C9 vs KC Highlights: KC Win 3-2, Worlds Play-In 2026 Round 1
TL;DR
Karmine Corp won the best-of-five Worlds Play-In series 3-2 against Cloud9 on Patch 26.20. Cloud9 took Game 1 in 35 minutes, finishing 20-1 in kills, Karmine Corp took Game 2 in 35 minutes, finishing 14-16 in kills, Cloud9 took Game 3 in 37 minutes, finishing 22-5 in kills, then Karmine Corp won Games 4 and 5, none lasting longer than 38 minutes.
Watch on YouTubeThe video above covers the full best-of-five Worlds Play-In series between Cloud9 and Karmine Corp. The final score, full Picks and Bans, and game-by-game results are below.
Cloud9's lineup featured Thanatos (Park Seung-kyu) (top lane), Blaber (jungle), Loki (Lee Sang-min) (mid lane), Tactical (bot lane), and Vulcan (Philippe Laflamme) (support). Karmine Corp's lineup featured Canna (top lane), Yike (jungle), kyeahoo (mid lane), Caliste (bot lane), and Busio (support).
Cloud9 and Karmine Corp had no recorded recent head-to-head meeting before this series.
Series result
C9Cloud9
2 - 3
Karmine Corp win
KCKarmine Corp
Picks & Bans
5 games
Karmine Corp
Cloud9
Draft read
Cloud9 banned Seraphine 5 times and Caitlyn 4 times, while Karmine Corp banned K'Sante 4 times and Nocturne 3 times.
Game 135:02
Cloud9 won
Tactical and Loki (Lee Sang-min) combined for zero deaths in Game 1. Cloud9 won from red side in 35:02. Cloud9 finished 20-1 in kills and 76.0k to 57.4k in gold, a margin of 19 kills and 18.6k. Cloud9 led 11-3 in towers, 2-0 in Barons, and 2-0 in inhibitors. Karmine Corp had the edge 3-0 in Void Grubs and 1-0 in Rift Heralds. Dragons finished 4-1 for Cloud9.
Tactical led the damage chart for Cloud9 on Ezreal, finishing 3/0/9 with 33,603 damage and 394 CS. Loki (Lee Sang-min) added 21,411 damage on Locke and ended the game 11/0/3. kyeahoo was the top damage source for Karmine Corp, putting up 20,123 on Syndra in a 1/3/0 game. Canna followed for Karmine Corp with 15,933 damage and a 0/4/0 line on Rumble.
Kills
1:20
Gold
57.4k:76.0k
Towers
3:11
Dragons
1:4
Barons
0:2
Game 235:10
Karmine Corp won
Game 2 was decided by inches, with Karmine Corp ahead. Playing red side, Karmine Corp finished Game 2 in 35:10. At the end, Karmine Corp led 14-16 in kills and 69.0k to 66.4k in gold. The final gaps overall were 2 kills and 2.6k. Karmine Corp led 7-5 in towers, 1-0 in Rift Heralds, and 1-0 in inhibitors. Cloud9 had the edge 1-0 in Barons and 3-0 in Void Grubs. Dragons were even at 3-3.
On Jayce, Canna topped Karmine Corp's damage output at 23,331 and finished 5/4/4 and 289 CS. kyeahoo followed with 17,731 damage and a 2/4/5 line on Cassiopeia. Cloud9 got its highest damage total from Tactical, who dealt 20,072 on Kalista and finished 6/1/5.
Kills
16:14
Gold
66.4k:69.0k
Towers
5:7
Dragons
3:3
Barons
1:0
Game 337:49
Cloud9 won
Caliste led Game 3 with 35315 damage to champions for the losing team, Karmine Corp. The red-side win for Cloud9 lasted 37:49. The final scoreboard showed 22-5 in kills and 78.8k-64.7k in gold for Cloud9, leaving differences of 17 kills and 14.0k. Cloud9 led 10-4 in towers, 2-0 in Barons, 2-1 in Void Grubs, 1-0 in Rift Heralds, and 2-0 in inhibitors. Dragons finished 5-0 for Cloud9.
Blaber's Jarvan IV dealt a team-high 32,937 damage for Cloud9, alongside a 7/0/14 scoreline and 313 CS. A 7/1/7 game on Jhin brought Cloud9 another 32,198 damage from Tactical. For Karmine Corp, Caliste led the damage numbers with 35,315 on Lucian and a 2/2/3 line.
Kills
5:22
Gold
64.7k:78.8k
Towers
4:10
Dragons
0:5
Barons
0:2
Game 438:09
Karmine Corp won
Game 4 was the longest game of the series at 38:09. Karmine Corp won from red side. Karmine Corp finished 15-6 in kills and 81.3k to 67.4k in gold, a margin of 9 kills and 13.9k. Karmine Corp led 9-4 in towers, the only Baron, and 1-0 in inhibitors. Cloud9 had the edge 3-0 in Void Grubs and 1-0 in Rift Heralds. Dragons finished 5-1 for Karmine Corp.
Caliste led the damage chart for Karmine Corp on Xayah, finishing 11/1/3 with 47,573 damage and 436 CS. Yike added 26,730 damage on Qiyana and ended the game 1/2/6. Tactical was the top damage source for Cloud9, putting up 31,878 on Yunara in a 3/4/2 game.
Kills
6:15
Gold
67.4k:81.3k
Towers
4:9
Dragons
1:5
Barons
0:1
Game 531:21
Karmine Corp won
Game 5 was the shortest game of the series at 31:21. Playing blue side, Karmine Corp won Game 5. At the end, Karmine Corp led 17-8 in kills and 65.6k to 55.7k in gold. The final gaps overall were 9 kills and 9.9k. Karmine Corp led 8-3 in towers, 2-0 in Barons, 1-0 in Rift Heralds, and 1-0 in inhibitors. Cloud9 had the edge 3-0 in Void Grubs. Cloud9 led dragons 3-2.
On Ahri, kyeahoo topped Karmine Corp's damage output at 29,495 and finished 6/1/8 and 305 CS. Canna followed with 22,741 damage and a 3/1/7 line on Ambessa. Cloud9 got its highest damage total from Tactical, who dealt 18,214 on Ziggs and finished 3/3/2.
Kills
17:8
Gold
65.6k:55.7k
Towers
8:3
Dragons
2:3
Barons
2:0
Series read
Cloud9 lost the series yet finished ahead in kills (72-52), towers (33-31), and Barons (5-3). The kill margin moved from 19 in Game 1 to 9 in Game 5, while the final gold gap changed from 18.6k to 9.9k. Tactical produced the series' highest damage total, recording 135,965 for Cloud9. Tactical gave Cloud9 22 kills and 25 assists across the series. Their damage moved from 33,603 in Game 1 to 18,214 in Game 5. Caliste gave Karmine Corp 20 kills and 23 assists across the series. Their damage moved from 14,785 in Game 1 to 20,585 in Game 5.
