Team Liquid Alienware kept their MSI 2026 run alive with a clean 3-0 sweep of Karmine Corp in the Play-In Stage Lower Bracket Round two. The result knocks the LEC side out of the tournament and sends TL deeper into the lower bracket, where T1 are waiting.
Team Liquid controlled drafts, jungle tempo, and teamfights from the opening minutes of Game one, and Karmine Corp never found a real answer across three straight losses.
Josedeodo was the standout. The Argentine jungler bullied his side of the map all series, and KC’s decision to leave Lee Sin open became one of the most criticized draft calls of the tournament. Morgan getting Renekton on top added another comfort pick that TL turned into early pressure.
CoreJJ also rolled back the clock. The 2017 world champion looked like his peak self on engage, dictating fights alongside Josedeodo and giving Yeon every window he needed, even on an off-meta Mel pick that still got the job done. Quad even sneaked in a Yasuo game, just to twist the knife.
KC ran out of ideas
Karmine Corp’s problems started in champ select and ended in their base. Caliste, hyped going into the event as one of the West’s best ADCs, struggled to influence the series on a nerfed Varus. Yike was outpaced in the jungle, with a desperation Qiyana doing nothing to slow Josedeodo down. Canna had a rough time up top, including a Vayne-into-Gnar game that ended with him losing a 1v1 he had no business losing.
Game three sealed it. Team Liquid drafted Olaf, Ahri, and Nautilus, a kit built to dive straight at KC’s backline, and that’s exactly what they did. KC’s lack of consistent Grievous Wounds across their composition only made the snowball faster.
Karmine Corp head home from MSI 2026 with plenty of questions about their drafting and international prep. Team Liquid move on to face T1 next.
