Team Liquid Eliminate Karmine Corp from MSI 2026

Hence, it’s proven: In League of Legends, NA >> EU. On the third day of MSI 2026, North American Team Liquid Alienware clashed with French Powerhouse Karmine Corp with tournament lives on the line. Many expected the LEC squad to come out on top, but the Summoner’s Rift witnessed an upset.

Josedeodo Farms the Karmine Crop! 

The first game of the series started with Team Liquid countering Camille with Tristana in the bot lane. But it was CoreJJ’s Rell and Josedeodo’s Nocturne engages that helped them secure the first game. 

The second game was much closer. Karmine Corp’s Anivia tried to save the game, but Team Liquid’s draft reigned supreme, going 2-0 up in the series.

Despite Team Liquid’s lead in kills, Game 3 was pretty balanced. Unfortunately, Busio getting caught in the mid lane at 34:00 minutes gave Liquid the opening, helping them secure the final game and secure the rematch against T1 tomorrow.  

Josedeodo was the best player for Team Liquid throughout the series, keeping the team afloat even in disadvantageous fights. 

T1 awaits! 

While Team Liquid survived today, their chance of converting this into a Bracket Stage qualification is minimal. 

They started their MSI journey with a loss against T1, and even the win over Karmine Corp doesn’t necessarily inspire confidence. The team fights were decided by a KC member making a mistake and TLAW capitalising on it. 

Liquid themselves made multiple unforced errors, but KC could not punish in the same way. T1 will not provide the same leeway and will exploit even the smallest gaps. This was evident in their earlier clash, where, despite Liquid’s massive gold lead, T1 won game 2 of the series. 

Back to the Drawing Board for Karmine Corp

When Karmine Corp announced their roster at the start of the year, the community expected them to take over the LEC. The talent on the squad was expected to go toe-to-toe with the best teams of the East. 

Unfortunately, the year has been disappointing for the talented line-up. Not only have they failed to leave a lasting impact on the international stage, but they also consistently failed to take down G2 in the LEC, losing both the Spring and Versus titles. 

For a team of KC’s talent, calling the MSI 2026 result underwhelming is an understatement. While a loss to Team Liquid isn’t the end of the world, not winning a single game against either Liquid or T1 is a problem. 

If Karmine Corp wants to play to their full potential, they have to address the lack of synergy in the team, especially the bot lane. The team has potential, and if that can be addressed, they can cause major upsets at Worlds later this year. 

The MSI 2026 tournament continues tomorrow. Follow the action on Strafe! 

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Featured image credit: Colin Young-Wolff // Riot Games

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