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Karmine Corp Defeats Team Liquid to Win VCT EMEA Stage 2
Karmine Corp opened EMEA Stage 1 with an ugly 0-5 record, sitting dead last in the standings. A few months later, the French org sits on top of all of EMEA VALORANT, having just defeated Team Liquid 3-1 in the VCT EMEA Stage 2 Grand Final.
It's KC's first-ever VCT trophy, and the timing lines up perfectly with a Champions run on the horizon.
The series recap
KC used its double-map ban advantage to strike Split and Abyss off the table, leaving a series built around Sunset, Ascent, Lotus, and Summit.
The French squad opened strong, taking Sunset 13-7 after weathering a mid-map surge from Liquid, then followed it up with a tighter 13-6 win on Ascent thanks to an eco round that flipped the momentum for good.
Then Liquid answered back. Sharp shooting all series, the squad found its footing on Lotus and ran away with it 13-7 behind big performances from Kicks and kamo. Suddenly, a reverse sweep looked like a real possibility, especially when Liquid opened Summit with a 7-0 run, hammering A site over and over.
KC clawed back to tie things up, with LewN slicing through Liquid's defense while N4RRATE and SUYGETSU exploited every gap they could find.
KC eventually closed out the map and the series 13-10, sealing not just the map but the entire VCT EMEA Stage 2 title.
Karmine Corp's path to Champions
dos9 picked up Grand Finals MVP honors, closing out his best split since leaving BOOM Esports after a rough 0-5 run in Pacific last year.
N4RRATE followed a similar arc, now lifting the biggest trophy of his career after bouncing between Sentinels and KC earlier this year.
This is the first time Karmine Corp can call itself the best team in EMEA since Kickoff 2024, and it's the org's ticket to its first-ever Champions appearance.
Team Liquid still comes out of this with plenty to show for it. The runner-up finish locks in a second straight Champions spot for the squad, setting up another shot at redemption in Shanghai.
With this result, the Stage 2 chapter of VCT EMEA officially closes. Karmine Corp heads into the VALORANT Champions Shanghai 2026 as the region's top seed, going from five straight losses to the top of the standings in one season.
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Featured image credit: VALORANT Champions Tour
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