Esports weekend review: CS2 upsets and Karmine’s LEC dominance

Jon Nicholson, Freelance Writer

Last Updated: 28/07/2026

This past weekend delivered no shortage of esports action. From the BLAST Bounty Season 2 online stage and PUBG: Battlegrounds at the Esports World Cup to the opening week of the LEC Summer Split, there was something for everyone to enjoy.

As attention turns to yet another week of high-profile tournaments taking place across the globe, we take a closer look at the biggest talking points from the last few days of competition.

CS2 giants fall at BLAST Bounty Season 2

The trend of upset results continued during the online stage of BLAST Bounty Season 2, with several underdog sides eliminating some of the world’s best Counter-Strike 2 teams from the single-elimination bracket.

100 Thieves recorded the first upset with a 2–1 victory over IEM Cologne Major champions Team Falcons. After losing Nuke 13–4, the Thieves responded by taking Dust2 13–7 before completing the comeback with a 13–11 victory on Anubis. At 11/2, 100 Thieves proved excellent value against the heavy favourites.

Elsewhere, HOTU defeated GamerLegion 2–0 after going 13–11 on Dust2 and 13–8 on Ancient. FOKUS also managed to take down a new-look Aurora Gaming lineup 2–1, while Dendele knocked out FURIA by the same score after triumphing 16–14 on the Cache decider.

The biggest upset came when Team Liquid swept Team Vitality 2–0. Liquid won Anubis 13–10 before closing the series with a 13–9 victory on Nuke. Their pre-match price of 8/1 showed just how surprising the victory was against a Vitality side that had practically dominated Counter-Strike over the past 12 months.

With Team Spirit and MOUZ as the only teams from the VRS Top 10 to qualify, the field has opened considerably ahead of the LAN finals in Malta from July 30th to August 2nd.

Virtus.pro victorious at EWC 2026

The PUBG Esports World Cup 2026 also delivered plenty of drama, requiring all 18 grand final matches to determine the champion.

The match point threshold was set at 136 points after the opening 12 games. Teams that reached that threshold had to secure a Winner Winner Chicken Dinner to claim the title. However, no team managed to do so before the end of game 18, meaning the championship was awarded to the team with the most points.

In the end, Virtus.pro emerged victorious with 159 points, while Nino “NIXZYEE” Mikec earned the MVP award. The Bears displayed consistency throughout the three-day final, establishing a strong lead with wins in games four, six, and twelve before the match point rules became active.

At outright odds of 6/1, Virtus.pro were already among the favourites to win it all, but the tournament’s unpredictability meant the price still yielded solid value for a team with a proven track record of achieving success on the big stage.

Karmine Corp’s flawless start at LEC 2026 Summer

The weekend saw the LEC roar back into life for what is set to be a hotly contested Summer Split. Karmine Corp opened their campaign with a comfortable 2–0 sweep over Team Vitality, which was hardly a surprise according to the bookies, who offered a price of 1/4.

Karmine Corp remained the heavy favourites ahead of another 2–0 victory against Movistar KOI, taking the opening match with a 24–18 kill score. The pre-match market priced the French organisation at 2/5 as they demonstrated mechanical superiority and objective control throughout the series.

Their opening week came to a close with a phenomenal comeback against G2 Esports in an enthralling battle between two of Europe’s powerhouse rosters.

At 3/5, G2 entered the best-of-three series as the heavy favourites. However, isolated deaths and overextensions in game 3 allowed Karmine Corp to erase a massive gold deficit and convert it into a winning final push. A price of 5/4 made Karmine Corp great value against one of Europe’s leading sides.

Favourites dominate the KeSPA Cup

Elsewhere in League of Legends, the KeSPA Cup 2026 pits all ten of the LCK’s partner teams in one of Korea’s longest-running domestic tournaments.

Seven of the first eight matches went the way of the favourites, meaning there was little value to be had in the opening best-of-ones. The only surprise according to the pre-match market came from Nongshim RedForce, who defeated defending world champions T1.

Nongshim RedForce hit a price of 13/4 compared to T1’s 17/100, proving that even the established names can fall foul of the unpredictable nature of a best-of-one format.

Jon Nicholson, Freelance Writer

Jonno is a veteran esports journalist with over a decade of experience in covering the world of competitive gaming. Since starting in 2014, he’s covered the biggest events for outlets including Esports Insider, GGRecon, Gfinity, and Siege.GG. When he’s not writing, he can be found sim racing with varying degrees of success.

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