On July 19 at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles, DPlus KIA capped off the Esports World Cup 2026 in style, sweeping Karmine Corp 3-0 in the League of Legends grand final and ending a six-year wait for a major international title for the Korean organization.
A one-sided grand final
In front of a Paris crowd firmly behind Karmine Corp, DPlus KIA gave the last Western team standing no room to breathe. In game one, powered by a dominant Kai'Sa from Smash, the Korean side methodically took over the map, winning a decisive mid-game fight before closing out the win around the Baron pit. Game two was tighter, with gold staying close through most of the match until DPlus KIA punished late mistakes from Karmine Corp to win a crucial Baron fight. Game three was one-sided from the start, with DPlus KIA landing four kills in six minutes to complete a clean sweep.
Smash crowned MVP, Karmine Corp praised for its run
Sin "Smash" Geum-jae was named tournament MVP after posting an 8.1 KDA, 69.8% kill participation, and 28.4% of his team's total damage across the event. DPlus KIA pockets $600,000 and 1,000 Club Championship points after eliminating Bilibili Gaming and then defending champions Gen.G in the semifinal. Karmine Corp, who stunned AG.AL and T1 en route to the final, leaves without the trophy but with a historic run in front of their home crowd.
Six years after their last international title, DPlus KIA return to the top of Korean League of Legends, while a home-crowd Karmine Corp hint at a bright future on the international stage.