Karmine Corp has kept their Worlds 2026 campaign alive by sweeping CTBC Flying Oyster 2-0 in Round 4 of the Swiss Stage. The decisive match, which began at 20:05 UTC on Thursday, October 29, required only two games to conclude. Karmine Corp dominated the opener, finishing it in 28 minutes with a scoreline of 18 kills to three, before closing out the series in 37 minutes. This result marks the end of CTBC Flying Oyster's tournament run, as they suffered their third match loss under the five-round Swiss format rules.
The victory ends a two-game losing streak for Karmine Corp, who had previously lost in Rounds 2 and 3 following an opening win against Anyone's Legend. With this sweep, the French-based side improves to a 2-2 record, leaving them with one final best-of-three series to determine their fate. A win will secure their spot in the Knockout Stage quarter-finals, while another defeat would eliminate them from the event entirely.
CTBC Flying Oyster entered the match as the higher seed and took first pick for Game 1, placing Karmine Corp on the blue side. Despite this advantage, CFO could not overcome the gap in Elo power rankings, which listed Karmine Corp at 10th place with a rating of 1796 compared to CFO's 54th place standing at 1638. The two teams had previously met during the First Stand 2025 knockout stage on March 15, 2025, where Karmine Corp emerged victorious in a 3-2 series.
Karmine Corp reached the Swiss Stage via the Play-In, where they edged Cloud9 in a five-game series on October 15. They subsequently defeated MVK Esports 3-0 in both the Upper Bracket Final and the Grand Final of that phase. Their current roster consists of Canna, Yike, Busio, Caliste, and Kyeahoo. The upcoming decider match will take place on Saturday in Allen, Texas, against an opponent yet to be confirmed at the time of Round 4's conclusion.
The Knockout Stage is scheduled to run from November 3 to November 6 across venues in Allen and Brooklyn, New York, with quarter-finals beginning at 10:00 PM UTC. The tournament features a total prize pool of US$5 million, with the champions set to receive US$1 million. The grand final will be held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Saturday, November 14, starting at 7:00 PM UTC.
Sources: Esports Insider.