Natus Vincere Natus Vincere Europe Unranked ANGE1 Kyrylo Karasov Shao Andrey Kiprsky Ruxic Uğur Güç hiro Emirhan Kat koalanoob Gianfranco Potestio survived the first round of the lower bracket of the EMEA LCQ, besting Karmine Corp Karmine Corp Europe Unranked saadhak Matias Delipetro Avez Hazem Khaled Elite Efe Teber SUYGETSU Dmitry Ilyushin marteen Martin Pátek 2-1. KCorp are eliminated from the tournament, while NAVI move on to the lower bracket final.

KCorp's run has been brought to an end, even if ScreaM fought bravely to avoid it. The Headshot Machine looked flawless in the closing rounds of Pearl, where he found 11 of his total 17 kills, leading every stat in the half but rating. ScreaM also totalled five first bloods and over 400 ACS on attack.

His efforts were not enough to punch through NAVI's defenses, though, who benefitted from a third extremely strong map from Shao . His 1.99 rating in the second half was enough to topple KCorp, tied with two clutches on attack that helped his team reach an 8-4 halftime lead.

VCT EMEA Stage Photo by Hara Amorós/Riot Games/LVP

KCorp tried to exploit NAVI's weaknesses by picking Lotus, a map the latter lost against KOI KOI Europe Unranked grubinho Grzegorz Ryczko sheydos Bogdan Naumov Filu Dawid Czarnecki flyuh Xavier Carlson soulcas Dom Sulcas 13-3 and the former won against BBL Esports BBL Esports Europe Unranked Jamppi Elias Olkkonen sociablEE Volkan Yonal PROFEK Dawid Święć vakk Vakaris Bebravičius stand-in LewN Burak Alkan 13-9. But NAVI did not go down twice; they dealt KCorp a swift 13-6, but slipped drastically on Ascent — a map they were heavily favored to win — and were handed the same result back in what was the Frenchmen's first win on the map this year.

Pearl was the first map of the match without any comp changes but it was as lopsided as the previous ones. After a 3-3 start, NAVI ran away with the map and found a 10-4 lead. KCorp attempted to chip away at that six-round deficit, but ultimately lost the map and match with a 13-7 result.

Shao was the key player for NAVI — as has been customary in the team's recent performances — against KCorp. His 1.42 rating, 51 kills, 22 assists, and +20 kill differential made for some of the highest numbers Shao has put up in NAVI's latest five matches, of which he led four in rating.

NAVI also kept their recent trend of leading fights with ANGE1 . The IGL and controller had the most first kills and deaths of his team, at 13 a piece. He was still overshadowed by ScreaM, whose Raze and Phoenix won 17 opening duels and lost another 13.

What matters is the win, Sliggy.

It's the end of a very off-putting season for Karmine Corp. The roster entered the VCT EMEA with the French flag held high, but its hopes dwindled quickly. Their opening win against BBL turned out to be a flash in the pan, and the team won just two maps throughout the regular season — both in a 2-1 over KOI.

KCorp managed to beat BBL once more in the knockout round of this qualifier, but that win too was a mere mirage as back-to-back losses to Giants Gaming Giants Gaming Inactive Redgar Igor Vlasov Fit1nho Adolfo Gallego nukkye Žygimantas Chmieliauskas hoody Aaro Peltokangas Cloud Kirill Nehozhin and NAVI spelled their elimination from the EMEA LCQ and put an end to their season.

For NAVI, though, their season continues for at least another 24 hours. The team returns to the server tomorrow, when they will play the lower bracket final against KOI at 5 p.m. CEST. KOI have not dropped a map against NAVI this year, and boast a 4-0 record coming into this qualifying match.