Shifters faced Karmine Corp in the Paris roadshow of the LEC Spring Split. By then, SHFT was 0-5, while KC was 4-0. Somehow, Shifters almost managed to take down the first-place team. SHFT put up the closest fight against them yet, and their playoff hopes are still alive thanks to it.
After a long, tense best-of-three between Fnatic and Natus Vincere, the series between Shifters and Karmine Corp promised to be a short one. KC isn’t only the first-place team, they’ve destroyed every opponent but one.
The first game starts, and it goes exactly as expected. At minute 18, KC’s mid and jungler both have a 3k gold individual lead. Shortly after, casters start asking if they’ll beat the record for fastest Bo3 in the LEC.
Baron at 22, Soul at 23, Nexus at 29: Shifters didn’t stand a chance. In game 2, SHFT decides to play their own game, and bring Irelia, Viego, and Lucian. While KC thwarts each of their attempts to fight, they don’t fall behind this time.
Eventually, the winless team interrupts a KC Baron, and boldly re-engages it to claim it, netting them a small lead. The two teams keep trading back and forth around the map, then Shifters takes a second Baron after the first major fight win.
This one amounts to little, as KC wins the next fight. A second fight only fails to net them the win due to the heroics of Ilias “nuc” Bizriken and Adrian “Trymbi” Trybus. Shifters somehow ends up claiming game 2 in 40 minutes with a score of 18-20.
At first, game 3 favored Shifters even more with a 2.5k gold lead at 12 minutes. One dive too deep and the momentum went back in the French’s favor.
The two teams kept trading blow for blow all game long. It was KC winning the majority of the fights, but the gold always remained within touching distance. At minute 36, Karmine Corp finally found a decisive fight to close out the map 27-17.
KC narrowly beats SHFT, Shifters’ hopes in the LEC Spring Split remain alive. Image source: Elliot Le Core / Riot Games
While they couldn’t get a win, Shifters’ close fight still mattered for their standings. If they had gone 0-2 in this series, they would have been out of contention for playoffs and MSI.
Right now, SHFT has three matches left to play, against Natus Vincere, Movistar KOI, and Team Heretics. Since the sixth-place team already has three wins, Shifters needs to win all three as well.
Shifters now stands at two map wins. This allows them to reach eight game wins by the end of the split, and to tie the sixth place. That requires everything to go their way, both in and out of their control, but it’s still possible.
Against all odds, SHFT is the only team to make KC sweat in the LEC Spring Split so far. Thanks to this, their run still lives.
Featured image source: Elliot Le Core / Riot Games
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