MKOI: The Professor’s Plan Ahead of LEC Versus

LEC Versus kicks off on Saturday, January 17. Among the twelve teams competing this split, MKOI enters with something few others can claim: stability. While rivals scrambled to rebuild, the Spanish organization made the boldest move possible—no move at all.

Some crews fall apart after a successful job. Egos clash, trust erodes, and the next score never happens. But after their best year yet—a Spring title, a Summer final, and a Worlds run that ended two games short against the eventual champions—MKOI chose to run it back. Same five players. Same mission. Bigger target.

Hotspawn sat down with the Professor of the operation, MKOI’s head coach Tomás “Melzhet” Campelos, to discuss the reasoning behind the roster stability, the lessons learned from Summer, the changes within the coaching staff, and the organization’s long-term vision.

The Crew Stays – “I was sure of keeping the whole roster one more year”

For Melzhet, this offseason came with little hesitation regarding the starting five.

I was really sure about keeping the whole roster one more year. I wanted to keep the same roster. I think they did well and we are progressing every year. So to me, it makes no sense now to do changes. We have this last year together by contract and after that we will decide what happens based on our international ambitions.

From his perspective, continuity is not about comfort, but about trusting a process that has shown tangible results: “I saw that my team was able to progress. Of course, I’m not satisfied because I want to actually compete at internationals. And it’s something that I think we still lack,” he added. “Also, I want to be more dominant in Europe if possible. So with that in mind, I am trusting them one more time because I saw the progression.”

Rather than replacing players, Melzhet believes the next step lies elsewhere.

What I realized this offseason is I need to give them better tools so they can progress even more and have more opportunities.

Closer To The Vault

Looking at the results, MKOI’s progression from 2024 to 2025 is difficult to dispute. In 2024, the team was eliminated 0–3 at the Swiss Stage of Worlds. One year later, MKOI found themselves one game away from qualification, losing 2–3 to T1, who eventually became World Champions.

Domestically, the improvement was just as clear. After reaching only one final out of four in 2024, MKOI made two finals out of three in 2025, securing the organization’s first title since the rebrand during Spring. Yet despite those achievements, Melzhet remains critical of the Summer split.

We didn’t drop the ball as hard as KC, for example, because they finished even worse than us, but for sure, we still did. And it is something that I hope my players now have in mind. Because if we want to be successful this year, it can’t happen again. We can’t win and then make the same mistake. They learned from it.

The Alarm Went Off – “I tried to give the players more freedom in terms of their improvement”

From the coach’s perspective, MKOI’s struggles during the Summer stemmed from two main factors: “I remember telling my players from the start of Summer that it will be even harder to win. Our loss was related to two factors. First, G2 improved a lot. Second, I tried to give the players more freedom in terms of their improvement. Playing more that bias role, not pushing them too hard because I wanted them to grow individually.” This approach, while well-intentioned, ultimately backfired.

I think the way I did it was a mistake. It was my first time trying it. But I thought that would be good for internationals in the future, I really wanted to try that approach. In the end, we were not as efficient. The intensity and the mindset were not on point sometimes.

Upgrading the Arsenal

Rather than changing the roster, MKOI opted to restructure its coaching staff. Zeph and Hansen were replaced by Eric ‘Independent‘ Ruiz and Barney ‘Alphari‘ Morris.

Independent has built a strong reputation in the Spanish scene over recent years, first with Ramboot Club—leading them to a top-three finish in their debut Superliga season in Summer 2024—then with Los Heretics, where he won Spring, reached the Summer final, and went on to reach the EMEA Masters final afterward.

Alphari, meanwhile, represents a different kind of addition. Known for providing individual coaching to professional players in recent years, he notably worked with Sergen ‘BrokenBlade’ Çelik, who has publicly praised his impact on his individual development. Melzhet acknowledges that bringing Alphari into the staff is both a test and a calculated risk.

