Karmine Corp invited to RLCS Club Championship as the organization considers its participation

Karmine Corp have been invited to the Rocket League Club Championship as part of the partnership program but the organization is still weighing up its participation in the esport for RLCS 2027. According to the Karmine Corp co-founder Kamel "Kameto" Kebir, the organization is currently exploring their options on the market and are looking at the available crop of professionals as well as high potential rookies. However, the organization could also depart the esport for a year, skipping what is expected to be a more condensed season as Rocket League ushers in Unreal Engine 6.

The decision will come after a dramatic offseason where the desire of Karmine Corp’s two franchise stars Tristan "Atow." Soyez and Axel "Vatira" Touret to form a new team alongside Team Vitality’s Alexis "zen" Bernier has led to a three-way battle between France’s top organizations for the trio’s signatures. With the deadline for registration at the RLCS Club Championship looming closer, the trio have now signalled their intent to sign with Gentle Mates, causing major upheaval and fan backlash across the scene. In response, Kameto and Gentle Mates CEO, Corentin "Gotaga" Houssein, have both commented on the situation during separate live streams. Jerome Coupez, CEO of Prodigy SEG, the agency behind all three players, made his own statement to set the record straight due to “factually incorrect information”.

With Gentle Mates nearing a deal for the trio, Team Vitality, who were themselves involved in negotiations for the three players, have now reached a verbal agreement with João "diaz" Henrique, and former Gentle Mates duo Oskar "Oski" Gozdowski and Nassim "nass" Bali as an alternative roster. All three players entered free agency this offseason and will sign for the World Championship-winning organization on free transfers. This is in sharp contrast to the prices being discussed for Atow, zen, and Vatira to join Gentle Mates ahead of the RLCS Club Championship.

During Kameto’s live stream discussing the situation, the French co-owner confirmed that the organization did have a cashflow problem that ultimately led to a delay in paying both Atow and Vatira towards the end of the season, something he hoped would be resolved soon. Overall, he described the organization as being on “life support” these past few years but that a remaining debt of over €5 million, part of the fees to acquire a franchise slot in the League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC), had been cleared this year, giving the organization more options heading into the new year. In Kameto’s own words:

“This year, we took risks, and that's what explains the payment delays, which happened more often than we'd have liked. For these players, the amount was significant, but we ourselves also had payments coming in. That's sorted now: they'll receive everything this week.”

Despite describing Rocket League as one of the “best esports”, Kameto was aware that it was a risk to continue in Rocket League for RLCS 2026 and that many in the organization raised the question of exiting the esport last year. According to Kameto:

“People were leaning toward not continuing in 2026, because we needed to catch our breath. We had to pay for the LEC slot, we had quite a few financial issues: we want to be competitive all the time, but that's not possible every year. I was like: We can't leave Rocket League, we'll find solutions.”

Kameto also described a difficult relationship with Epic Games and brought up the time when Karmine Corp declined an offer from the developer to feature the organization’s decal in Rocket League:

"We also had difficult discussions with the publisher in the past: Epic didn't really do us any favors, and we weren't able to make the roster profitable(…) There was even a year when we went to war with them: there was no skin because we told them what they were doing wasn't right. We've been here for a long time, we bring a huge fanbase, we invest a lot to build big rosters: they should make an effort for the people who have been trying to carry the game for years."

With the expectation that Karmine Corp has lost their chance of signing the trio, rumours have been swirling that the organization could depart Rocket League Esports. While Kameto did not rule out leaving the esport, he left the door open:

“It's not a given that we'll leave Rocket League, even though everyone thinks we will. We're looking at every option: either a roster of good-level players who are still available, or starting again with very young talents [craquitos] and writing a beautiful story with them, or taking a break this year, since the future of Rocket League Worlds next year is uncertain, before coming back. I don't know exactly what's going to happen; we're looking at everything.”

After all, the organization still has a working relationship with Charles "juicy" Sabiani, who remains a top French talent in Rocket League, having won the Paris Major alongside Vatira and Atow last season. Given the news around Team Vitality, former Karmine Corp player Brice "ExoTiiK" Bigeard is not expected to start for the team next season and could be an option. Non-French speakers like Archie "Archie" Pickthall and Gaspar "stizzy" Andres are currently assessing their own opportunities. Outside of the established names, a number of up-and-comers exist, like Simão "prozy" Santos, who achieved an impressive top-four finish during the European Last Chance Qualifier and recently won the Bubble World Cup with Switzerland.