The first crooks at VCT EMEA Kickoff 2026 are already known — to the great regret of fans, they were the FUT Esports and PCIFC Esports lineups. Along the way, the guys finally flew past the VALORANT Masters Santiago, losing the chance to light up at the first world event of the season.
The game day, to be honest, turned out to be hot: FUT was trying to survive in a fight with Karmine Corp, and in the second series yesterday’s newcomers from Ascension — PCIFC Esports against ULF Esports were being hacked.
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Karmine Corp’s victory over FUT Esports at VCT EMEA Kickoff
The French organization Karmine Corp, apparently, has found its game. After two disappointing defeats at the start, they still put the squeeze on the Turkish FUT Esports team with a score of 2-1. Now KC still has a slim chance of a ticket to Santiago. FUT, on the other hand, leaves the server with the steering wheel in the victory column. And this is despite the fact that earlier, by the way, they gave a powerful performance against the finalists of the Paris Championship — the legendary Fnatic.
Review of Haven Split and Pearl matches in the KC vs FUT series
The events at Haven, in truth, resembled a swing.
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Haven: KC started cheerfully (7-1), but the Turks did well, they almost made a comeback before overtime. The result is 14-12 in favor of the “Carmins”.
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Split: FUT Esports has already dictated the terms here. A confident 13-8, and the fate of the series, in fact, hung in the balance.
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Pearl: The decisive swing. The first half was level, but then the French just ran over the opponent — 13-7.
The main character of the day, unexpectedly for many, was Dastan “dos9” Zhumagali. The Asian legionnaire gave a top performance: a rating of 1.22 and a KDA of 56/41/30 is, in fact, very solid for such a level.
The results of the PCIFIC Esports performance and departure from the VCT tournament
As for PCIFC Esports, their history at the tournament also ended ingloriously. Flying out after FUT, they confirmed that the level of competition in EMEA is now prohibitive. In fact, both teams will now be watching the Masters Santiago as spectators, which clearly makes their leadership sad.
It’s curious how quickly the balance of power is changing in Valorant: yesterday’s top contenders are now apparently forced to work on mistakes at home. It’s really cool how unpredictable esports has become in 2026.
PCIFIC Esports Crash: ULF Esports Knock Out Turks with VCT EMEA Kickoff
In addition, the Turkish PCIFIC Esports team is officially leaving for home. The guys suffered a heavy defeat from ULF Esports, and, frankly, it looked like a one-goal game.
The reasons for the defeat of PCIFIC Esports and the absence of Coach Leader
By the way, before the most important battle at PCIFIC, an emergency happened — the head coach Metin Kaan “Leader” Taşpınar suddenly disappeared from the radar for personal reasons. The team was led into battle by assistant Manuel “thinkii” Martinez, but there was no magic along the way.
The Turkish club’s fans started having a nightmare on the Split map. ULF Esports didn’t notice any resistance at all, quickly gaining an 8-1 advantage. As a result, the card closed with a score of 13-5 — in fact, PCIFIC simply did not withdraw the tempo.
Analysis of the game on the Abyss map and the victory of ULF Esports
The second location is Abyss.
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First half: Failed again, 9-2 in favor of ULF. It would seem that everything.
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Jerk: Suddenly the Turks turned on and took 6 rounds in a row.
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The final: By the way, no miracle happened — ULF Esports got together on time and put the squeeze on the series with a score of 13-8.
Soner “audaz” Ekiz became the main “executioner” of PCIFIC. His stats, to be honest, are impressive: rating 1.38, ACS 231 and KDA 32/21/20. It’s powerful, really.
VCT EMEA Kickoff match schedule for February 5th
For the losers, the tournament is over, which is disappointing, but fair. The winners return to the game on February 5th.
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Karmine Corp will compete with the Champions 2024 finalists — Team Heretics.
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ULF Esports will compete against the victorious VCT EMEA 2025 — Team Liquid.
We watch the broadcasts on the official Twitch and YouTube channels. It looks like it’s only going to get tougher.
