KOI to add former top EMEA talent for VCT 2023 roster

Spanish organization KOI is set to acquire three players to the VALORANT roster alongside a top coach, multiple sources told Dot Esports. 

KOI is in discussions to sign former Guild pairing Jose Luis “koldamenta” Aranguren Herrero alongside head coach André “BARBARR” Möller, as first reported by Blix and confirmed by sources close to Dot Esports. According to sources, the former Acend player Patryk “starxo” Kopczynski and former M3C player Bogdan “Sheydos” Naumov are both set to join KOI.

Spanish superstar Oscar “mixwell” Cañellas Colocho will not join the roster, despite being linked to the organization, according to Blix. 

The rest of the roster remains incomplete at the time of writing.

Sheydos and Starxo have decorated histories in EMEA VALORANT, both players have won a Masters event or Champions, respectively. Both players went head to head at Champions last year, which saw Acend come out on top over Gambit in the grand final. 

Since Sheydos competed with M3C, an unofficial organization, they could not partner with Riot Games for the EMEA partnership league, which will begin next year. Meanwhile, Acend applied for the partnership but failed to secure a deal.

On the other hand, KOI is one of Spain’s most popular esports organizations, led by celebrity and streamer Ibai Llanos. KOI amassed a sizable fanbase since their iteration and managed to secure a partnership with Riot to compete in the EMEA international league next year.

KOI entered into a partnership with Rogue two days ago, which will see both organizations “join forces,” for other Riot titles such as League of Legends.