Karmine Corp buy out Astralis slot, will join LEC in 2024
Karmine CorpKarmine Corp and its co-owner have announced that the French organization is joining the LEC in 2024 after putting up cryptic posts about the news.
Karmine Corp is one of the biggest esports organizations in Europe and has taken over the French market. The company hosts showmatches that sell out stadiums and has teams across Valorant, Rocket League, and League of Legends.
Now, the organization can finally say it has a slot in the top League of Legends league in Europe as Karmine Corp and its co-owner Kamel ‘Kameto’ Kébir have announced that the company has bought Astrails’ slot. The French org has been rumored to be joining the LEC for some time, as the league has seen a recent overhaul in participating squads, but the org had not been able to finalize a deal until today.
Karmine Corp and Kameto teased the big announcement hours before he announced the news on his Twitch stream, sharing cryptic posts on social media that implied a huge announcement about their LEC status.
Karmine Corp LEC announcement is imminent
“See you tonight at 8 p.m. Be on time,” Kameto said along with a video from the anime One Piece.
The org co-owner said just last month that the company was close to joining the European League of Legends league and was excited to share more details in the future.
The French org wasn’t looking for a deal like KOI and Rogue, where the two brands merged together, and is instead looking to buy a spot outright, according to Sheep Esports. Karmine Corp reportedly spent over $27 million on the Astralis spot, a sum that they will have to pay out over the course of a few years and fundraising ventures.
The French organization will take over from an Astralis leadership that has not managed to do much in the LEC. Astralis only ever placed above fifth place once in its short history in the league and has never qualified for any international events. The organization’s spot has reportedly been up for sale since 2022.
Karmine Corp will take over the spot and join the top-flight league after three years of LFL competition. In the Tier 2 European League of Legends system, KCorp has won the LFL twice and the European Masters tournament four times.