VCT EMEA 2026 Stage 2 Finals: Barcelona - Day 03

The Turnaround

Karmine Corp went winless in Stage 1, changed head coach, and swept EMEA Stage 2 for the first trophy in org history.

Photo · Daniel Cruz / Riot GamesFlickr ↗

51BuildingNext · KC vs XLG

Heat51

StateBuilding

Beats at Champions0

NextKC vs XLG2026-09-25T12:00:00Z

By the numbers

0–5Stage 1 recordsource ↗

3–0Stage 2 playoff recordsource ↗

0–0KC in ShanghaiNo series played yet

The cast

Karmine Corp

N4RRATEKarmine Corp

dos9

dos9Karmine Corp

ZE1SH

ZE1SHKarmine Corp

The arc

Next · 2026-09-25T12:00:00ZKarmine Corp vs Xi Lai Gaming · Group D · Opening · Bo3–d –h –m

NowNothing has happened at Champions yet.

Sep 23 · The story so far

Rewind

FUT vs KC during VCT EMEA 2026 Stage 2 Finals: Barcelona at Olimpic Arena, Badalona, Barcelona, Spain. Photo by Hara Amorós/Riot Games.

The Turnaround

0–5 in April. Champions of EMEA in August. First Champions ever

A coaching change to ZE1SH, N4RRATE back from Sentinels, then a 4–1 group and a 3–0 sweep of the playoffs, ending 3–1 over Liquid in Badalona with dos9 as MVP. vlr called it one of the most remarkable mid-season turnarounds VCT has seen.

StorylinesThe Turnaround First Timers

vlr.gg · Match report ↗

Photo · Hara Amorós / Riot GamesFlickr ↗

2026-08-30Beat Team Liquid 3–1 in Badalona for the Stage 2 title. dos9 MVP. ↗

2026-07-15ZE1SH takes over as head coach.

2026-04-30Stage 1: 0–5, 11–12th in EMEA.

2026-03-17N4RRATE returns from Sentinels. "B4ck where he belongs." ↗

Connected stories if this one ends, you land here

First TimersAlive The Group of DoomBuilding People Who MovedBuilding