MSI 2026 Match Preview – Karmine Corp Versus Relove Deep Cross Gaming: A Dose of Reality From the Blue Wall

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By:Devin Morris
The MSI 2026 Logo

Karmine Corp and Relove Deep Cross Gaming played in their first MSI series. KC came in as the favorites, but they could not underestimate DCG. Game one was close for a while. After that point, KC took over the series, and the second game was a slaughter. The LCP’s second seed got a dose of reality in the series, finding out that their style does not work on the international stage.

MSI 2026: Game One Review

KC beat DCG in their first MSI series
Image of KC beating DCG at MSI, courtesy of LoL Esports

Draft

Karmine Corp – First Pick

  • Rumble
  • Naafiri
  • Orianna
  • Caitlyn
  • Bard

Relove Deep Cross Gaming – Blue Side

  • Ambessa
  • Lee Sin
  • Galio
  • Ezreal
  • Camille

Early Proactivity From DCG

ShiauC helps Pop9 pick up the First Blood kill on Yike. They also burn multiple Summoner spells in the early game. Yike gets back into the game with a kill on Flauren. DCG butchers the play on Canna, and Kyeahoo arrives to secure both kills.

Fighting For Everything

DCG keeps fighting no matter what is happening. They challenge KC at every turn, and KC plays into it. The gold stays close, and DCG denies the Drake stacking. DCG takes the Baron, but decides to fight instead of leaving. Only Feng survives with the Baron buff.

DCG Fall Apart

The dominoes start falling as everyone from DCG dies again. All of a sudden, DCG has a 7k gold lead and is on Cloud Soul point. KC plays around Baron, and DCG fights to the death.

Player Ratings

Karmine Corp

  • Canna – 8
  • Yike – 7
  • Kyeahoo – 8
  • Caliste – 6
  • Busio – 5

Relove Deep Cross Gaming

  • Flauren – 3
  • Pop9 – 6
  • Hongsuo – 5
  • Feng – 4
  • ShiauC – 5

Player of the Game – Kyeahoo

MSI 2026: Game Two Review

Draft

Karmine Corp – Red Side

  • Gnar
  • Vi
  • Cassiopeia
  • Aatrox
  • Rell

Relove Deep Cross Gaming – First Pick

  • Jax
  • Jarvan IV
  • LeBlanc
  • Senna
  • Nautilus

Early Bot Lane Dominance

Caliste and Busio have the better laning phase, forcing ShiauC’s Flash early. He dies in the follow-up play, giving Caliste the First Blood. Yike snowballs the early game with ganks onto Flauren and HongSuo. Busio also steals the Drake away, after Pop9 fails the Smite and dies. KC has an 8k gold lead at 14 minutes, as they keep getting kills and objectives.

KC Loses the Perfect Game

KC keeps pushing their advantage, and their first member falls at the seventeen-minute mark. Caliste dies giving shutdown gold to HongSuo. The kill denies KC’s perfect game. Flauren goes for a Hail Mary teleport behind KC, but the plan fails, and three players die. KC secures Baron right after it spawns.

DCG Catch Yike, But It Does Not Matter

Yike dies in DCG’s jungle, and they think they have the advantage. However, they do not have the damage to kill Kyeahoo. Caliste, Busio, and Canna arrive to clean up. With Mountain Soul, KC pushes for the end. KC ends with a 21k gold lead.

Player Ratings

Karmine Corp

  • Canna – 8
  • Yike – 9
  • Kyeahoo – 8
  • Caliste – 8
  • Busio – 9

Relove Deep Cross gaming

  • Flauren – 2
  • Pop9 – 2
  • HongSuo – 2
  • Feng – 2
  • ShiauC – 2

MSI 2026: Game Three Review

Draft

Karmine Corp – Red Side

  • Renekton
  • Wukong
  • Taliyah
  • Yunara
  • Lulu

Deep Cross Gaming – First Pick

  • Sion
  • Qiyana
  • Ryze
  • Jhin
  • Pyke

Armageddon in the Bot Lane

Both teams lose their AD carries at level 1. Both supports pick up the kills, with First Blood kill going to ShiauC. Canna solo kills Flauren to continue his lane dominance. An invade from KC fails as they try to follow it up with a dive on Feng. The DCG AD Carry lives, while Yike and Caliste die.

