“A solid nightmare” - Minny reflects on Gentle Mates' relegation from VCT EMEA

After Gentle Mates closed out their final VCT EMEA match against Team Vitality, THESPIKE.GG sat down with in-game leader Patrik "Minny" Hušek to talk about the team's struggles, the pain of relegation, and what’s next for the Czech IGL.

Last week, news broke that Gentle Mates were one of the first teams to be relegated from VCT EMEA. While it may not have come as a shock, considering their 0-5 record in VALORANT Champions Tour 2025 - EMEA Stage 2, Minny expressed that this year has been anything but easy.

"It was a solid nightmare. None of us expected to go 0-5, and all of the matches were very close, so it doesn't even feel like we’re that lost. But for sure, something was missing. I’m very sad for Gentle Mates to go out like this because the org deserves more."

Minny, who has been on the roster the longest, admitted that he took the relegation the hardest. He joined the roster in 2024, while the other players were newer to the team and the league. The relegation was obviously tough for all the players, but he felt the weight more.

A rookie squad: High risk, no reward

When asked what went wrong, Minny didn’t hesitate to point to one key factor—experience. "I think we all learned that experience is needed in VCT”. With an all-rookie roster stepping into one of the most competitive leagues in VALORANT, the pressure quickly became overwhelming.

“All these other teams have ex tier-one players and in-game leaders, and we had five rookies playing together. It was a risk we took with the coaching staff, management, and everyone else at Gentle Mates. I still think we did a good job, but it's just tough with rookies to play in this format.”

Continuing, Minny explained how “frequent roster changes were the issue.” In March of 2025, Maks "kamyk" Rychlewski joined the squad. Later in the year in June and July, Sylvain "Veqaj" Pattyn, Yusuf Emre "Proxh" Tunc, and Berkcan "ComeBack" Şentürk were recruited. That left Minny a single month to practice with the whole squad.

Even though he believed the changes were necessary, it was hard to find a rhythm with a constantly rotating roster of players. With zero tier-one players on the market, the task of building a roster as an Ascension team became close to impossible.

Unmatched support from the fans

Even with the rough season for M8, Minny praised their fanbase who has never wavered. Minny describes the overwhelming support and messages he received on social media during Stage 2 as “one of the best organizations support-wise, in VCT.”

“I didn't expect it at all. I know M8 has a big fanbase, but there were so many people messaging me every single day. Even today, people came to watch us. We are not doing well, but people still support us, and it feels like a dream.”

What's next for Minny?

In the near future, Minny plans to go home to the Czech Republic for some much-need time off. But he’s not planning to stay away for long: “I'm sure I have many more years in front of me in VCT.”

Even though the result for M8 ended in disaster, Minny is still happy with his performance as an IGL and hopes for another chance with a more “vocal team.” One of the challenges Minny faced was the language barrier within the squad, especially with teammates like the Turkish player Comeback still picking up English. Minny now hopes he can find a team that helps him call in mid-rounds, so that he can lock in on his Sentinel duties.

“I have no regrets at all. I think going from being a rookie to an IGL for a team with zero experience on stage—I’m proud of the achievement because every single match we were fighting.”

If he gets to dream big, the goal is to play on the best team possible next year, and hopefully reunite with his old teammate from GoNext Esports, Dawid "PROFEK" Święć, who currently plays on BBL Esports.

“One of my wishes is to end up on a team with Profek. He’s my ex-teammate from GoNext. I really like how he plays, his point of view, and how he acts outside of the game.”

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