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With Riot Games revealing the ten EMEA Valorant teams who recently made it to the partnership program, fans came across lesser-known but promising names they hadn't heard of earlier. KOI is one of those mysterious names expected to make a stormy entrance in the VCT EMEA league next year.
The franchising process allowed Riot Games to source thirty of the most influential organizations as VCT partners. Ten teams from each eligible territory were chosen based on certain factors like sustainability, diversity, fan base, and more. KOI seems to have checked all the boxes to become a VCT partner.
Everything you need to know about KOI ahead of Valorant Champions Tour 2023
KOI is a Spanish organization with two influential personalities behind the wheel. It was founded in late 2021 by former LVP caster Ibai Llanos and popular athlete Gerard Piqué. Hailing from Spain, Piqué is a professional footballer and is regarded as one of the greatest defenders of his time. He currently plays for FC Barcelona as a center-back.
Llanos and Piqué took their sweet time teasing fans on Twitch before announcing their esports venture, KOI, in December 2021. In early 2022, the newly-formed organization announced its entry into Valorant competitive. KOI's current roster for Valorant esports consists of the following athletes:
- Ladislav Sachr, aka. Sacake (Czech Republic)
- Oskar Palmqvist, aka. PHYRN (Sweden)
- Ramses Koivukangas aka. Famsii (Finland)
- Alberto González aka. neptuNo (Spain)
- Martin Peňkov, aka. Magnum (Czech Republic)
- Gerard Vicente Domínguez aka. ThoR as a substitute (Spain)
Out of the above, only Magnum has had notable VCT experience in the past. He was a part of the popular Fnatic roster until VCT 2022 Masters Reykjavik.
Currently, KOI's Valorant roster requires some polishing and renovations to stand strong against major EMEA competitors. Apart from KOI, the teams selected for the EMEA league are Fnatic, BBL Esports, FUT Esports, Karmine Korp, Giants, NAVI, Team Heretics, Team Vitality, and Team Liquid.
Past competitive performances weren't considered a key factor, which is probably why Acend, FunPlus Phoenix, and many more deserving Valorant teams missed out on the VCT EMEA league while a young organization like KOI found its place in the program.
KOI's fan influence is massive, considering Piqué's presence, which gave them the required edge over other teams in the partnership program's selection process. The organization is expected to sign new athletes to its Valorant roster once the pre-season transfer window opens.
The VCT 2023 season will initiate with a kickoff tournament featuring all thirty teams in a high-stakes competition. The winning team will receive a direct entry to VCT 2023 Masters.
The remaining teams in the pack will continue into the international league split, the second gateway to Masters 2023 for the partnered teams. Masters 2023 will be followed by a Last Chance Qualifiers phase for each league before heading onto the VCT Champions 2023.
Non-franchise teams will go through two splits of Challengers and three regional Ascension tournaments. The winners of the Ascension from each region, Americas, Pacific, and EMEA, will be promoted to the international league in 2024.
