VALORANT: Riot removes Movistar KOI from VCT EMEA 2026 after contract breach

Riot Games has announced the termination of its partnership with Movistar KOI for the VCT EMEA, citing a contractual breach. “We are terminating our partnership with Movistar KOI for failure to comply with the terms of our agreement,” Riot stated in its official release. As a result, the Spanish organization will no longer compete in the league starting in 2026. Current players will be released from their contracts and granted a special transfer window despite the market already being closed. The vacant slot will be awarded to another team before the start of the 2026 season, with no impact on the league’s format.

Shortly after the announcement, KOI co-founder Ibai Llanos published a video expressing his frustration with the way the decision was handled. According to him, KOI received “no prior warning”: “Yesterday Riot sent us an email […] That urgent meeting was to tell us we were out of their league. Just like that, with no previous notice.” Ibai claims he offered to personally commit to co-streaming and to strengthen KOI’s efforts both competitively and commercially, but Riot dismissed those proposals. “Riot has decided that they don’t care. The decision is taken, it is totally irreversible.”

The timing is particularly harsh as KOI had already locked in Kirian “Yaba” Martínez as head coach for 2026, as reported by Sheep Esports. Yaba guided KOI Fénix to two Challengers Spain titles this year and was set to take over the main roster. For Ibai, 2026 was supposed to be a turning point: “2026 is going to be the first year in the history of KOI VALORANT that we are going to do the roster we want.” With Yaba at the helm, the club had started advanced talks with players to finally build a competitive lineup from scratch.

While Ibai admitted KOI’s shortcomings — “On a sporting level it has been disastrous” — he strongly criticized Riot’s handling of the announcement: “This happened yesterday. Riot tells us we are out and they announce it the next day. No warning, no anesthesia.” He also speculated that Gentle Mates relegation may have influenced the decision, though he framed it as a personal assumption. Regardless, KOI’s sudden exclusion brings an abrupt end to a project launched in 2022 and leaves the organization’s VALORANT future in limbo.