“A man’s dream will never die.”
Over the last three years, Karmine Corp has swiftly gathered one of the biggest and most passionate fanbases in League of Legends—and now, this massive force of a team has joined the LEC ranks and will surely lead to an unparalleled debut that should shatter records in 2024.
The French esports organization grew from the ground up with one of the most popular streamers in the country, Kamel “Kameto” Kebir, as he aimed to create a iconic organization that could be seen from the stars. After joining the LFL, the team quickly gained steam through great fan engagement, even better performances on-stage, combined with the powerful force of the French faithful.
The Blue Wall should be a welcome sight for the LEC, especially with viewership beginning to flounder after the sweeping changes to the league’s format. League viewership dropped 50 percent from last year to now, with supporters voicing their distaste with the current system and the amount of inconsequential games with minimal impact on the season and international tournaments.
As for Karmine Corp, the team’s influence and impact on the European League ecosystem cannot be overstated. They are the most popular team in the EMEA Regional Leagues by far, and have been the most viewed team for not only the LFL, but every EMEA Masters tournament they’ve attended.
One example can be seen when comparing EMEA Masters viewership with and without the Blue Wall. When Karmine Corp missed EMEA Masters during the Spring Split, the tournament reached a peak viewership of around 108,000 people during İstanbul Wildcats’ series against Unicorns Of Love.
But when the French juggernauts made their triumphant return during the summer, the tournament saw a stunning peak of just under 300,000 viewers, according to Esports Charts. This is a team that will bring thousands of extra eyes to the LEC broadcast, including the formidable French viewing army.
This team will probably put butts in Riot Games’ studio seats in Berlin as well, seen from the massive stadiums filled with Blue Wall enthusiasts during live events like the self-hosted KCORP vs. The World tournament. At this event, Karmine Corp’s various teams faced off against various teams in multiple esports titles, such as League, VALORANT, Rocket League, and Super Smash Bros.
This year, the event filled the Paris La Défense Arena with 28,000 screaming supporters wearing blue, while on stream, KCX3 never dropped below a six-figure average viewership number, no matter which game was being played. The amount of support Karmine Corp has from its dedicated fanbase is unbreakable and could see plenty of fans stream back to the studio in 2024.
There are only a few teams in the league that the LEC can muster when facing off against Karmine Corp’s massive viewership, including KOI, Fnatic, and G2 Esports. This past summer, for example, MAD Lions and KOI wrangled a whopping 343,000 viewers during their first meeting of the season, which actually beat out the grand finals between G2 and Excel Esports by around 26,000.
One can only imagine what kind of records will be broken once the Blue Wall finds its foundation and collides with one of these other mammoth organizations. A match between KOI and Karmine Corp could break a regular season viewership record, while a playoff run from the new squad could carry huge average viewership numbers until they win or are eliminated.
In the end, Karmine Corp’s addition to the LEC should only spell greatness for everyone involved. For Kameto and Blue Wall, this marks the beginning of a new chapter in one of the fastest-rising brands in esports, while the LEC should look at next year as a huge opportunity to widen its reach across Europe.
