Riot Games has officially terminated its partnership agreement with Movistar KOI within the VALORANT Champions Tour EMEA. The reason was a breach of the team's contract with the league. The players will become free agents at the end of the season, and a replacement club in the league will be determined by 2026. The number of teams in VCT EMEA 2026 will remain unchanged at 12 partner teams.

Reaction from the club's co-founder Ibai Llanos

KOI did not receive any warnings about a possible exclusion. Last night, Riot invited the team to an "urgent meeting" and directly informed them that the organization was being removed from the league.

According to Ibai, the club had already signed a contract with coach Java and was negotiating with more than 50 players to build a new roster for 2026. Now all these agreements have been devalued.

Ibai acknowledged that KOI performed poorly in the VCT:

I believe that KOI needs to engage in self-criticism. We performed poorly in the VCT. I feel personally responsible because I helped secure the slot in 2022. Back then, Gerard Piqué, Uriol Querol, and I flew to Berlin, and it was a huge achievement for us. But since then, we have not succeeded—in content, skin sales, or sports. Especially the sports results have been catastrophic. This is our fault as a club, and we shouldn't just blame the players or coaches.

  

He criticized Riot's actions for their abruptness and lack of preparation time: 

Yesterday, Riot sent us a letter, inviting us to an "urgent meeting." We thought it was something related to jokes on social media or complaints from other clubs. But it turned out to be a meeting to tell us: "You're no longer in the league." Without warning, without prior signals.

I believe Riot could have at least given a few weeks or months' notice. But it turned out like this: "You're excluded, and we'll announce it tomorrow." This hit both the players and the coach—they were left without jobs.

  

According to him, the club tried to propose solutions—from Ibai's personal involvement in match coverage to strengthening the sports project and working with the fan base, but Riot refused to consider these options.

Ibai also suggested that the decision might have been driven by a desire to bring Gentle Mates back into the league, who lost their slot through relegation:

I have a feeling that Riot wanted to bring Gentle Mates back into the league, and we were a convenient target. This is my personal guess, but I think it's close to the truth.

   

In conclusion, Ibai noted that the exclusion from VCT EMEA was a heavy blow for the organization, especially at a time when the club was preparing to build a new project from scratch in 2026. Despite losing the slot, KOI intends to maintain motivation and continue working on its future.