Karmine Corp sweeps Movistar KOI to secure its first League of Legends World Championship Swiss Stage appearance and draw Anyone’s Legend.

Karmine Corp defeated MVK Esports 3-0 in Los Angeles to claim the final Swiss Stage place at the League of Legends World Championship 2026, becoming the third European team in the main event. The French organisation will open its Swiss Stage campaign against Anyone’s Legend, the LPL Split 3 champions, in a best-of-one in Allen, Texas.

Background: A First for the French Organisation

Karmine Corp had never before reached the Swiss Stage of the League of Legends World Championship. The Play-In stage in Los Angeles offered four teams a double-elimination bracket, with every match a best-of-five played under Fearless Draft and only the winner advancing. The format left little room for error.

KC entered as the LEC’s third seed. Their opening match on 15 October against Cloud9 went the full five games, a series that nearly ended their tournament run before it had properly begun. KC survived it, then met MVK in Round 2 on 16 October and sent the Vietnamese team into the lower bracket.

Development: MVK’s Comeback and the Decider

MVK did not exit quietly. In Round 3 on 17 October they beat FURIA 3-1, a day after FURIA had knocked out Cloud9 by the same scoreline. That lower-bracket win earned MVK a second meeting with KC in the Round 4 decider.

The rematch was one-sided. KC swept MVK 3-0 in Los Angeles, with mid laner kyeahoo taking the MVP award. The win sealed Europe’s third main-event slot and KC’s first-ever Swiss Stage appearance.

KC’s own assessment was measured. Jungler Yike told Hotspawn after qualifying that he felt the team was playing at around 80% of its peak, leaving room to improve before the Swiss Stage opens.

Latest: The Draw and What Awaits KC

KC drew LPL first seed Anyone’s Legend in Round 1 of the Swiss Stage. The draw pitted Pool 1 teams against Pool 4 and Pool 2 against Pool 3, with teams from the same region barred from meeting in Round 1 — ruling out an all-LEC tie between G2 and KC. Elsewhere in the opening round, G2 face Dplus KIA and Movistar KOI face Bilibili Gaming.

KC have recent form against their first opponent: they beat Anyone’s Legend this summer at the Esports World Cup in Paris. Head coach Reapered raised that result when discussing the draw. A best-of-one offers no room to recover from a slow start, but the Paris win gives the French side a reference point.

Yike has other targets in mind. On the official broadcast after the draw, he said he wanted revenge on Bilibili Gaming, who knocked him out at his two previous Worlds, and also named Team Liquid, who beat KC at MSI.

What It Means for Readers

The Swiss Stage and knockouts take place at the Credit Union of Texas Event Center, with the Grand Final at Barclays Center. The Swiss Stage runs until 31 October, and the tournament continues until 14 November with a total prize pool of US$5,000,000.

For KC, the stakes are straightforward: a first Swiss Stage appearance, a favorable opening draw against a team they beat in Paris this summer, and a best-of-one format that rewards preparation over recovery. For European fans, the bracket avoids an immediate G2–KC clash, keeping the possibility of a deeper intra-LEC meeting alive for later rounds.