Despite a valiant effort from Vietnam’s representatives,
proved unshakeable. With a combined score of 6-0 over
across two back-to-back matches, the Blue Wall left no doubt about their dominance in the
Worlds 2026 Play-In, securing their spot on the
Main Stage after failing to qualify directly due to
their loss against
in the LEC last month. The Worlds Main Stage begins on October 23, with all 16 remaining participants competing in the Swiss Stage.
With this loss, however, MVK’s journey also comes to an end. Despite a rather surprising campaign, which saw them
eliminate after the Brazilian representatives had
taken down North American side
, who had pushed the Blue Wall to
five games just the day prior, the youngest team at Worlds now returns home with their heads held high. Still, the future of the squad remains uncertain, especially amid a
major overhaul of their home region, the LCP, in 2027.
Simply Outmatched
Although MVK have shown over the last few days that they can push their opponents to their limits, the Vietnamese team’s explosiveness was simply no match for Karmine Corp’s superior individual skill. In both this match and the one prior, KC never seemed in any real trouble against MVK, proving they were a cut above the LCP representatives, perhaps reflecting the historical difference in strength between the two regions. Macro, mechanics, everything seemed to be in the Blue Wall’s hands.
In game one, things already looked rough from minute one, as
reportedly loaded into the game with the wrong runes. Soon after, at just 12 minutes, MVK’s jungler and solo laners were already 0/4 following aggressive plays from Karmine Corp and poor responses from the Vietnamese team. The Blue Wall continued to dominate throughout the game, not giving up a single kill after the 14-minute mark before closing out the game in 28 minutes.
Unfortunately, the next game was not much better. With
attempting to play Malphite jungle, fans might have briefly thought that MVK had cooked up another secret pick, only for him to deal just 5K damage throughout the entire game and remain virtually absent. With such a massive laning gap, it was impossible for MVK to bring anything to the table.
Yone, Aatrox, Locke, Twitch, and Camille. These champions may seem like a random assortment with no correlation, but they somehow made up MVK’s composition in game three. The early game was a complete fiesta. From Twitch roaming top at level one to
somehow solo-killing
, things initially looked better for MVK, but Karmine Corp quickly equalized. While the action continued to unfold, the gold gap gradually widened, with KC eventually closing out the game and punching their tickets to the Main Stage.
History in the Making
For Karmine Corp, this qualification is nonetheless historic. While the eventual winners of this match seemed clear from the very start, this encounter could very well be considered one of the most important best-of-fives in the French organization’s history, as it finally secured the squad’s place in the largest and most prestigious tournament of the League of Legends esports season: Worlds.
Last year, Karmine Corp
failed to make their grand entrance despite having won the Winter Split, after being upset by
in the 2025 LEC Summer Playoffs. While KC’s blowout loss against MKOI in the 2026 Summer Playoffs raised concerns, they at least managed to secure a Play-In spot this time around and have now
completed their redemption. In the end, only the victors are remembered, and the path to success matters little if you can show up when it matters most.
