FNATIC vs Karmine Corp – VCT 2024 EMEA Kickoff Semifinal Predictions

Favorites and underdogs are going head to head in the FNATIC vs Karmine Corp Semifinal match. Here’s our predictions

The winner of this Semifinal Bo3 will secure a spot in the upcoming Masters Madrid, while the losing squad will be out of the event.

FNATIC vs Karmine Corp Grand Final Live
FNATIC, our pick for the best team in VCT 2023, is facing a team that was considered one of last year’s worst rosters. This semifinal matchup will put the tournament favorites against Karmine Corp, which has shown significant improvement this season.

This matchup is Karmine Corp’s most important game in their Valorant career, as the team has a chance to secure their first-ever Masters while defeating the best EMEA team in the process.

might as well post the win graphic already pic.twitter.com/CVv2qvwjgq

— FNATIC (@FNATIC) February 26, 2024

FNATIC vs Karmine Corp Prediction: Favorites vs Underdogs
Karmine Corp is on a path of redemption after their trainwreck of a 2023 season. Will they be able to defeat the strongest team in the region and secure their first-ever Masters spot?

Who Will Win?
FNATIC is this match’s clear favorite, and it will likely be a victory for the LOCK//IN and Masters Tokyo winners.

Karmine Corp has shown potential by surviving the Play-Ins, but FNATIC is naturally on a different level. There’s always a chance for an upset, but FNATIC has proven to be the most consistent team of 2023 and has kept the same roster full of individual talents.

Expected Compositions
FNATIC only played two maps, while Karmine Corp has shown their composition in five maps due to their participation in the Play-Ins.

KC’s comp so far has been pretty close to the meta, except for Ascent, where they had a Reyna-Raze double-Duelist comp similar to Paper Rex.

Screenshot from VLR

On the other hand, FNATIC’s composition on Lotus and Ascent has been following the meta, and they will continue to use meta picks, as Boaster himself confirmed in an interview during their last game. FNATIC focuses a lot more on fundamentals than on innovating new compositions.

The underdogs will have a massive challenge as FNATIC has already seen their comps on five maps and will have a counter-play prepared.

Head-to-Head
FNATIC won with a clean 2-0 sweep the last time they went against Karmine Corp in the 2023 EMEA League. Now, the French organization has four new players, while FNATIC is going to bring the same five players.

FNATIC vs Karmine Corp: Best Betting Odds
The odds for a FNATIC victory are overwhelmingly high. Here are the best betting odds, in our opinion.

FNATIC win: Decimal odds favor Karmine Corp 6.21 to 1.1, as FNATIC is the clear favorite of this match. We expect a 2-0 victory for FNATIC.
FNATIC win first map: FNATIC had a bit of trouble finding their groove against Vitality in their previous match, but they still ended up closing the series with a 2-0 score. The favorites will likely do the same here.
Total maps -2.5: Karmine Corp may be able to take a map to overtime, but we are not expecting a 3-map series.

FNATIC vs Karmine Corp Preview
Now that you have seen our prediction for the FNATIC vs Karmine Corp matchup, here’s a preview of how both of these teams have done so far.

FNATIC’s Bye In
Thanks to them securing one of the top spots at Champions 2023, FNATIC received a bye in. A single victory in Group C allowed them to move to the playoffs, and they have only played two maps in the league so far.

During the 2-0 victory, FNATIC’s struggle on the first map took Lotus to overtime. Once the team found its groove, they destroyed Vitality on Ascent with a 13-5 score. Alfajer was the clear MVP, continuing his legacy of domination from last year.

Karmine Corp’s Journey Through Play-Ins
After losing the Winner’s match in Group A, Karmine Corp had to go through the Play-Ins, where they picked up two clean 2-0 wins against Vitality and KOI.

KC is looking way better than what we saw in 2023, and the addition of players like N4RRATE and marteen and a complete rebuild of the roster has helped them secure the top 4 status in the EMEA League.

Key Players to Watch

Alfajer: The Turkish talent never fails to deliver for FNATIC. Alfajer is one of our picks for the best 2024 players, and he has already shown incredible form in the last match.
Derke: No introduction is necessary for the excellent entry fragger. While Derke was not on the top of the scoreboard in the last match, his impact as a Duelist has been significant.
Leo: The clutch master for FNATIC is one of the best Sova players we have seen. Alongside helping his team with Initiator roles, the 20-year-old also picks up multifrags frequently.
N4RRATE: Coming from the North American Challengers scene, N4RRATE has quickly proven himself to be an excellent addition by dominating on the flex role.
marteen: 19-year-old marteen has been top fragging on Duelist roles alongside N4RRATE to help KC secure victories.

Karmine Corp vs FNATIC: VCT EMEA 2024 Semifinal Rosters
FNATIC:

Jake “Boaster” Howlett
Nikita “Derke” Sirmitev
Emir “Alfajer” Beder
Leo “Leo” Jannesson
Timofey “Chronicle” Khromov

Karmine Corp:

Ryad “Shin” Ensaad
Martin “Magnum” Peňkov
Martin “marteen” Pátek
Marshall “N4RRATE” Massey
Tomás “tomaszy” Machado

Follow ESTNN for the latest Valorant Esports news.

Who knew combining a love for cheesy one-liners and Valorant would lead to a writing career?