Mistakes from DCG Give Over the Lead

Pop9 dies in two unnecessary situations, looking for Raptors and Rift Herald, respectively. Pop9 and ShiauC do not connect during the mid-game to progress their lead. KC breaks open the game after a dive from DCG. Yike secures two towers with the Herald, and the kills continue to go in KC’s favor. KC forces every Flash from DCG and denies the Soul point.

KC Win a Fight Mid Lane to Earn Baron

The gold lead is too much for DCG to fight back against. Only Pop9 lives, and KC heads over to the Baron. Canna dies during the push, and KC plays methodically to break all the outer Towers. After winning another mid-fight, KC looks for the end, but DCG respawns to deny them the end. DCG takes the Baron away, but it does not matter.

Player Ratings

Karmine Corp

  • Canna – 8
  • Yike – 9
  • Kyeahoo – 8
  • Caliste – 7
  • Busio – 7

Relove Deep Cross Gaming

  • Flauren – 4
  • Pop9- 3
  • HongSuo – 4
  • Feng – 3
  • ShiauC – 5

MSI 2026: Player Ratings

Kyeahoo with the Blue Wall at MSI
Image of Kyeahoo and the Blue Wall, courtesy of LoL Esports

Karmine Corp

Canna – 8.0

Canna had the better of Flauren in the laning phase throughout the series. He nullified DCG’s best player and had a dominant performance throughout.

Yike – 8.3 (Total Apex Player of the Series)

Yike had a shaky start to the series, but picked it up as he went along. He always had a lead over his opponent and was the crucial factor behind KC’s dominant win.

Kyeahoo – 8.0

Much like Canna, Kyeahoo was solid throughout, not really putting a foot wrong. His Cassiopeia, especially impressed as he set up multiple plays and countered DCG’s aggression.

Caliste – 7.0

Caliste had numerous unnecessary deaths in the series. DCG identified that he usually pushes too far up the mid lane without his team to help him

Busio – 7.0

Busio had an uncharacteristically disappointing Bard performance in game one. He stepped it up on the Rell, being a large part in his team’s dominant victory.

Relove Deep Cross Gaming

Flauren – 3.0

After all the hype heading into the tournament, Flauren failed to deliver. Granted, he was often weaksided against a top-form Canna. His only egregious death was on Sion in game three.

Pop9 – 3.7

Pop9 had some of the best and some of the worst moments in the series. His aggression gave DCG a route into game one. However, he was also a cost. There were numerous times that he would be dead after a replay ended.

HongSuo – 3.7

HongSuo had a decent performance on the Galio, always being where he was needed for the Hero’s Entrance. The LeBlanc game, on the other hand, was one he would want to forget.

Feng – 3.0

Fend never found his footing in the series. While he was not always the problem, he rarely impacted any of the plays.

ShiauC – 4.0

The shining light of the team for the series today. The only player with experience delivered decent performances in games one and three. His Nautilus game was rough, dying often on bad timers.

More LoL Esports Content

Below is all the previous MSI content on the Total Apex. You can expect more MSI articles in the following weeks.

Devin Morris is a Gaming Writer and Esports Editor for Total Apex Media. Devin is a gaming fanatic from little old South Africa. Devin has had a passion for gaming and writing from a young age. Devin's early favorites were Age of Empires, FIFA and Need for Speed games. As Devin grew older he moved into more competitive gaming, focusing on Overwatch, League of Legends and Teamfight Tactics. Devin also sinks way too many hours into Destiny 2!

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