A Rivalry is Born: YamatoCannon and Ibai Drama Explained

With the first week of LEC Winter 2024 Regular Season having taken place last weekend, rosters have been finalized, viewership has skyrocketed, and best of all, banger matches were played. However, with any major sports league, there is one thing that follows: drama. The drama takes place between Karmine Corp's head coach Jakob "YamatoCannon" Mebdi and co-founder of KOI (who has partnered with MAD Lions this split) Ibai "Ibai" Llanos.

Where it All Began

LEC co-streamer and previous LEC analyst Marc Robert "Caedrel" Lamont made an X post regarding the passion and liveliness that the LEC has embraced in their first week. The two major fan bases of KC and MDK collided as they matched against each other for the first time this split.

YamatoCannon replied to Caedrel's tweet pointing out that KOI is not a new team to the LEC as KC is. In response to this, Ibai claimed that his LEC co-stream in 2023 was the highest viewed co-stream. Additionally, Ibai questioned YamatoCannon's integrity after saying he was "trying to trick another team into signing [him]" as head coach.

YamatoCannon response questioned whether his viewers were fans of him or KOI and ending it with wishing him "Good luck".

The rivaled X posts continued through YamatoCannon and LEC co-streamer Christian "IWDominate" Rivera. IWDominate stated that KOI as an e-sports organization has not accomplished much in their tenured spot in the LEC and should never talk down to YamatoCannon. He also stated that trying to intimidate others by using his following is "ridiculously disrespectful"

YamatoCannon acknowledged Ibai's success in the industry but calls him out for his "pure delusion" in trying to say that KOI equivalent to KC in terms of energy and impact. YamatoCannon ends his X post with an ultimatum for Ibai and KOI to "have a chance to learn from what KC has done" or "put their brand on the next LEC team".

A Rivalry is Born

After a close match between KC and MDK, MDK won with their ADC David "Supa" Martínez García even claiming a pentakill at the end of the game! The match even broke a viewership record for the first weekend. After the match concluded, KC gained Ibai's recognition as a strong rival that has made "this league bigger".

On the other hand, YamatoCannon did not mention MDK or Ibai in his post match X. He instead owned up to KC's current loss streak of 0-3. YamatoCannon goes on to say he will "keep working hard" as they "are capable of more".

The LEC Winter Split 2024 will return on the 20th of January, kicking off with SK Gaming vs Team Heretics.

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