The European League of Legends scene has just entered a brief hiatus, following an eventful few days. This past weekend, we witnessed the culmination of the first split of the 2025 LEC season, which saw Karmine Corp pull off a stunning upset. The historic weekend kicked off on Friday with Movistar KOI’s defeat at the hands of Fnatic, a tough blow for the Spanish team led by Ibai Llanos, but a significant boost for Oscarinin and Razork as they advanced to the next stage. In their subsequent match, Fnatic faced off against Karmine Corp, with the French team initially taking the lead, only to be overtaken by the English squad, and ultimately falling in the deciding fifth game.
This outcome marked Karmine Corp’s first-ever appearance in the LEC final, where they would face off against G2 Esports, the leading team in European history and strong favorites to claim the trophy. G2 Esports had dominated the region and arrived at the final with momentum, having bested Karmine Corp in the winner bracket final. However, pre-match predictions proved meaningless as Karmine Corp delivered three nearly flawless maps, thoroughly outperforming G2 Esports in both macro and team fights. As a result, Karmine Corp pulled off a remarkable 3-0 victory, securing the LEC trophy and a spot in the First Stand, the first international tournament of the year, set to take place in just under a week.
The first split of the year came to a close with Movistar KOI, the team with the largest following in Spain, garnering significant attention. Despite a promising start to the year, marked by the arrival of star player Jojopyun and a respectable regular season performance, the team’s playoff run was marred by two disappointing losses. The first setback came at the hands of Karmine Corp, who dealt them a crushing 2-0 defeat, sending Movistar KOI to the loser bracket. The second blow came against Fnatic, as Melzhet’s squad underperformed, ultimately ending their dream of at least replicating last year’s Winter Split run to the final. These early months of 2025 have been tough for Movistar KOI, with the team’s fans and members alike experiencing the bitter taste of disappointment, which has led to criticism on social media regarding individual performances, team strategies, and training methods.
Now that the split has concluded, and some teams have made their training regimens public, we’re taking a closer look at how Movistar KOI fared against two of the top teams, Fnatic and G2 Esports.
Training Sessions: Movistar KOI vs G2 Esports
Their head-to-head matchups included:
- Movistar KOI 3 – 2 G2 Esports (December 11)
- Movistar KOI 0 – 5 G2 Esports (December 19)
- Movistar KOI 1 – 4 G2 Esports (January 8)
- Movistar KOI 0 – 5 G2 Esports (January 13)
- Movistar KOI 1 – 1 G2 Esports (January 16)
- Movistar KOI 1 – 4 G2 Esports (January 17)
- Movistar KOI 3 – 2 G2 Esports (January 22)
- Movistar KOI 0 – 5 G2 Esports (February 11)
- Movistar KOI 2 – 3 G2 Esports (February 26)
Training Sessions: Movistar KOI vs Fnatic
Their head-to-head matchups included:
- Movistar KOI 2 – 3 Fnatic (December 13)
- Movistar KOI 1 – 2 Fnatic (December 14)
- Movistar KOI 0 – 2 Fnatic (December 15)
- Movistar KOI 1 – 1 Fnatic (January 7)
- Movistar KOI 2 – 3 Fnatic (January 10)
- Movistar KOI 2 – 4 Fnatic (January 23)
- Movistar KOI 2 – 4 Fnatic (February 8)
- Movistar KOI 0 – 2 Fnatic (February 9)
