Remove KOI from franchising (goofy ahh logo and mid players) and insert a russki org
Whenever money is involved, politics will find its way into it. I know that esports orgs normally run on a loss, but once they start making money, they may indirectly help the country that they are based in through tax and other ways. This means that politics will inevitably get involved with esports even though there is no reason for it.
I just dont think thats possible tbh.
I dont know nearly enough about current life in Russia to comment specifically on their current situation (and that would probs count as politics), but in general sports are very very powerful when it comes to keeping your population happy and spreading your ideology
Its impossible to separate something like sports from politics since it can and will be abused when convenient. (You can check out the 1936 Summer Olympics in Germany for a well documented example.)
(And to be clear just straight up "banning" Russia from competing like most international sports have done, does also inadvertently have political impact, so this isnt a non-political solution either. Just the one where hopefully governments have the least way to directly manipulate it to their favor.)
I understand your point, and I agree with the majority of your points. It's just that I find it hard to imagine Russia projecting any form of nationalism through Valorant Esports that isn't their flag on the players shirts. And unlike the 1936 German Olympics, which was hosted by the Third Reich, all of Russias representation in Valorant exists in the form of organizations playing on the international stage. These events are all hosted by RIOT, which to me implies that it may be harder for third parties to get involved.
But of course, I accept that I'm probably younger and less educated than you are, so if I have made any flaws in my reasoning, feel free to point it/them out and I will change accordingly :)