Ibai Llanos

Early Life and Entry into Broadcasting

Ibai Llanos was born on 26 March 1995 in the Deusto district of Bilbao, in Spain's Basque Country. The economic instability of the 2008 financial crisis led him to seek distraction in video games, planting the seeds for his future career. His professional path began in 2014 when, at age nineteen, he started commentating on amateur League of Legends esports matches.

His talent was quickly recognized, and by August 2015 he had secured a position as an official commentator for the Spanish regional league, the LVP. To fully commit to this opportunity, he made a significant life change in 2016, relocating from Bilbao to Barcelona. This move was crucial for his development within the Spanish esports scene.

Esports Commentary and Television Work

Ibai's work as a commentator for the LVP, specifically for the Orange Super League, made him a familiar voice to Spanish-speaking League of Legends fans. His role extended beyond pure play-by-play, as he helped bridge the gap between esports and more traditional media. In February 2019, he began presenting a late-night show for the Ubeat network called Hoy no se sale.

This show, which later continued under presenters Bruno Feliu and Cristinini, demonstrated Ibai's versatility and appeal beyond a hardcore gaming audience. It provided a platform that blended gaming culture with general entertainment, a formula he would later master on his own channels.

The Shift to Content Creation and G2 Esports

In February 2020, Ibai made a decisive career pivot. He quit his role as a League of Legends commentator and left the LVP to become an exclusive content creator for the elite esports organization G2 Esports. He joined this venture alongside fellow creators Ander Cortés, Reven, and Ernesto BarbeQ Folch.

This period under the G2 banner was short but formative, giving him a larger platform and association with a top competitive brand. However, his ambition soon outgrew the arrangement. In January 2021, he announced his departure from G2 Esports to launch his own independent streaming brand, bringing together his previous team and adding new talents to forge a completely self-directed path.

Building KOI and the Esports Business

In December 2021, Ibai transitioned from content creator to organization owner, co-founding the esports team KOI with former Barcelona footballer Gerard Piqué. Headquartered in Barcelona, KOI initially fielded competitive rosters in League of Legends, Valorant, and Teamfight Tactics. The venture represented a major investment in the Spanish esports ecosystem.

The organization's journey saw significant turbulence. In October 2022, KOI announced a merger with the established organization Rogue, which would see all of Rogue's existing teams rebrand to KOI. This partnership dissolved just one year later, in November 2023, after Rogue owner Infinite Reality reportedly experienced financial issues. Following the split, KOI retained ownership of its original teams in the Valorant Champions Tour, FIFAe Club Series, and LVP SuperLiga.

A more permanent consolidation occurred in January 2024, when KOI was acquired by OverActive Media, the owner of MAD Lions and Toronto Defiant, in a merger that also included the Spanish organization Movistar Riders. As part of the deal, the LEC team was renamed MAD Lions KOI, and all former KOI and Movistar Riders teams rebranded as Movistar KOI. This transaction granted Ibai and Piqué ownership of up to about 21 percent of OverActive Media, with Ibai also agreeing to a service agreement with the company.

Record-Shattering Events and Mainstream Crossover

Ibai's genius lies in creating spectacular live events that transcend gaming. His flagship production, La Velada del Año, first held in 2021, has become an annual phenomenon. Since its second edition, it has been the most-watched live broadcast on its platform every consecutive year. It is primarily responsible for his record-breaking viewership milestones.

On 25 June 2022, Velada del Año 2 set a new record for the most-watched Twitch stream ever with over 3.3 million concurrent viewers, surpassing the previous record held by TheGrefg. He broke his own record on 13 July 2024 during La Velada del Año IV, achieving an official Guinness World Record of 3,846,256 simultaneous viewers. His most staggering achievement came on 26 July 2025 with La Velada del Año V, which drew 9,189,762 concurrent viewers. This stream also helped him briefly become the most-followed streamer on Twitch, gaining over 1.7 million followers and over 164,000 subscribers during the event.

His crossover appeal is systematic. In February 2021, he launched the interview series Charlando tranquilamente, whose guest list reads like a who's who of sports and music, including footballers Andrés Iniesta, Ronaldinho, Paulo Dybala, Sergio Agüero, and Sergio Ramos, and artists like Ed Sheeran, Bad Bunny, and Nicki Nicole. He co-created the novelty Balloon World Cup with Piqué in October 2023. In December 2024, he recreated The Squid Game in Madrid in collaboration with KFC and Netflix, capitalizing on the release of the series' second season.

Additional Ventures and Personal Life

Ibai's entrepreneurial spirit extends beyond KOI. He is the founder and president of Porcinos FC, a team that competes in the Kings League Spain, a football league founded by Gerard Piqué. He also founded and presides over Rōnin FC, a team competing in the Tercera Catalana, demonstrating his passion for football at multiple levels.

He lives in Barcelona in a shared streaming house with eight friends and fellow content creators. He has a medical condition resulting in 70 percent blindness in his left eye due to a herpes infection. His deep friendship with Argentine footballer Sergio Agüero has provided him access to elite sports circles. Agüero invited him to Lionel Messi's highly publicized farewell dinner in August 2021, and Ibai has since interviewed Messi at his Paris Saint-Germain presentation and the 2023 Ballon d'Or ceremony.

His influence is significant. On YouTube, his main channel has over 17 million subscribers and a total of more than five billion views. In 2021, Forbes Spain named him the most influential social media influencer in the country. On Twitch, his channel is consistently among the platform's most followed and watched, confirming his role as a major figure in modern digital entertainment.