Winless Shifters gives Karmine Corp their second game loss of the LEC Summer

Naerlyn Published August 24, 2026

In the LEC 2026 Summer Split, Karmine Corp is the undisputed first place and Shifters is dead last. In week 5 of the tournament, SHFT faced KC and went up 1-0 to kick off the series. While Shifters eventually lost, this was Karmine’s second map defeat all split long.

Shifters win a game against Karmine Corp in the LEC Summer Split

As SHFT went up against KC, the first map did not start well at all for them. Up 5.5k gold and three drakes at 21 minutes, the game was going as everyone expected as it was smooth sailing to a clean victory for Karmine Corp.

Or so we thought. Ilias “nuc” Bizriken pulled off a crazy solo kill against Kang “kyeahoo” Ye-hoo as he dodged his Cassiopeia ult and all four of his Qs. While this didn’t shift the flow of the game at the time, KC then lost three fights, a Baron, and three dragons.

After that, Shifters stole the second Baron with a support Nautilus’ Q, and won the game off the back of it. Considering that this ability deals 175 damage and can only hit monsters through its area of effect, this is an extremely rare occurrence.

KC has one final match left to play to complete their undefeated split. Image credit: Alexandre Weber / Riot Games

Europe’s struggle with confidence

After their first victory, Shifters came close to repeating their feat and handing KC their first match loss as their own first win of the split. After a long back-and-forth though, SHFT’s would-be winning push did not conclude, and Karmine Corp started holding onto a lead. KC took game 2 in too close of a fight for their standings, then concluded the series with a stomp.

This series was mostly irrelevant for the standings. Shifters already had a tiny, unrealistic chance of reaching the playoffs, and KC had almost fully locked the first place.

However, the 0-6 last place team came dangerously close to giving their 7-0 opponent their first loss of the split. This unexpected result was something few of the best esports betting sites could have predicted.

Until then, the last time Karmine Corp lost a single game was in week 1, against G2 Esports. All other series were 2-0s as KC looked unbeatable.

The problem is that LEC teams regularly underestimate or underprepare for opponents that should be weaker than them. This is how G2 lost to LYON at the Mid-Season Invitational, or how they regularly fall to wildcards. It’s also why Europe’s record against NA has been poor in recent years.

This split, G2 and KC were both finally showing consistency against good and weaker teams alike. KC’s game loss now and G2’s defeat against Fnatic prove that the story remained the same in the end.

If you are planning to follow the LEC throughout the playoffs stage, make sure to compare operators through our esports betting reviews guide.

Featured image credit: Alexandre Weber / Riot Games

Related to: SHFT vs KC

Shifters

Karmine Corp LEC Summer 2026 Regular Season