Jojopyun extends contract with Movistar KOI for one year

After a miracle lower-bracket run to the LEC 2026 Summer Grand Final, Movistar KOI midlaner Joseph Joon “Jojopyun” Pyun, who had to make a decision right after the LEC Grand Final, has finally decided to renew his contract with the Spanish organization for one year, MKOI announced on Tuesday. According to sources close to Sheep Esports, Jojopyun will be among the Top 3 highest-paid players in the league, with Rasmus "Caps" Borregaard Winther remaining the highest-paid player in the league. Discussions leading up to Jojopyun’s re-signing have consisted of multiple different offers.

This year, discussions with Jojopyun over a contract renewal started very early, sources tell Sheep Esports. Over the course of the year, Jojopyun received up to four different offers. His third offer had a final deadline of Monday, September 21st. However, on the last day, MKOI increased their offer once again, giving Jojopyun an additional day to accept. Movistar KOI have not considered other midlaners during the entire process.

While under contract with MKOI, Jojopyun was not permitted to communicate with other organizations or explore alternative offers. Therefore, if he ultimately declined to re-sign with MKOI, that would not necessarily mean he had no opportunity to join the team; rather, he may have simply chosen to explore his options in free agency instead. Initial talks with Jojopyun included a two-year contract extension, but ultimately, both parties settled on a one-year re-signing.

Until now, the Canadian midlaner’s future was uncertain, as 2026 has been a challenging year for Movistar KOI. The team struggled to find consistent results throughout the season, missing qualification for MSI 2026 and finishing sixth in the LEC Summer 2026 Regular Season, a result that ruled them out of their own home roadshow.

This episode gave the impression that this roster, after having played together for three years, could have reached a crossroads, but MKOI managed to bounce back at exactly the right time. Built around a particularly sharp mid-jungle duo, the Spanish side first overcame Team Vitality before taking down Natus Vincere to secure their ticket to the Worlds (October 15 to November 14). Ibai’s squad then got the better of their nemesis, Karmine Corp, to book their place in the grand final, where G2 Esports proved to be a step too far.

With Javier “Elyoya” Prades Batalla’s contract running through 2028, Álvaro “Alvaro” Fernández’s through 2027 and Tomás “Melzhet” Campelos Fernández recently confirmed as head coach by Ibai. Alex “Myrwn” Pastor Villarejo, who hasn’t had a great year, and David “Supa” Martínez García are the only pieces whose futures remain uncertain; however, the roster could still stay the same.

The head coach recently spoke about the situation surrounding his roster. In an interview, Melzhet addressed the possibility of keeping the same lineup, saying: “It’s going to be really hard, because they are going to run out of contracts. So I don’t know, we will see how it goes, but I don’t know, probably they are going to get a lot of offers. All of them are great players, so let’s see.”

Despite the uncertainty around some pieces of the roster, Movistar KOI has made its intentions clear with Jojopyun: he is the player they want in the midlane. The Canadian prodigy arrived in Europe in 2024 with high expectations and has since established himself as one of the LEC’s most prominent midlaners, as one of the few midlaners capable of consistently challenging Caps in recent years.

For Movistar KOI, keeping Jojopyun means securing one of the West’s most talented midlaners. The Canadian has now decided to give Europe another chance, rather than return to North America, where he could have explored new opportunities in his home region. Jojopyun’s decision to renew for just one year will now put even more pressure on Movistar KOI to build a competitive roster around its star midlaner for the 2027 season.