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MAD Lions

Short name	MAD
Divisions	League of Legends Valorant
Founded	31 August 2017 (2017-08-31)
Folded	6 December 2024
League	LEC
Based in	Madrid, Spain
Championships	3× LEC (Spring 2021, Summer 2021, Spring 2023)
Parent group	OverActive Media
Website	madlions.com

MAD Lions was a Spanish esports organisation owned by OverActive Media. Its main League of Legends team, which was rebranded from Splyce, competes in Europe's top-level league for the game, the LEC. Its secondary League of Legends team competes in Spain's SuperLiga, the top three teams of which qualify for the prestigious European Masters tournament.

MAD Lions won their first LEC title on 11 April 2021, after reverse sweeping Rogue in the spring finals.

On December 6, 2024, the MAD Lions brand completed the definitive merger under the Movistar KOI brand.

League of Legends

History

Before joining the LEC

MAD Lions was founded on 31 August 2017 to compete in the Spanish professional League of Legends scene. The team began competing in Spain's SuperLiga Orange (formerly División de Honor) and grew in popularity as they consistently topped the region, qualifying for the prestigious European Masters tournament thrice and winning the tournament in their second appearance in summer 2018. The organisation also began expanding globally, sponsoring several teams in Latin America under the MAD Lions brand.

In May 2019 it was announced that MAD Lions had been acquired by OverActive Media. The company later announced its intentions to dissolve its other esports subsidiary, Splyce, by the end of the year. Splyce's League of Legends team subsequently assumed the MAD Lions brand in November 2019, while MAD Lions' original League of Legends team renamed to MAD Lions Madrid.

2020 season

MAD Lions' inaugural LEC roster for the 2020 Spring Split consisted of four rookies—Orome, Shad0w, Carzzy, and Kaiser—and one former member of Splyce, Humanoid. Despite expectations that the team would only qualify for the losers' bracket of playoffs or not qualify at all, MAD Lions finished fourth in the regular season and secured a spot in the winners' bracket. G2 Esports selected MAD Lions as their opponent for the first round of playoffs, and were expected to win against MAD Lions as favourites to win the spring season. However, MAD Lions were able to defeat G2 Esports in a close-fought series, knocking the latter into the losers' bracket. MAD Lions were then themselves knocked down to the losers' bracket after being swept by Fnatic in the second round of the winners' bracket. MAD Lions' inaugural split ended when they lost to a more well-prepared G2 Esports in the final round of the losers' bracket.

MAD Lions retained their entire spring lineup for the 2020 LEC Summer Split. The team finished second in the regular season and began playoffs in the winners' bracket. MAD Lions lost their rematch against G2 Esports in the first round of the winners' bracket, and were forced to climb through the losers' bracket once again. MAD Lions managed to defeat Schalke in the second round of the losers' bracket, but were swept by Rogue in the third round and ended fourth.

MAD Lions' fourth-place finish in the summer split qualified them for the play-in stage of the 2020 World Championship. As a team from a major region, MAD Lions was expected by many analysts to qualify for the main event. However, MAD Lions placed fourth out of five teams in their group and were eliminated from Worlds contention by Turkey's SuperMassive in the knockout stage.

2021 season

Prior to the 2021 LEC Spring Split, Orome and Shad0w were replaced with Armut and Elyoya respectively, both of whom were making their debut in the LEC. Armut was previously the top laner for SuperMassive, the team which eliminated MAD Lions from the 2020 World Championship. MAD Lions finished third in the regular season and began in the winners' bracket once again. MAD Lions defeated Rogue in the first round of the winners' bracket, qualifying for the second round. There, MAD Lions defeated G2 Esports and advanced to their first LEC finals. Despite trailing 0–2, MAD Lions managed to reverse sweep Rogue in a closely fought finals, claiming their first LEC title.

Roster

Male

Female

MAD Lions KOI League of Legends roster
Players	Coaches
Role Handle Name Nationality Top Emolga Ortiz, Lorena Spain Jungle Paradox Stengel, Selina Germany Mid Dragon de los Ángeles Zarate, María Argentina Bot Sakkuromi Nieto Fonte, Sonia Spain Support Miyuuri Lupión, Carla Spain Jungle Delicate  Giannopoulou, Chara Greece	Head coach Jasmin "Jay" Ajanovic
Legend: (I) Inactive (S) Suspended Substitute Injury / Illness	Roster updated 13 July 2024.

Seasons overview

Valorant

Roster

Female

Notes

1. Known as MAD Lions E.C. until November 2019. "MAD" is short for Madrid, but the name "Madrid Lions" has never been used by the organisation. Also known as MAD Lions KOI during 2024.
2. Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

References

1. "Movistar KOI confirma su nuevo nombre y logo para competiciones". esports.as.com (in Spanish). 7 December 2024.
2. "MAD Lions se expande a Colombia". Movistar eSports (in Spanish). 16 November 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
3. Hayward, Andrew (29 May 2019). "OverActive Media Acquires Spain's MAD Lions Esports Club". The Esports Observer. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
4. Nicholson, Jonno (23 September 2019). "OverActive Media to close down Splyce office in Rochester". Esports Insider. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
5. Robertson, Scott (29 November 2019). "Splyce officially rebrand LEC team to MAD Lions, announce 2020 starters". Dexerto. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
6. Lupasco, Cristian (28 March 2020). "MAD Lions secure fourth place in LEC Spring Split standings". Dot Esports. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
7. "MAD Lions earn spot in winners bracket on final day". Field Level Media via Reuters. 29 March 2020. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
8. Geracie, Nick (3 April 2020). "League of Legends: [LEC Spring Playoffs] MAD Lions upsets G2 Esports in 5 game epic". Inven Global. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
9. Kolev, Radoslav (3 April 2020). "MAD Lions shock G2 in LEC playoffs thriller". VPEsports. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
10. Moncav, Melany (11 April 2020). "Fnatic beats MAD Lions, qualifies for 2020 LEC Spring Split finals". WIN.gg. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
11. Esguerra, Tyler (18 April 2020). "G2 head to 2020 LEC Spring Finals after taking down MAD Lions in 4 games". Dot Esports. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
12. Porter, Matt. "The defining moments of G2 Esports' LEC 2020 Summer Season". Red Bull. Red Bull Esports. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
13. Lunardi, Lara (30 August 2020). "Rogue defeats the MAD Lions 3-0 in the LEC Summer Playoffs, will face G2 in Semifinals". InvenGlobal. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
14. Wolf, Jacob (29 September 2020). "MAD Lions eliminated from worlds in historic upset by SuperMassive". ESPN. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
15. Wolf, Jacob; Ocal, Arda (15 October 2020). "Sources: MAD Lions nearing deals with Armut, Elyoya". ESPN. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
16. Vukobrat, Petar (5 April 2020). "MAD Lions Knockout G2 to Reach 2021 LEC Spring Finals". Esports Talk. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
17. McIntyre, Isaac (12 April 2021). "MAD Lions pull off Rogue reverse sweep to claim maiden LEC title". Dexerto. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
18. Rand, Emily (23 April 2020). "Riot cancels Mid-Season Invitational, announces changes to worlds". ESPN. Archived from the original on 7 March 2023. Retrieved 7 March 2023.

External links

• Official website

• 2017 establishments in Spain
• Esports teams based in Spain
• Esports teams established in 2017
• League of Legends EMEA Championship teams
• Valorant teams