Four teams opened the lower bracket. One walked out. Karmine Corp survived the weekend that buried the regular-season favourite — and they are now one series from a grand final. The two leaders started this stage in the same hole. Team Vitality went 8-1, Karmine Corp went 7-2 — and both lost their opening playoff series. This weekend, the lower bracket sorted out who could climb back.

KC get past NAVI

KC 3-1 NAVI. A comfortable series with one warning sign. KC controlled most of the maps without much trouble — the Olaf game four was outright dominant — but game three slipped away entirely, the kind of map that suggests KC haven't buried all their demons yet. Yike was the MVP, and the clearest story of the series was him smothering Rhilech from the jungle until NAVI had nowhere to build from. For a young, rookie-heavy NAVI, that's the lesson: the individual pieces are there, the in-game collective isn't yet.

GX upset Vitality

GIANTX 3-0 Team Vitality. Vitality walked in as favourites despite the MKOI disappointment — Carzzy had said as much.

I came into today thinking we'd just win 3-0, because I thought we were a way better team than GX. Got proven wrong.
vita leaving stage
Photo Credit: Alex Webber/Riot Games

They were the ones swept, a second clean sweep in a week. The vivacity and connection that defined their 8-1 regular season simply weren't there — the momentum gone, the team never clicking. GIANTX, the No. 6 seed, did the opposite: ISMA and Jackies dominated their opposites and punished every Vitality error. The No. 1 seed left their own playoffs without winning a single game.

KC prove themselves against GX

A brutal 3-0. Game one opened on an odd note — KC tried a top dive into a level-six Olaf that didn't come off — but past that, the series was a near-perfect copy for the French side. GIANTX simply weren't strong enough, outperformed in every compartment of the game. Yike was imperial across all three maps, capped by a fantastic Lee Sin. Canna came up clutch top side, and Kyeahoo was one of the best players on the map in games two and three, first on Taliyah then on Anivia. Caliste and Busio completely outclassed the GX bot lane from the 2v2 to the cross-map plays. The team that had swept the No. 1 seed two days earlier found no answer.

Where the bracket stands now

G2 Esports are already through to the grand final on June 7, holding the first of two tickets that carry qualification to MSI 2026. Movistar KOI wait in the lower bracket final on June 6.

PLAYOFFS spring

Karmine Corp have to beat them to force a rematch with G2 — and to claim the second MSI spot. They have already shown they can stack elimination wins. Two down, one to go before the final.