Esports organizations Rogue and KOI have announced an LEC partnership deal. The merger was announced by KOI co-founder Ibai Llanos on Twitch. Starting with the 2023 LEC season, Rogue will rebrand to KOI, but Rogue’s LEC management team will be in charge of running the LEC division. The two organizations will bring their other esports teams together under parent company Infinite Reality.
The deal between Rogue and KOI has been whispered about for a while. Despite Rogue’s success in the LEC, the organization struggled to build a strong brand within the region. Teaming up with a brand like KOI, who didn’t have an LEC spot but did have Ibai’s huge brand behind it, benefits both parties. KOI gets its name in the LEC, while Rogue’s struggling brand is transformed into an already successful one.
Rogue is owned by parent company ReKTGlobal, who in turn were bought for $470M USD a few months ago by Metaverse company Infinite Reality. Rogue joined the LEC in 2019, when the competition was franchised. After a disappointing first split, the organization quickly rose in the ranks. In 2020, 2021, and 2022, Rogue consistently competed at the top of the LEC. They won the 2022 LEC Summer Split, becoming the fifth organization in European history to lift the trophy. The team is currently competing at the 2022 League of Legends World Championship.
KOI is a young team in esports. It was created in December 2021 by Ibai and Spanish football superstar Gerard Piqué. The team entered the Spanish regional league with a League of Legends team and also competes in other titles, most famously in VALORANT, where they acquired a franchise spot a few weeks ago.
