Karmine Corp have officially qualified for VALORANT Champions for the first time in the organization’s history. They did it with a dominant 2-0 victory over FUT Esports in the VCT EMEA Stage 2 upper final.
KC went into the series knowing exactly what was at stake. FUT had already secured their spot at Champions Shanghai through championship points, but Karmine Corp had to win the upper final to guarantee their place. A defeat would have pushed them into the lower bracket, where another loss would have ended their season entirely.
Instead, KC put on one of their strongest performances of the year to reach the Stage 2 grand final and finish an impressive qualification run.
The result was a total reversal from KC’s last meeting with FUT. Back in Stage 1, the Turkish team ended Karmine Corp’s playoff hopes and left them at the bottom of the group without a single win. Just four months later, KC beat that same opponent to secure their first-ever Champions appearance.
This qualification also brings Karmine Corp back to the international stage for the first time since Masters Madrid 2024.
N4RRATE Leads KC’s Dominant Victory Over FUT
The series kicked off on Lotus, which was Karmine Corp’s map pick and a map they hadn't lost during Stage 2. KC showed their strength right away by putting up a commanding 10-2 attacking half.
They consistently won their duels against FUT and made the most of their advantages with great post-plant execution. Marshall “N4RRATE” Massey led the charge on Chamber, putting up 17 kills and four first bloods in just the first half.
FUT managed to string a few rounds together after winning a bonus round, but KC quickly took back control and closed out Lotus 13-6. N4RRATE finished the map with a 25/11/3 KDA and a 1.80 rating.
Haven was a bigger challenge. Neither team had lost on the map during Stage 2, and FUT’s unbeaten run actually went all the way back to Masters London. FUT took a narrow 7-5 lead at halftime despite losing the opening pistol round, thanks to two unlikely eco-round wins that kept them ahead.
KC bounced back after the break by winning the second-half pistol and tying the score at 7-7. From there, they kept finding early picks and winning advantageous retakes, taking six of the next seven rounds to finish the map 13-8.
N4RRATE once again led the server with 21 kills. He ended the series with a 46/24/11 KDA, a 1.65 rating, and 193 average damage per round.
His performance was especially significant because he is the only member left from the Karmine Corp roster that played at Masters Madrid. After starting the year with Sentinels, N4RRATE came back to KC and was a huge part of their recovery.
The result is also a massive achievement for head coach Ahmed “ZE1SH” Sheikh. He took over the team during Stage 2 after being on the coaching staff previously. Under his leadership, the organization bounced back from a winless Stage 1 to reach both Champions and the regional grand final.
For Avez, dos9, and LewN, this qualification will be their first time appearing at a global VCT event.
Karmine Corp now awaits for the winner of FUT Esports versus Team Liquid in the grand final on Sunday, August 30. They will head into Champions Shanghai as either EMEA’s first or second seed, depending on how that final match goes.
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