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Karmine Corp vs FunPlus Phoenix will be the opening matchup of the highly anticipated VCT Masters Madrid 2024 tournament. This event will be the first international outing of the VCT 2024 circuit as eight teams will convene to determine the champions of the year's first Masters event. These teams include the champions and runners-up of the VCT Kickoff events held across the four leagues: China, EMEA, Pacific, and Americas.
Karmine Corp vs FunPlus Phoenix will be a David vs Goliath matchup. The EMEA champions are coming into this event as one of the heavy favorites, while the Chinese second seed is widely regarded as the weakest team in the tournament.
Read on for more information about this matchup, including the rosters and their previous results.
Note: Parts of the article are based on the author's opinion.
Karmine Corp vs FunPlus Phoenix VCT Masters Madrid: Who will win this match?
Prediction
Karmine Corp vs FunPlus Phoenix will be an interesting matchup to witness. The EMEA Kickoff champions are heading into VCT Masters Madrid 2024 in exceptional form, with every player having great potential to take over a game.
Initiator N4RRATE and Duelist marteen have particularly stood out by showing incredible mechanical prowess while maintaining a disciplined form of aggression. The former is frequently rated as the best player coming into this tournament.
Karmine Corp looked like a superteam with sound fundamentals, solid strategies, and clutch factor across all five members. The team also possesses a very strong map pool, with exceptional Sunset and Lotus gameplay.
FunPlus Phoenix made light work of their opponents before the Grand Finals, where they once again faltered against long-time rivals EDward Gaming. The team managed to have a close series against the Chinese giants but they were unable to close out games in the overtime phase on two maps.
Despite this, FunPlus Phoenix have shown some innovative ideas and unique team comps that have the potential to catch certain teams off-guard. The entire team is also mechanically exceptional and has the potential to keep up with the best of the best. Their strategic game will be under scrutiny at this tournament.
Keeping these factors in mind, Karmine Corp are the expected favorites to win this best-of-three series. The team has shown way better strategies and map play compared to FunPlus Phoenix, and it will be a tall task for the latter to overcome the EMEA number one seed.
Head-to-head
Karmine Corp and FunPlus Phoenix previously met at the VCT LOCK//IN event. The former emerged victorious with a 2-1 scoreline. However, both teams boast significantly altered lineups this time around.
Previous results
Karmine Corp's most recent result was a 3-1 victory over Team Heretics to clinch the EMEA Kickoff tournament. FunPlus Phoenix lost 1-3 in their recent fixture against EDward Gaming in the Grand Finals of the China Kickoff event.
VCT Masters Madrid rosters
Here are the expected rosters heading into the Karmine Corp vs FunPlus Phoenix matchup:
Karmine Corp
- Martin "MAGNUM" Penkov (IGL)
- Tomás "tomaszy" Machado
- Marshall "N4RRATE" Massey
- Martin "marteen" Pátek
- Ryad "sh1n" Ensaad
- Andrey "ENGH" Sholokhov (Head Coach)
FunPlus Phoenix
- Zhang "AAAAY" Yang
- Chang "BerLIN" Po-Lin (IGL)
- Liang "Lysoar" Youhao
- Kale "autumn" Dunne
- Qu "Life" Donghao
- Deng "NaThanD" Senqiao (Head Coach)
Livestream details
The date and timings for the VCT Masters Madrid match featuring Karmine Corp vs FunPlus Phoenix are as follows:
- PT: March 14, 8 am
- CET: March 14, 4 pm
- IST: March 14, 8:30 pm
- KST: March 15, 12 am
To watch Karmine Corp vs FunPlus Phoenix live, you can visit the following channels:
Additionally, popular watch parties conducted by streamers such as Tarik and Sliggy are also available for a different viewing experience.
Check out more VCT Masters Madrid articles:
VCT Masters Madrid power rankings || Sentinels at VCT Masters Madrid || Team Heretics at VCT Masters Madrid || Top 5 Initiator players to look out for || Top 5 Duelist players to look out for
