Karmine Corp have claimed the last place in the Worlds 2026 Swiss Stage. A 3–0 victory over MVK Esports in the Play-In final on October 18 completed an unbeaten run through the bracket: three series wins, nine maps won and only two lost.
The LEC side had already swept MVK in the upper-bracket final. With qualification on the line, they repeated the scoreline and ended the Vietnamese team's lower-bracket comeback. Four teams entered the double-elimination stage in Los Angeles; only KC move on.
The final: KC leave MVK no room for a comeback
OCT 18 · PLAY-IN FINAL · SWISS QUALIFICATION
Karmine Corp3 – 0
MVK EsportsView match →
KC won the opening map in 28 minutes, finishing 13–2 in kills. Caliste's Zeri delivered six kills, while Kyeahoo's Cassiopeia added four. The second map was even more decisive on the scoreboard: Yike's Qiyana went 9/2/2 as KC won 17–4 in kills and moved to match point in 27 minutes.
MVK changed direction for map three, bringing out Aatrox jungle, Twitch bot and Camille support. The unusual composition made the closing game a different contest, but it could not change the result. Caliste finished 9/1/3 on Ezreal and Kyeahoo went deathless on Viktor at 4/0/11. KC closed in 27 minutes with a 25–12 kill score.
Across the final, Kyeahoo recorded 13 kills, two deaths and 17 assists. Caliste added 17 kills with just two deaths. KC's carries consistently converted their opportunities, and the series never reached a fourth map.
October 15: Cloud9 push KC to the limit
OCT 15 · UPPER BRACKET · OPENING ROUND
Cloud92 – 3Karmine CorpView match →
KC's final scoreline hides how close their tournament opener was. Cloud9 took a 2–1 series lead, leaving the European side one defeat from the lower bracket. KC recovered by winning maps four and five, turning their toughest test of the stage into the first step toward qualification.
Those were the only two maps KC dropped throughout the Play-In. The comeback also mattered for the shape of the bracket: Cloud9 lost their margin for error immediately, while KC stayed on the shorter upper-bracket route.
OCT 15 · UPPER BRACKET · OPENING ROUND
FURIA0 – 3MVK EsportsView match →
MVK opened with a clean sweep of FURIA. The 3–0 win sent them into a meeting with KC and pushed the Brazilian team into an elimination series against Cloud9. It also established a matchup that would return later in the stage.
October 16: KC advance, Cloud9 exit
OCT 16 · UPPER BRACKET FINALMVK Esports0 – 3Karmine CorpView match →
The upper-bracket final brought a sharp change from KC's five-map opener. They beat MVK 3–0 and booked a place in Sunday's qualifying final. That victory was a step toward Swiss rather than qualification itself: KC still had to win one more best-of-five.
OCT 16 · LOWER BRACKET · ELIMINATION MATCHFURIA3 – 1Cloud9View match →
FURIA recovered from their opening defeat by eliminating Cloud9 3–1. C9 won the first map, but FURIA responded with three consecutive victories. After coming within one map of beating the eventual Play-In winners, Cloud9 left without a series win and finished 19th overall.
October 17: MVK earn their rematch
OCT 17 · LOWER BRACKET FINALMVK Esports3 – 1FURIAView match →
MVK defeated FURIA for the second time, this time 3–1. The Vietnamese side took the first two maps; FURIA answered in the third, before MVK finished the series in map four. FURIA's recovery ended in 18th place, while MVK earned another chance against KC.
That left two very different head-to-head records. MVK went 6–1 on maps against FURIA, but ultimately 0–6 against KC. Their lower-bracket run carried them to the decider, where the European side again proved too difficult to overcome.
The complete Play-In picture
Next stop: the Swiss Stage
KC join the 15 teams already qualified for the main event. Their Play-In run ended with seven consecutive map wins, starting with the final two games against Cloud9 and continuing through both sweeps of MVK.
The results give KC a strong finish to the opening stage, but Swiss brings a new field and a new test. For now, the essential job is complete: Canna, Yike, Kyeahoo, Caliste and Busio have kept their Worlds campaign alive.
Follow the latest match schedule and our Worlds 2026 format guide. For the earlier stories, read the Days 1–2 recap and Day 3 recap.