With the
LEC heading to Madrid for
the final Roadtrip of the 2026 Spring Split, controversy erupted on social media Thursday after
in-client promotional material for the event obscured
and its franchise midlaner
, while the three other participating teams were displayed correctly. First spotted by the organization’s official X account, the issue later drew a
frustrated response from GIANTX CEO
José Ramón Díaz.

“I’m fucking fed up with having to work this hard just to be treated like this.” — José Ramón Díaz

No Malicious Intent
Client issues are not uncommon in esports. As a global company,
Riot Games tailors its promotions and often targets specific audiences by serving content only in selected regions. With the Madrid roadtrip expected to attract thousands of fans, the promotion was handled by
Riot’s Barcelona office, one of the company’s several European branches. In this case,
Edgar Medina Rodriguez, Sr. Manager of Publishing for
League of Legends FRB & IBIT,
responded publicly to the situation on behalf of Riot Games.
In his post, he immediately took responsibility for the issue and assured fans that there was
“no malicious intent” behind the accidental display error. Edgar also stated that he personally apologized to the organization and worked to resolve the problem as quickly as possible. However, due to Riot’s internal approval processes and the global nature of the client’s promotional systems,
the fix required additional time before it could be pushed live.
Nevertheless, these kinds of issues highlight an overarching concern about how Riot Games handles in-client promotions. Last year, a similar incident occurred when the company
mistakenly failed to credit Gen.G following their MSI 2025 victory, sparking outrage among fans who pointed to inconsistent treatment compared to past winners.
Removed after Friday
Since then, the issue
has been fixed. However, it has led to a somewhat double-edged outcome: the promotion is no longer featured on the client’s front page and has instead been moved to a smaller section, though it now correctly highlights all four teams. As Edgar noted, the promotional block was
only intended to advertise the start of the event and will be removed after Friday regardless.
The LEC Roadtrip in Madrid kicks off on Friday, May 8, 2026, marking the start of a decisive weekend in the Spring Split as teams battle for momentum heading into the final stretch of the season.
For GIANTX, the weekend will open with a high-stakes clash against Movistar KOI at 19:00 on Friday, before immediately facing another major test on Saturday at 16:00 against G2 Esports. The schedule does not get any easier on Sunday, where GIANTX will close out their Madrid run with a match against Karmine Corp at 15:00.
Across the three days, GIANTX will therefore face all three of their direct playoff contenders in rapid succession, making the Madrid Roadtrip a potentially defining moment for their Spring Split campaign.