Karmine Corp win VCT EMEA Kickoff: Final placement and recap

Declan Mclaughlin
Logo of the VCT EMEA league

The 2024 Valorant esports season started with kickoff tournaments in all four international leagues with the top two teams from each qualifying for the first international event of the year, Masters Madrid.

Karmine Corp has claimed the trophy for VCT EMEA’s Kickoff tournament, taking down Team Heretics 3-1. Both teams will represent the league at VCT Masters Madrid. The French organization fought through Group A and the Play-In stage to qualify for its first international event since VCT LOCK//IN.

Karmine Corp struggled in the European league in 2023, failing to make Masters, Valorant Challengers and VCT EMEA playoffs. The French organization retooled in the off-season, bringing in Marshall ‘N4RRATE’ Massey and Martin ‘MAGNUM’ Penkov as its highest-profile signings.

The team only dropped one series the entire way to Madrid, defeating Masters Tokyo-winners Fnatic en route to the event.

KCorp will represent EMEA as its No. 1 seed, with Team Heretics going to the tournament as the No. 2 seed.

The 2023 VCT EMEA trophy.

Below is what happened at the VCT EMEA kickoff tournament including match results and team rosters during the event.

Contents

VCT EMEA Kickogg: Final Standings

PLACEMENTTEAMQUALIFIES TO
1Karmine CorpMasters Madrid
2Team HereticsMasters Madrid
3-4NAVI
Fnatic
5Team Vitality
6KOI
7-9FUT Esports
Team Liquid
Gentle Mates
10-11GIANTX
BBL Esports

VCT EMEA Kickoff: Stream and VODS

The VCT EMEA Kickoff tournament was streamed on the league’s Twitch and YouTube. We’ve embedded the VOD of the Grand Finals below.

VCT EMEA Kickoff: Schedule

VCT EMEA Kickoff took place on February 20 and ended on March 1 with the Grand Final matchup. The schedule was as follows:

  • Group Stage: February 20 – 25
  • Play-In Stage: February 26
  • Playoffs Stage: February 29 – March 1

VCT EMEA Kickoff: Results

Playoffs: February 29 – March 1

Day 8: February 29

StageMatchPTETGMT
SemifinalsTeam Heretics 2-0 NAVI8 AM11 AM4 PM
SemifinalsFnatic 0-2 Karmine Corp11 AM2 PM7 PM

Day 8: March 1

StageMatchPTETGMT
Grand FinalsKarmine Corp 3-1 Team Heretics8 AM11 AM4 PM

Play-In: February 26

Day 7: February 26

StageMatchPTETGMT
Play-insKarmine Corp 2-0 Team Vitality5 AM8 AM1 PM
Play-insKOI 0-2 Team Vitality8 AM11 AM4 PM
Play-insKarmine Corp 2-0 KOI11 PM2 PM7 PM

Group Stage: February 20-25

Group A

PlacementTeamRecord
1Team Heretics2-0
2Karmine Corp2-1
3FUT Esports1-2
4GIANTX0-2

Group B

PlacementTeamRecord
1NAVI2-0
2Team Liquid1-1
3KOI1-1
4BBL0-2

Group C

PlacementTeamRecord
1Fnatic1-0
2Team Vitality2-1
3Gentle Mates0-2

Day 1: February 20

StageMatchPTETGMT
Group A Round 1FUT 0-2 Heretics8 AM11 AM4 PM
Group A Round 1GIANTX 1-2 Karmine Corp11 PM2 PM7 PM

Day 2: February 21

StageMatchPTETGMT
Group B Round 1NAVI 2-1 BBL5 AM8 AM1 PM
Group B Round 1Team Liquid 2-0 KOI8 AM11 AM4 PM
Group C Round 1Vitality 2-0 Gentle Mates11 PM2 PM7 PM

Day 3: February 22

StageMatchPTETGMT
Group A Round 2Team Heretics 2-0 Karmine Corp8 AM11 AM4 PM
Group A Round 2FUT Esports 2-1 GIANTX11 PM2 PM7 PM

Day 4: February 23

StageMatchPTETGMT
Group B Round 2NAVI 2-0 Team Liquid 5 AM8 AM1 PM
Group B Round 2BBL Esports 0-2 KOI8 AM11 AM4 PM
Group C Round 2Fnatic 2-0 Team Vitality11 PM2 PM7 PM

Day 5: February 25

StageMatchPTETGMT
Group Round TBDTeam Vitality 2-1 Gentle Mates5 AM8 AM1 PM
Group Round TBDKarmine Corp 2-1 FUT8 AM11 AM4 PM
Group Round TBDTeam Liquid 1-2 KOI11 PM2 PM7 PM

VCT EMEA Kickoff: Format

All 11 teams were seeded and split into three groups, as one group only featured three teams. The highest-placing team from Valorant Champions 2023, in VCT EMEA’s case Fnatic, will be placed in the group of three with a bye to the second round.

The remaining teams were seeded based on their 2023 performance and drawn into the remaining slots. The group stage featured a double-elimination bracket with best-of-three matches. The top two teams from each group moved on to the next stage.

The second-place teams from each group faced off in a Play-In Stage and played each other once with the team with the best record moving on to the Playoff Stage with the top teams from each group.

The Playoff Stage then crowned two representatives for the league at Masters Madrid through a single elimination bracket.

VCT EMEA Kickoff: Teams

Team rosters are not final as the transfer window is still open, and some teams have yet to announce their full rosters. However, most of these teams have been practicing for months during the off-season and should be locked in for at least this tournament.

This event will also be the first to feature Gentle Mates, who were promoted into the league via the Ascension tournament.

Team Players
BBL Esports QutionerX, Brave, Elite, pAura, reazy
Fnatic Boaster, Derke, Alfajer, Leo, Chronicle
FUT Esports qRaxs, MrFaliN, ATA KAPTAN, yetujey, cNed
GIANTX Fit1nho, Cloud, hoody, nukkye, Redgar
Karmine Corp Shin, Magnum, marteen, N4RRATE, tomaszy
KOI koldamenta, Sheydos, trexx, starxo, TBD
Team Heretics Boo, benjyfishy, MiniBoo, RieNs, paTiTek
Team Liquid Jamppi, nAts, Enzo, Keiko, Mistic
Team Vitality ceNder, runneR, Kicks, Sayf, TBD
NAVI ANGE1, SUYGETSU, Shao, Zyppan, ardiis
Gentle Mates TaKaS, nataNk, logaN, beyAz, Wailers
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