LEC Summer: GX snatch the last upper bracket spot and qualify MKOI while FNC miss the playoffs for the first time in their history | RFT.GG
byEthan Cohen•
NewsLEC
LEC Summer: GX snatch the last upper bracket spot and qualify MKOI while FNC miss the playoffs for the first time in their history
Photo Credit: Riot Games
The LEC Summer Split regular season ended on Sunday with a match that carried more weight than any other this year. GIANTX beat Fnatic 2-1 in a nail-biter to lock in fourth place and a spot in the upper bracket, while Fnatic's defeat handed sixth place to MKOI — meaning the most storied organization in European League of Legends will not play the Summer playoffs for the first time ever. Minutes later, Karmine Corp, authors of a perfect split, chose GIANTX as their opponent for the opening round in Madrid next week.
Loading comments...
One match, three teams' fate
For GIANTX, a win meant Top 4, the upper bracket and a chance to start their playoffs at the Madrid Arena alongside Karmine Corp, G2 Esports and Team Vitality — just one series victory away from a Worlds ticket. Had they lost, Natus Vincere would have taken their place.
Loading tweet...
The stakes were even higher for the two teams fighting over the last playoffs spot. Movistar KOI had just dismantled Team Heretics 2-0 in a dominant display, leaving Fnatic with a simple equation: win and finish sixth, lose and go home. They lost.
Fnatic's annus horribilis
Fnatic's 2026 has gone from bad to worse. Eliminated in the first round of the LEC Versus playoffs, they then missed the Spring playoffs altogether — and now close their year with the same outcome in Summer. The organization had not missed Worlds in nine years, and this time they will not even get to fight for it. They join SK Gaming, Shifters and Team Heretics in the bottom four, eliminated before September has even begun.
Loading tweet...
Fnatic will not be seen in competitive play again until next year, and the roster that returns could look nothing like this one. Only Lospa is under contract through 2027 — and the entire organization is currently up for sale.
Karmine Corp pick GIANTX, G2 and Vitality collide
Undisputed first seed after a 9-0 BO3 (best-of-three) record in Summer, Karmine Corp had the right to choose their upper bracket opponent between G2 Esports and GIANTX. And to the surprise of nobody, they picked GX. The BO5 is scheduled for September 5 at 5 PM CEST, and Karmine Corp are heavy favorites on paper — even though GX's new toplaner had a big hand in the trauma of their failed Worlds qualification last year.
Photo Credit: Riot Games
The far more open series comes earlier that day, at noon: G2 Esports versus Team Vitality. G2 hold the pedigree, with a playoffs and BO5 track record that speaks for itself, and Vitality's last postseason showing was a dismal 0-6 in Spring after topping the regular season. But the picture is muddier than it looks. G2 lost their last two matches of the split, and the uncertainty surrounding their head coach change, in a new meta and in a BO5 format, could prove decisive in their preparation. Vitality, meanwhile, have not lost an LEC match since the first week of Summer and appear to have found a healthier mindset and atmosphere since An "FIESTA" Hyeon-seo's arrival in the midlane.
Image Credit: RFT.GG
The road to Nice
The winners of both Madrid series meet on September 6, still at the Madrid Arena, in the upper bracket final. The victor books a direct ticket to the Grand Final in Nice on September 20.
The losers drop into the lower bracket, where Natus Vincere and Movistar KOI are waiting. The higher seed among the two Madrid losers will face Movistar KOI, the lower seed will face Natus Vincere, in elimination series played on September 11 and 12. The lower bracket then runs through Nice on September 18 and 19 to produce the second finalist.
Image Credit: RFT.GG
As a reminder, the LEC's top three all reach Worlds: the top two go straight to the Main Stage, while the third-placed team goes through the Play-In. Even falling short is no longer the end of the road for everyone — the fourth- and fifth-placed teams will be invited to represent the LEC at the Demacia Cup in October, meaning only the sixth-placed team will see its season end in the playoffs. That distinction between 5th and 6th is settled by the rulebook: the two teams eliminated in Lower Round 1 are separated by their head-to-head record, with the team holding the advantage finishing fifth.
