Gentle Mates complete lineup for VCT 2026 season

Gentle Mates has officially completed their new lineup going into the VCT 2026 season following their reintroduction into the VCT EMEA.

Just a few months ago, Gentle Mates were relegated from the VCT circuit due to failing the needed competitive requirements for guest teams to retain their spot in the league. However, the French organization was given a second lease on life in VALORANT after franchised team Movistar KOI was kicked out of the league by Riot Games, leaving a spot for Gentle Mates to stay in the VCT heading into 2026. Now, the team is set to build on their past two years in the league with a new lineup of players, aiming to improve their domestic rankings.

What is the new 2026 Gentle Mates lineup?

The new Gentle Mates lineup will consist of a complete roster rebuild centered around the remaining VCT 2025 player Patrik "Minny" Hušek. He will be joined by a mixed lineup of Taranvir "bipo" Singh, Conner "GLYPH" Garcia, Martin "marteen" Pátek, and Patryk "starxo" Kopczynski going into the VCT 2026 season as the French organization looks towards making the most of their second life in the VCT circuit.

The new lineup is a mix of players with VCT experience and Tier 2 stars from both the EMEA and Americas regions. Marteen is joining Gentle Mates after a two-year stint with Karmine Corp, while starxo is a former VALORANT World Champion who was most recently seen playing for Joblife. This will mark the latter's return to the VCT EMEA league after playing in Tier 2 throughout 2025.

The final two slots on this team are filled by Tier 2 stars bipo and GLYPH. Bipo was most recently seen as a star on MOUZ. Meanwhile, GLYPH is a Tier 2 Americas rookie who most recently played for Winthrop University. In his short time with Winthrop, GLYPH led the team to a 4th-place finish in VALORANT Champions Tour 2025 - Ascension Americas. This will mark the debut of both players at the Tier 1 level.

Gentle Mates' second life in VCT franchised league

Gentle Mates first came into the VCT EMEA league at the start of the VCT 2024 season following their Grand Finals victory over Apeks at VCT 2023 - Challengers Ascension: EMEA. The team was granted a two-year guest slot in the VCT EMEA league, spanning across the VCT 2024 and 2025 seasons, which could be extended depending on their performance at the Tier 1 level. Unfortunately, the team made no significant strides in the league. Despite several close best-of-threes in the EMEA league, the team went winless throughout VALORANT Champions Tour 2025 - EMEA Stage 2, resulting in their relegation.

It will be interesting to see how the new-look Gentle Mates roster performs in the VCT EMEA 2026 season in their first year as a franchised team in the league. They will compete alongside 11 other teams in their own quests to make it to the VCT international stage next year. For now, teams will be looking to use the remainder of the offseason to prepare for the coming season and rejuvenate.

Gentle Mates VCT 2026 Lineup

• Patryk "starxo" Kopczynski
• Taranvir "bipo" Singh
• Martin "marteen" Pátek
• Conner "GLYPH" Garcia
• Patrik "Minny" Hušek

Be sure to follow THESPIKE.GG for more VALORANT offseason content like this as we head closer to the start of the VCT 2026 season.