The final week of the
LEC regular season was partly played in Évry-Courcouronnes, at
Karmine Corp's home arena in France. This LEC Roadshow stop featured two crucial best-of-threes in the race for the playoffs.
G2 Esports finally locked in its playoffs spot with a 2-0 win over
SK Gaming, while league leaders
Karmine Corp overcame
Team Vitality 2-1, leaving the Bees' playoffs fate no longer entirely in their own hands.
Everything was in place for a splendid celebration. Karmine Corp took the opportunity to present their Winter Split trophy to the home crowd, while the in-arena commentary was handled by none other than KC CEO Kamel "
Kameto" Kebir himself. However, the festivities were marred by an unexpected incident. A fire alarm went off between the two matches, cutting the power in the arena and plunging the nearly 4,000 fans, as well as tens of thousands of viewers watching online, into darkness. It took over an hour to restore everything to normal, significantly delaying the schedule and disrupting the flow of the event.
G2 got rid of the pressure
G2 entered the arena needing just one series win to lock into the playoffs, and they made short work of SK Gaming in a convincing sweep. The first game, while not flawless, saw G2 gradually gain control through superior teamfighting and objective control. Though under a bit of early pressure, Rasmus "
Caps" Winther and Steven "
Hans Sama" Liv found their footing quickly, especially as G2’s macro game kicked into gear. The second match proved a touch more turbulent, with SK taking early dragons and map control. But a critical contest at the fourth drake flipped the game on its head. From there, G2’s carries scaled comfortably, and with Hans Sama's precision and Caps’ map sense, the samurai squad closed out the series without letting SK regain momentum.
Hans sama’s standout positioning earned him the MVP nod, while Caps redeemed shaky early laning phases with strong late-game impact. Rudy "SkewMond" Semaan stood out today on both his signature Pantheon and Wukong. The 2-0 win bumps G2 to 5-3, officially securing them a playoff spot, while SK drops to 2-6 and faces long odds in their postseason chase.
The Blue Wall stands strong at home
For Karmine Corp, the stage in Évry offered more than just another match—it was a rare homecoming. Backed by an electric local crowd, KC delivered in a hard-fought 2-1 over Vitality. Game one was a statement: Vladimiros "
Vladi" Kourtidis’ Sylas and Caliste "
Caliste" Henry-Hennebert's Varus dismantled the Bees in a dominant performance that never looked in doubt. A staggering 10/0/10 from Vladi and a kill score of 28-7 summed up the lopsided affair.
But Vitality pushed back. Game two turned into a 42-minute slugfest, with Vitality taking early control and capitalizing on some misplays from the Blue Wall. Despite KC securing soul point and Baron, Matyáš "
Carzzy" Orság and Mateusz "
Czajek" Czajka punished key errors to force a decider. It was a spirited showing from Vitality, but the final game was a return to form for Karmine. Caliste’s Kog’Maw, alongside a scaling Viktor and a solid frontline, helped KC dismantle their opponents in a near-flawless game three.
The win marks KC’s fifth in a row, moving them to 7-1 and provisionally first in the standings. Kim "
Canna" Chang-dong, whose consistency across all three games earned him the MVP award, continues to impress as a toplane anchor. Vitality, now at 3-5, will need a win tomorrow against SK Gaming—and a bit of luck—to keep its playoffs hopes alive.
