VALORANT Champions Tour EMEA was dramatically altered when Riot Games made the sudden decision to terminate its partnership with Movistar KOI. The dramatic decision forced the immediate exit of Ibai Llanos’ team from the league. As per reports, the decision stems from a complex dispute going on over contractual obligations. While the official announcement cited a breach of the agreement, the complete story is much more. Here is all we know about this entire controversy and what made Riot Games take such strict action.
What is the core dispute that got Movistar Koi kicked out of VCT EMEA?
As per Riot Games, Ibai Llanos’ Movistar KOI team failed to meet unique co-streaming obligations. The contract needed him to be the primary broadcaster for a particular number of hours, a unique clause that was designed due to his influential presence.
According to the publisher, the organization failed to fulfill some co-streaming requirements, which remained central to the deal. This included not immediately replacing Ibai when he stepped away. They also constantly fell short of the mandated number of co-streaming hours.
Despite being offered multiple warnings all throughout 2024’s season, issues continued to persist. Management of KOI attributed the delays to internal restructuring that followed the merger with the MAD Lions KOI and Movistar Riders earlier this year. It caused huge administrative hurdles.
In January 2025, a formal warning was also issued. It notified Koi about their active breaches. A meeting was further held in May 2025. During this time, KOI presented plans for the rectification of situations, with the belief that this matter would be resolved.
Riot Games terminates Movistar KOI
The entire situation reached a climax in September 2025’s first week. Movistar KOI management got summoned to an emergency meeting on September 4, 2025, through an email. During the meeting, it was announced by Riot Games that they are immediately terminating partnership with the team.
For KOI, this decision was a shock, especially as collaborative discussions for the 2026 season were still underway. It gave them the confidence that their spot was secured. From the perspective of KOI, Riot Games’ decision was both poorly communicated and premature. The leadership of the organization, including Adam Adamou from OverActive Media, contends that they have been working collaboratively on the plans for the 2026 season.
The team is now disputing the termination grounds. They argue that they were presented with some strong alternatives for meeting obligations, which, as per their claims, performed exceptionally well. It was further stated by Ibai that he personally offered for his return and agreed to broadcast all needed matches, but his proposal was dismissed without due consideration.
This entire fallout has been severe and swift. Both the staff members and players got notified just mere minutes before the public announcement about the news. All players were declared free agents, while the team’s plans for rebuilding around a stronger roster for potential future returns were dismantled. The move has been considered to be quite a brutal end to a project that began with the fanfare in 2022. It left a cloud of controversy over the conclusion.
