KOI reportedly set merger with Rogue, Kcorp and Giants still out

KOI, the Spanish League of Legends team who participates in the SuperLiga (SL) and is owned by popular streamer Ibai Llanos and Spanish and FC Barcelona footballer, Gerard Pique, is about to merge with League of Legends European Championship (LEC) heavyweights, Rogue.

The story was first broken by Alejandro Gomis of Blix.gg but is yet to be confirmed. The report stated that Rogue had started discussions about opening up 40% of their spot in the league for close to $20m with several teams. Karmine Corp, Giants, and Case Esports were some the names in the running but Rogue seem to have settled on KOI. The report also stated that ‘KOI Rogue’ could be the name going forward but this hasn’t been confirmed yet. What this does suggest is that the deal is that talks have already advanced and it’s only a matter of time before it is officially announced.

Rogue may or may not re-brand

After this new merger, Rogue will continue to participate in the LEC, but Rogue’s European Regional League (ERL) team will now move from Poland’s UltraLiga to the SuperLiga. KOI is in still in its infant stages as a esports team, having formed last December by Ibai Llanos and Gerard Pique. The team has already gained a lot of popularity in this short time.

Their exhibition game was witness to around 500,000 viewers and this merger should elevate their fame even further. This is something Rogue must have clearly been aware of when looking at the benefits of this collaboration. It’s a bit unusual to see a team break so many audience records in its first couple of months.

Rogue academy are expected to compete in the SuperLiga going forward and allow the team to sustain its standing the LEC. These sorts of mergers have become quite common recently by the looks of things after Team Heretics joined hands with Misfits this summer as well. If these mergers materialize, they will join the likes MAD Lions, Fnatic, and G2 in having squads that are at least ERL level in the SuperLiga.

Rogue are currently secured for Worlds 2022. This merger bodes well for their future and might just help their consistent top half finishes into some silverware but it’ll take some time before we learn exactly how this will benefit or hinder them going forward.

Kcorp and Giants still looking for an IN

A few teams are looking different heading into next season, but we still don’t see Kcorp and Giants among the lot. Plenty of fans were expecting either of these two teams to either purchase a spot or for an LEC expansion, but thus far nothing has materialized. With the LEC quickly becoming the top league in League of Legends esports franchise spots are become increasingly costly.

Is it time for expansion?