Jaime Mellado on Madrid LEC Roadshow: "Cancelling the showmatch was stupid"

During the LEC Roadtrip in Madrid, Sheep Esports spoke with content creator and personality Jaime Mellado about the current state of live esports events in Spain, his rise through the scene, and the pressure that comes with becoming one of the most recognizable faces around the team.

In this interview, Jaime reflects on his decision to leave the LVP to become a full-time content creator, the growth of the KOI vs. rivalry, the chaos surrounding the cancelled showmatch between Ibai Llanos and Kamel “Kameto” Kebir’s teams, and why passion and narratives remain at the center of esports entertainment.

Jaime Mellado: “Honestly, really well. I do think a lot of people have been pretty critical about the attendance numbers, especially internationally. At KOI we’ve been looking into the situation a bit and, obviously, this is already the fourth event in Spain within a year. And they’re not finals either. There’s also a huge financial factor. Even if these are probably the best matchups the LEC can currently offer, attending still costs a lot of money. And on top of that, another Roadtrip was already announced for September, so it makes sense that people spread themselves out. Last year, when the LEC came to Madrid, it had been two or three years since Spain hosted something like that, and it felt massive. I think KOI has also pushed a lot for the LEC to keep coming here. Maybe hosting events this often means fewer sold-outs, but even then, the atmosphere has been amazing, and people are having a really good time.

Jaime Mellado: Yeah, a lot. Most of the time, you’re at home doing co-streams and you disconnect from what 5,000 or 10,000 people actually means. Seeing it live is crazy. We did a Meet & Greet and barely promoted it because we already knew it was going to be packed. It was supposed to last one hour, and we ended up staying almost two. And even then, there were still so many people we couldn’t greet. Honestly, everyone has been incredibly nice — KOI fans, fans, fans from every team. And for me, that’s the best thing about esports: the people and the fans.

Jaime Mellado: It really depends on who’s asking. If it’s someone older or someone who doesn’t really understand internet culture, I usually say I commentate on video games, the Kings League — the Ibai and Piqué project most people recognize by now — and Atlético de Madrid matches on YouTube. And then that thing happens where people know me from one area and later realize I also do other things. Some know me from Atlético, others from Kings League, others from League of Legends… It’s a bit chaotic, but I love it because it combines the two things I enjoy the most: football and League of Legends. Whenever I’m less motivated by one thing, I still have the other. And when everything lines up at the same time, even better.

Jaime Mellado: A lot of people ask me how I got here, and honestly, I don’t fully know either. I think luck is a huge part of it: being in the right place at the right time, meeting the right people… and obviously also doing your job well. I never started all of this looking for what I’ve achieved. I remember joining Esportmaníacos without even knowing people got paid there. I was studying journalism and thought: “If I go into football journalism, I’ll be competing against thousands of journalists every year.” So I wanted to do something different. I had just started playing League of Legends and began writing articles without really knowing much about the game. I was learning while writing. And one thing slowly led to another.

Jaime Mellado: Everything started when Teshrak (Sergio Cerdán) got removed from the LVP. That was a huge hit for the caster group because we were already stretched really thin. There weren’t many of us, and some people were already splitting their time between multiple games. When you see someone lose their position in that situation, you naturally think: “Damn, I could be next.” And right then, the Kings League opportunity appeared. Ferra told me they were looking for casters, I sent some videos, did some tests, and they liked me. Kings League wanted to sign me, but the LVP wouldn’t let me combine both things, so I had to choose. And it was a really difficult decision. Luckily, I was in a position where I could take the risk. I live in Barcelona with roommates, I didn’t have major responsibilities, and I thought: “Well, let’s see what happens.” And in the end, it worked out. My biggest fear was missing Worlds that year. I messaged Ibai saying that if they ever needed someone for a specific day, I’d be available. And he replied: “No, no. Come to all of them.” And that’s basically how everything with KOI started.

Jaime Mellado: Honestly, very naturally. I’ve never really felt pressure because KOI has always fit really well with my personality and values. I’m a very natural person, for better or worse, so I feel comfortable. And honestly, it’s something I’m very proud of. I never imagined people would eventually see me as one of the faces of the club. I was also there from the beginning. I still remember casting that Badalona event when KOI was first created, actually against Karmine Corp. Being able to later become part of the organization felt like closing the perfect circle.

Jaime Mellado: For me, it’s one of the best things about the competition. I think a lot of people online are way too sensitive, but rivalries, narratives, and beefs are what keep esports alive. Without Twitter drama, rivalries, or passion, esports would lose a huge part of the entertainment factor. Because at the end of the day, there’s League of Legends every single day: LCK, LPL, LEC, regional leagues, solo queue… What makes competitions special are the stories and emotions around them. That’s why I love this Spain vs France rivalry, KOI vs Karmine Corp. It’s also been amazing for Europe because, for a long time, it felt like everything revolved around and . Now there are stronger organizations, more countries involved, and more teams capable of competing at the top.

Jaime Mellado: It was surreal. I was having dinner at my parents’ house and had absolutely no idea what was going on. I had the post-game show playing muted in the background while editing videos. Suddenly, I started getting messages saying Kameto wasn’t coming to the showmatch, and I was like: “What the hell is happening?” I opened Twitter, saw Ibai’s tweets, and completely lost it. I called my friend Pol (Pol Jorquera) because he speaks French and asked him what Kameto was saying on stream. Meanwhile, everyone was talking in group chats, trying to understand the situation. The worst part was that everything was already prepared: flights, setups, production, sound systems… KOI had spent a crazy amount of money to make sure everything went perfectly and there wouldn’t be any issues. So honestly, I thought cancelling the showmatch was stupid. I can understand certain comments bothering people, but I also think rivalries and banter are part of the show. They’ve also joked before when G2 lost international events or things like that. In the end, we went to sleep without knowing what was going to happen. The next morning, we had to find streamers already living in Madrid because there was no time left to bring anyone from Barcelona. It was complete madness. But overall, I think we managed to save the situation pretty well.”