The LFL Swiss Stage keeps delivering surprises. After unexpected wins on Round 1 — with Karmine Corp Blue taking down Vitality.Bee and Gentle Mates beating Solary — it was now Ici Japon Corp. Esport and Galions who fell under the firepower of M8 and KCB. Both teams punched their ticket to the LFL Playoffs, a qualification that comes with a double reward: a guaranteed spot at the EMEA Masters Spring Split. From scraping through the regular season and locking in their seeding via tiebreaker, to becoming the first teams to qualify for EMEA — it’s been quite the turnaround.

Two close best-of-threes

The first best-of-three of the evening saw M8 face off against IJC, and it started off well for Ici Japon, who took Game 1 in part thanks to a strong Jinx performance from Lee "Hans SamD" Jae-hoon. Game 2 also began in their favor, with Hans SamD once again shining brightly, finishing with a 12/2/2 scoreline. However, a perfectly executed midlane fight by Jérémy "Eika" Valdenaire on Azir completely turned the game around, allowing M8 to even up the series. The final game followed a similar script—despite a rough early game for M8, who were behind in gold at the 15-minute mark, they once again found the right fights to clutch it out and secure a spot at the EMEA Masters for the second time in the club's history.

The first game between KCB and Galions was a complete stomp from Galions, led by a strong showing from their mid-jungle duo who closed out the match in under 30 minutes. Game 2 began on a quieter note, with both teams trading evenly until the 17-minute mark, when a teamfight completely swung in Karmine’s favor. Seo "SlowQ" Ye-bit dismantled the Galions’ backline, while Volodymyr "Maynter" Sorokin and Thomas "3XA" Foucou outplayed the opposing botlane with a perfectly executed and well-synced play. The final game gradually tilted toward KCB’s side, with 3XA once again stepping up—he participated in 17 of his team’s 18 kills on Varus and topped the damage charts. With this win, Karmine Corp secures its eighth EMEA Masters qualification, tying AGO Rogue as the most represented organization in the competition’s history.

The final qualifying round

On May 8 at 6 PM CET, the final round of the LFL Swiss Stage will kick off, starting with BK ROG Esports vs. Joblife, followed by Solary looking to take down Vitality.Bee for the last two available Playoff spots. The remaining six teams will battle it out in a do-or-die single elimination bracket, played in best-of-threes, with only two of them advancing to the Playoffs.