Chronobreak decision sparks controversy in Team Vitality–Movistar KOI clash

It is fair to say that the LEC referees’ decision sparked considerable debate on Monday. In the second match of the opening round of the LEC Versus playoffs, just as Team Vitality appeared firmly in control of Game 1, a chronobreak was initiated, after which Movistar KOI managed to turn the game around before ultimately dominating the remainder of the best-of-three series.

Holding what seemed to be a decisive advantage, Vitality secured three kills at the 28-minute mark during a botlane skirmish. However, Joseph “Jojopyun” Pyun requested a pause due to a potential issue involving Taliyah’s ultimate ability. The referees opted to initiate a chronobreak, rewinding the game to the beginning of the sequence.

After twenty minutes of interruption, play therefore resumed but this time, Movistar KOI emerged from the replayed situation with a one-for-zero trade in their favor due to Alex "Myrwn" Villarejo playing the move differently. From that point onward, the game slipped out of the French side’s control, who went on to lose both that map, in 55 minutes, and the following one.

Unsurprisingly, the incident prompted widespread reactions, beginning with Team Vitality’s co-owner, Fabien “Neo” Devide. Usually measured in his public responses to his team’s performances, he nonetheless expressed visible frustration, posting: “Pause killed the momentum, I guess,” as his team fell behind following the restart. The reason for the pause and the decision for a chronobreak at that moment in the game particularly angered Team Vitality and their fans. Last week in the match between KOI and NAVI, Jojopyun had already paused on a Taliyah ultimate that ultimately did not result in a chronobreak. Neo specified on X that he filed a complaint with the LEC about this matter without being convinced that it would lead to any results.

Further fueling the controversy, the official LEC account shared a clip of Movistar KOI’s in-game communications (deleted later) at the moment they secured the Baron Nashor and regained control of the match. “Their mental is so weak,” Jojopyun remarked to his teammates, a comment that intensified the frustration among Vitality supporters. After Movistar KOI mocked Team Vitality on social media following their victory, the French organization responded that “if it’s for a win like yours, we would rather not have it.”

To close the evening and address the growing discontent among fans, Vitality’s support player, Kadir “Fleshy” Kemiksiz, urged supporters not to attribute the defeat solely to the pause, emphasizing that it was not the primary reason for the loss and that no individual should be targeted as a result. Team Vitality will look to rebound against Fnatic, while Movistar KOI advance to the next round, where they are set to face NAVI.

After publication of this article, Sheep Esports reached out to Patrick "Pad" Suckow-Breum, Head Coach of Team Vitality, who answered our questions regarding the chronobreak situation in their game against Movistar KOI in the LEC.

Patrick "Pad" Suckow-Breum: “For me the only issue with the chronobreak is that in the first instance Corki was unknown and in fog, which is why Zaahen facechecks and dies. The chronobreak leaves them with complete information despite not seeing Corki, which is obviously not optimal. I would have liked for the chronobreak to be timed with Zaahen’s death, as the Taliyah bug had nothing to do with that.”

Pad: “I think the game was still winnable for sure, but obviously they end up with Nashor and my Corki doesn’t have four items. I think momentum was definitely lost, but we could have still won the game.”

Pad: “The players handled it very well, and we didn’t dwell on it too long neither in-game or after. For Game 2 I take full ownership of making a too hard to execute draft after first game being so long and draining 🫡”