KC First Stand Team Analysis – Expect The Unexpected

Karmine Corp have put an end to the reign of G2 Esports this Winter, by crushing them 3-0 in the LEC Grand Final. The organization now advances to its first international LoL esports event, with a well rounded collective. What to expect from the youngest and probably the most unexpected team competing at First Stand? Find out in our team analysis.

With an average age of 22 years and 161 days, Karmine Corp is indeed the youngest team of the event by a large margin, behind CFO (23 years and 131 days) and HLE (23 years and 172 days). The Blue Wall will also put in action two of the youngest players at First Stand with Caliste “Caliste” Henry-hennebert (18) and Vladimiros “Vladi” Kourtidis (19) right behind the LCP prodigy Tsai “HongQ” Ming-Hong (17). Caliste also became the youngest player to ever win the LEC this Winter, and he will now have the opportunity to attend his first international event after spending less than 2 months in EMEA Tier 1. This is obviously a great opportunity for him and Vladi to discover the international competition so early in their career, and their coaches keep on repeating how important it is for this team’s growth to gauge them asap against the Asian teams. And for the narratives enjoyers, let’s not forget that the last time an insane prodigy – Rasmus “Caps” Winter – has joined the LEC (EU LCS at the time), it took him a year only to adapt before making two Worlds Finals back-to-back. KC have reinforced with two insane prodigies to maybe take it a step further…

Strong point: Resilience and Adaptability

Even though Vladi was rightfully elected MVP of both Lower bracket final/Grand Final and Caliste ended up being one of the best ADCs in the region for his first split, this team is not all about two talented rookies. This team is about a well-rounded collective that already play with an impressive synchronization. Their biggest in-game strength lies for sure in the teamfight and objectives set-ups departments where they’ve been unmatched in their region. With an astonishing discipline and rigor in view of the recent formation of this young team, everyone seems to be aware of what he has to do to win the 5v5 for his team. With Canna always playing the X Factor role, either with a flank or by pushing away the biggest threat for his carries. And not only Yike has established his supremacy as the smite king in the league, but he also learnt to be clutch in the teamfight area, along with his support Targamas who has shown a whole new face with this KC iteration.

HUGE COMBO FOR @KARMINECORP! #LEC pic.twitter.com/Bj32CB2LRX

— LEC (@LEC) March 2, 2025

But imagine if again, despite their lack of experience as a group, they were also very resilient and versatile… Well, they are. They’ve first came back of a 1-2 disappointing week 3 to smash Vitality and MKOI (2-0) in playoffs. Then, KC got blasted by G2 in the Upper brack final (1-3) before coming back the next week and return the favor when it mattered the most (3-0). Same in their adaptability, they’ve shown a lot of things for their first loss in BO5, where they’ve apparently came in as very confident. And despite the route, when they came back they’ve completely shifted their read on drafts and still managed to pull it off very easily… All the Karmine Corp players not only have a very large champion pool that fits very well with the Fearless Draft format, but are also capable of adapting very quick if their meta read happens to be wrong. This is another great strength coming into a one week tournament, and an edge they’ll probably have over the Asian teams.

Weak point: Botlane 2v2

The biggest issue I see within this team, is the inconsistencies the botlane have shown in the 2v2 laning phase. For the last match against G2, things went well but I believe KC can thank Labros “Labrov” Papoutsakis that completely missed out on his series. And still Hans Sama managed to make a montage 1v1 play on Caliste for the last game… But the week before, they were the biggest reason why the first series never felt close for G2. Caliste even apologized after that BO5, stating it has been “the worst performance of his career” on X. Same against Fnatic where they got punished a lot. The problem is that they’ll need to adapt very quick or they might become a burden in the early game for their team. At First Stand, they’ll face the best 2v2 botlanes in the world. You can argue all the best players are not represented at every role, but I don’t think there’s much of a debate in botlane. What’s more, lane swaps should have disappeared by the start of the competition so they won’t get a way out of the 2v2…

Final Thoughts

The beauty of this team’s run at First Stand lies in the fresh air they bring. It makes it close to impossible to predict with certainty how they will look. Unlike G2, Fnatic, or even TL none of these players have ever attend an international event together. What’s more – if it is not for Caliste and Vladi – Kim “Canna” Chang-dong hasn’t taken part in an cross regions match since 2023, and even more so for Raphaël “Targamas” Crabbé, who has been striving to comeback to the highest level since 2022. Only Martin “Yike” Sundelin is now familiar with those, having participated in every international event since 2023. What we can do, however, is have at least the minimum expectations out of a Western champion.

The only way I could see this event as a failure for them is if they don’t make it to the BO5 stage which takes a lot of pressure off their shoulders, right from the start.. And while I’d be surprised to see them take a BO from one of the two asian powerhouses, I think they could do it. I’d be less surprised if a young, reckless team like theirs managed to pull off the feat than if the feat came from an experienced team like TL who have already smashed their teeth on numerous occasions in the international stage. Karmine Corp have already proved that they are not affected by the stakes or the nametags in front of them when they enter the Rift. That’s why I’m convinced that with this unexpected KC team, anything can happen.