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European esports franchises Rogue and KOI have both entered into a “strategic alliance.” The partnership will reportedly officially kick off next year and allow the Ibai Lianos-owned franchise KOI to participate in the League of Legends European Championship.
Rogue’s League of Legends team will be rebranded for the 2023 LEC Spring Split, but it is not certain whether the team will be known as KOI. Despite the move, Rogue’s current management will continue to be in charge of the operations and management structure of the primary League of Legends team.
There are not a lot of details known concerning the partnership; as such, the percentage split, as well as the purchase amount, are unconfirmed. Besides the rebranding, the partnership will also see the co-owner of KOI, Llanos, become the “featured ambassador” of both organizations as well as their respective teams.
Llanos commented on the recent partnership and revealed that it would speed up the growth of the company as well as provide more opportunities for them.
“I couldn’t be more proud of KOI and what we’ve been able to achieve in such a short period of time,” Llanos said.
“This partnership with Rogue just accelerates our growth and broadens our opportunities to provide the most engaging and exciting experiences for our fans.”
Anna Baumann, the Executive Vice President of Esports of Rouge’s parent company, Infinite Reality, also had some comments about the partnership. She explained that the company was “thrilled” to be working with KOI, and they hoped to supply fans with better content in the future.
“Having established Rogue as a world-leading talent factory with championship-winning teams, we could not be more thrilled to be working with KOI,” Baumann said.
“With this alliance, we can up the game and serve our fans even more industry-leading entertaining content, all while continuing to build Ibai’s legacy in esports.”
Reports concerning the merger between Rogue and KOI started making the rounds in August. At the time, it was mentioned that Rogue would retain their LEC spot and move the European Regional League lineup to LVP Superliga Spain from the Ultraliga. The official details concerning the move were not shared along with the merger announcement.
The merger will undoubtedly benefit both organizations, mainly due to Rogue’s expertise in building and discovering league talent and KOI’s branding. Both organizations have individually impressive fan bases, so operating under the same banner will vastly increase their popularity.
Rogue had their most successful League of Legends season this year and were awarded the champions of the LEC 2022 Summer Split. The North American team are currently among the number of teams participating in the League of Legends World Championships as Europe’s No 1 seed.
KOI, for their part, have had an impressive year and were one of the few teams in September to be selected for the Valorant Champions Tour (VCT). The team also notably collaborated with Shikenso Analytics in June in order to keep track of their existing partnerships’ performances.
The merger between both companies will officially take effect in 2023. Meanwhile, fans can watch Rogue’s League of Legends team participate in their first World Championship 2022 fixture, taking place later today against DRX. Rogue have been designated as underdogs in the matchup, with odds pegged at $2.45 on top esports betting sites.
