Nongshim beats Karmine Corp 2-1 at Champions Shanghai to book playoff place

Nongshim RedForce beat Karmine Corp 2-1 in the Group D decider at Champions Shanghai on October 3, winning the teams’ first meeting and securing a playoff berth. KC’s run ended with the loss, while Nongshim moved on after a series that changed shape after Sunset.

The match followed a familiar pattern across the three maps: Karmine Corp made the opener work on its own terms, Nongshim answered with a dominant middle map, and the decider turned on the Korean side’s faster entries and sharper retakes. Nongshim’s lineup featured WoohyuN, Xross, Rb, Francis, Dambi and Ivy. Karmine Corp played dos9, LewN, Avez, SUYGETSU and N4RRATE.

The result also closed another playoff race item in Shanghai. The remaining group deciders listed for the following day were LOUD vs. Global Esports in Group B and FUT Esports vs. T1 in Group A.

Sunset stays close before KC pulls away

Sunset, Karmine Corp’s map pick, opened as a tight first half. KC played slowly on attack with a Viper-Chamber composition, while Nongshim tried to answer with a Waylay-Yoru setup that looked built for quick pressure and fast trades. Neither side found long runs early, and the map stayed within a round or two for most of the half.

Karmine Corp finished the half with a 7-5 lead after SUYGETSU won two clutches to close it out. One of those rounds came in a dangerous anti-eco, where he held off three players in a 1v3 to keep KC in front. Nongshim had chances to keep the score even tighter, but KC repeatedly found enough in late-round situations to stay ahead.

After the switch, KC converted the second pistol and moved to 9-5. Nongshim then put together its best stretch on the map, cutting the score to 9-8 by hitting A site three times in a row. That burst was not enough to flip the map. KC steadied itself, answered the pressure, and closed Sunset 13-9. SUYGETSU and N4RRATE were the standouts for KC, posting 21/8/1 and 22/12/1 KDAs.

The opener mattered because it forced Nongshim to win the next two maps with no margin for error. KC had already shown it could survive a messy first half and still keep control on the back end, so Nongshim needed a cleaner response on Summit to avoid falling into a 0-2 hole.

Nongshim finds the answer on Summit

Summit brought a different look, with both teams leaning on defensive-heavy compositions. Karmine Corp again used Viper and Chamber, while Nongshim ran Sage and Chamber. KC started on defense and took a 4-1 lead, but Nongshim adjusted by applying heavy pressure through Mid. That gave the Korean side space to take better duels and build its attack round by round.

The Mid pressure changed the map. Nongshim recovered to take a 7-5 lead at halftime, and the switch only widened the gap. Once it moved to defense, Nongshim did not give KC another round. The map ended 13-5, and the series was level at 1-1.

Dambi led the map with 17 kills on Neon, while Rb delivered one of the round-winning clips of the series by spraying down three players to secure a key round. Nongshim’s defense never allowed KC to reset, and the pace KC had used to stay alive on Sunset did not carry over to Summit. Once Nongshim controlled the middle of the map, KC spent the rest of the game reacting.

That shift also changed the tone of the series. Instead of trying to answer KC’s slower attack, Nongshim was the team dictating the pace. The map gave it the structure it needed going into Haven, where the decider would be played on its terms.

Haven turns into Nongshim’s closeout map

Haven finished the series with Nongshim using its signature Neon-Yoru frontline again. The Korean side put together another 7-5 attack half and then tightened up almost completely on defense, taking the map 13-6. KC had some success in the first half, especially in lateround situations, but its slower attack could not keep up with Nongshim’s repeated forward pressure.

Dambi was the main difference. He finished the decider with a 26/13/9 KDA and a 1.88 rating, outpacing his Summit performance and giving Nongshim the consistent opening kills it needed to keep control. Nongshim’s pushes forced KC to spend more time recovering space than setting up its own ideas, and the map closed before KC could build any sustained answer.

After the match, KC’s Avez said the event still gave the team something useful to take with it. “I think it was a pretty good experience, to be honest,” he said.

He added that the roster would learn from the run and that the team had stayed positive even when the series started slipping away. “Sometimes it’s not gonna work and that’s completely fine; we did our best.”

Nongshim’s Dambi said the first map loss made him want to reset quickly. “This is my first Champions; I really wanted to do well,” he said.

He explained that he was frustrated after Sunset because he knew what he could do and thought that chance might be his last map in the event. That mindset showed on the next two maps, where he played with more aggression and helped Nongshim take over the series.

KC’s exit ends its Champions Shanghai run, while Nongshim moves on after taking the decider in its first-ever meeting with the European side. The victory gave Nongshim the result it needed in Group D and left Karmine Corp with a short run that ended one match shy of the playoffs.

Shoutouts from the match thread reflected that swing, with Nongshim supporters celebrating the comeback and others pointing to the difference in pace after Sunset. One viewer summed up the series by saying, “map 2 and 3 werent even close,” while another noted Dambi “proving they cant nerf him.”

The group stage was set to finish the next day with LOUD vs. Global Esports in Group B and FUT Esports vs. T1 in Group A, but Nongshim had already done its part. It won the decider, adapted after the opener, and used strong mid-round calls to take the playoff spot that had been on the line.