Last Sunday, March 2, 2025, the final of the LEC Winter 2025 took place in League of Legends. In a best-of-5, a relatively new team managed to dethrone the favorites from the LEC.
What is the LEC? The LEC (League of Legends EMEA Championship) is the largest League of Legends league in Europe. A season of the LEC is held in 4 tournaments. The winter, spring, and summer splits are the first 3 tournaments of the year. With the season final, the LEC season ends and the top three teams are allowed to participate in the World Championships.
Who were the champions of the LEC? The team G2 Esports has been one of the strongest LEC teams for years. With a total of 16 titles, it is the team with the most LEC victories in history. In 2024, they won each of the three splits and the season final.
Of the last eight LEC tournaments, they won a total of seven. But now they were defeated by newcomers who had previously seemed unremarkable.
Which newcomers defeated them? The team of Karmine Corp made their debut in the LEC during the winter split of 2024. They finished last in their first and second tournament. There was an improvement later to fourth place in the summer split. Since then, Karmine Corp has been relatively under the radar.
Check out the trailer for Season 1 in 2025 in LoL here:
The champions of the European league were crushed
How did the final matches go? The first round was excellent for Karmine Corp. Every lane was won, and the midlaner “Vladi” was able to play very dominantly with the champion Taliyah. A final score of 21 to 9 for Karmine Corp was the first surprise of the final.
In the second match, there was still hope for G2 Esports. After a gold advantage for Karmine, G2 managed to fight back a bit. Through many Drakes, two Barons, and the new buff from the epic jungle monster Atakhan, Karmine Corp ultimately prevailed. The second match ended with a final score of 18 to 9.
The third and final match was even at the beginning. After a disastrous fight for the Drake, G2 was completely torn apart. Since then, G2 couldn’t get any more kills and was annihilated by Karmine Corp. The last game of the final ended with 24 to 6.
The midlaner Vladi from Karmine Corp was awarded MVP of the tournament.
Karmine Corp has decimated the LEC giant G2 Esports in the final with a score of 3-0 and is now the LEC champion. With this achievement, Karmine Corp has secured a spot in the season final.
Few believed in Karmine Corp
What has changed for Karmine Corp? The team had already played against G2 Esports in the Upper Bracket Final. With a score of 3 to 1 for G2, they had to admit defeat and faced another hurdle to reach the final.
The botlaner “Caliste” from Karmine Corp achieved neither kills nor assists in the first game against G2 and was merely a punching bag for G2 with seven deaths. In the following matches, he was hardly present and had difficulties getting into the game. Later, Caliste apologized on x.com.
Hello everyone, a quick tweet in retrospect to share my feelings from yesterday. I can safely say that this was my worst performance in my career, and I apologize. You can say what you want, I accept it. I will work very, very hard to come back this week.
Due to this performance and facing the LEC giant G2 Esports as opponents, the chances for Karmine Corp looked bleak. However, in the important final of the LEC Winter 2025, Caliste was able to prove himself and show that he is one of the strongest botlaners in Europe.
The newcomers drew in large viewership
How many people watched the final? Over 800,000 viewers followed the esports highlight on Twitch. The previous record for the tournament was just under 600,000. The records were set in the Upper Bracket Finals between Karmine Corp and G2 Esports and the final of the same teams.
Many of the viewers were from France, the home country of Karmine Corp. The French streamer and co-founder of Karmine Corp “Kamet0” streamed the final for over 200,000 French LoL players (via streamscharts.com).
In the data from escharts.com, one can see the viewer numbers for all games. Karmine Corp played in each of the matches that rank at the top of this list.
Players in the LEC are known to earn quite well. A report has provided some more precise numbers on player earnings. A big surprise is the difference between the various roles: Report shows the salaries of all 50 pros in the LEC in LoL: Significant differences between roles
