Karmine Corp wins the RLCS 2026 Kick-Off Weekend

BLAST.tv

January 01, 1970

12:00 AM

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This is now the third year in a row that a French team has taken the first LAN of the RLCS season.

Can't say it's surprising, but it was certainly still a pleasure to watch.

After losing dralii, who many considered the best player in the world last season, some doubted Karmine Corp would be able to match or exceed last year's performance.

Fortunately for the Blue Wall, it seems that will not be an issue.

Karmine Corp puts EU one step ahead

Karmine Corp lined up with their trophies

The addition of juicy and coach Extra to the world-class core of Atow and Vatira has proven to be a winning combination.

Championship Sunday, in particular, showed that KC was far and above the best team in the Copenhagen studio.

A quick 4-1 over Spacestation followed by a 4-0 trouncing of Shopify Rebellion left little room to doubt who the trophies belonged to.

The other European squads are surely celebrating Karmine Corp's victory as well, since it earned the region an additional spot at both RLCS 2026 Majors, meaning there will be 5 EU teams competing in both Boston and Paris.

Additionally, Europe will be allowed up to 6 spots at the 2026 World Championship, assuming they continue to perform well on LAN and at the Worlds LCQ.

Takeaways from the team

As nice as it is to lend a helping hand to their region, Atow made it clear that KC's true focus is on their own potential to perform.

"I don't really care for my region. I just want to win the tournament.

I qualified to Boston, so I'm really happy." - Atow

Judging by this weekend's results, it seems that the one-track mindset is extremely effective and still allows the team room to find joy in the game that they play, which is fantastic for morale.

"When we need to try hard, we try hard. But most of the time we are just laughing, having good moments between us." - juicy

It's clear that all members of the team are enjoying themselves.

There are plenty of moments throughout the broadcast where you can see the guys laughing, sharing their excitement, and even goofing off to reference a... certain pair of numbers.

"For us, there is no pressure to go for the [Boston] Major now.

I think it's gonna help us a lot." - Vatira

Starting the season off on such a high note will undoubtedly help the team's confidence and mentality going forward

It's frightening to think how much more room Karmine Corp have for improvement if this Kick-Off Weekend LAN was how they played with pressure and a new roster.

"I'm really proud of my players. They are always hardworking and listening to me all the time.

They are probably the best players in the world right now. I don't think I could have any better." —Extra

Coach and beloved RLCS veteran Extra also had nothing but positive things to say about the KC players, even going so far as to call them the best in the world.

It's a difficult claim to argue with, but we'll see what MENA and SAM have to say about it at the Boston Major...