Over the past few years, French esports organization Karmine Corp has blossomed into the spotlight after its League of Legends division became one of the most popular in Europe. The team was even rumored to be joining the LEC in 2023, but the cards did not manage to fall on their side of the board.
The team’s CEO Kamel “Kameto” Kebir recently revealed that the team failed to find a spot in the LEC for next year, which prompted former Cloud9 head coach Nick “LS” De Cesare to talk about how big of a missed opportunity this was for Riot Games while on stream.
The 29-year-old discussed the situation with fellow content creator Forestwithin and said that he felt “like this is Riot shooting themselves” when it came to finding a place for one of EU’s fastest-rising organizations. Forest also agreed and explained that it was bad for branding and influence that Karmine Corp isn’t joining the league.
During the 2022 LFL Summer Split, for example, Karmine Corp took part in every match in the top five for viewership, according to Esports Charts. In the fourth week of the summer, the team reached hit its highest peak viewership of the season with over 213,000 people. This number was eclipsed a season prior when the Blue Wall faced off against LDLC OL in the grand finals of the 2022 Spring European Masters with a peak viewership of just over 296,000.
Related: Reports suggest LEC will change format for 2023 season
With reported format changes headed to the LEC next year, 2023 is slated to be a massive year for League esports in the region. A huge name like Karmine Corp could have helped boost viewership numbers to even greater heights, but instead, fans will need to settle in and welcome the two new organizations to the league with Team Heretics taking over Misfits Gaming’s slot and KOI partnering with Rogue.