“Alphari is going to bring a value that is really hard to find in another coach. He will be a rookie, but if he can improve at this new position, he’s going to be a really f*cking good assistant coach,” said Melzhet. “Anyway, the instant value he is going to bring is his knowledge of the toplane. I also wanted to have an ex-pro player on my staff. Most of the LEC coaches and I have never experienced competing at the highest level. I think it’s interesting to have that approach and maybe identify problems faster. Or not, I’m not sure. But I want to try, to see if there is actually a value behind it.”

The Inside Men – “Prioritizing Elyoya and Jojo was giving us more chances to win in the short term”

While MKOI is reportedly working on extending contracts for Elyoya, Jojopyun and Alvaro according to Sheep Esports, Melzhet’s focus isn’t just on retention—it’s on development.

I think Myrwn was the one who was getting less resources by me. So giving him a coach that is going to help him directly, to focus more on himself, it will help a lot.

For Melzhet, Supa and Myrwn are not underperforming but they still have another level to reach, especially at international tournaments: “I told Supa after the KT game ‘You can’t be 2k gold ahead and not carry this game’. It’s at least what I expect from a player who wants to win Worlds. [The] same [is] for Myrwn. I think the more the year advances, the more tired he is. He needs to improve on that. I admit that it was also very hard to give every player all the resources they needed this year. I think prioritizing Elyoya and Jojo was giving us more chances to win in the short term.”

The new staff structure aims to rebalance that dynamic: “Now with the overhaul of the staff, everyone will get more help. Obviously, the whole team needs to improve; it’s not only about Supa and Myrwn. But I think that if these two improve specifically, it will impact the team a lot.”

Printing New Bills – “I don’t want to be like North America and just import Koreans”

Beyond immediate performance, MKOI is also investing heavily in long-term development. Melzhet will oversee the entire academy system, which is set to expand with a second-division team.

With how things are developing, you need to have a system that helps progress your main team. Because of the salary cap, and the fact that each offseason looks like it’s harder to find new top players. It’s going to be harder and harder to have five superstars in your roster. You will need to go with rookies eventually. It’s better to have the rookies already trained in your team culture or in your ideas of gameplay.

🟣 KOI LoL'26
Ibai explica el organigrama que va a tener la sección de LoL el año que viene, comenta que van a haber 2 equipos por debajo de la LEC, uno en la futura ERL Española, y otro, en el amateur de España.
– Informante: @IbaiLlanos
– Fuentes: https://t.co/bfNQFQPObY pic.twitter.com/G7AB27QCeG

— KOI Intel (@KOIintel) November 11, 2025

He also believes in responsibility flowing both ways within the organization and rejects shortcuts for the region.

I want players from the main team to send the elevator down again. You have the chance to be here in the LEC, so let’s help the people from the bottom, get them motivated, give them the ambition to reach this level, and show them your experience—what happened, what you did to get here, and all that. That will help the long-term health of the ecosystem. Because I don’t want to be like North America and just import Koreans.

Bella Ciao

Looking ahead, Melzhet’s ambitions for 2026 are clear: greater dominance in Europe and real competitiveness internationally. “Honestly, I don’t care too much about Winter, because it’s not the real LEC anyway. Also, First Stand is only six days, so it’s not like you’re going to experience a lot,” he explained. The focus, instead, is on greater structural improvement.

I want us to improve our mindset and mental strength in-game. I want my players to be way more coordinated as a team. In gameplay, we need to be able to do more complex macro plays, but that requires way more coordination. So that’s why we need to have a really strong mindset, because you need to have clarity to make those decisions. I also think we need to improve a lot in teamfights to compete internationally at the highest level. And then, every player will have individual goals, so it’s going to be different for each of them.

Taking on a broader role within an increasingly ambitious project at MKOI coincided with a major personal milestone for Melzhet, who became a father in 2025. The challenge is no longer about doing more, but about doing things better.

You can’t create more time. So there’s no secret: you need to be really good at being more efficient and also delegate on people that you think are capable of taking responsibilities.

Other organizations rebuilt. MKOI refined. Same crew, same mission, one last chance to crack the international vault. The plan continues—and the Professor likes his odds.