate. There are so many things you can learn from it. So I'm happy to play them, and I think it can help any girl improve faster.

Glance: I think the worst part is that I'm Russian and trying to learn French, and my pronunciation is really bad. I understand some words when I listen to people speak French, but when they speak fast, and you guys speak French so fast, it's impossible to follow. So it will take time. I bought some courses and I have people I can talk to and practise with. It's good, but it's just too early for now. I genuinely think the language is very beautiful. When people speak French, I just sit and listen. But learning it is terrible."