M8 marteen breaks all-time VCT kill record to qualify for Masters Santiago

Gentle Mates star Martin "marteen" Pátek has shattered the all-time VCT kill record. The previous record was held by Nicolas "srN" Niederauer with 124 kills. In their series against Fnatic, marteen dropped an unbelievable 126 kills, securing M8 the second EMEA slot at VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - Masters Santiago 2026.

This marks the second time marteen has broken a kill record this week.

M8 take down Fnatic

In the Middle Final at VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - EMEA Kickoff against Fnatic, marteen went nuclear to send M8 to their first-ever international event. The series went the distance to all five maps, and marteen top-fragged for his team on four of them. His standout performance came on Split, where he posted a dominant 28/9 K/D.

Earlier this week against BBL Esports, marteen broke the EMEA kill record with 106 kills, surpassing the previous 88-kill mark. Now, he’s not only beaten his own regional record but also the global all-time record previously set by SRN at VCT Game Changers Brazil in 2024.

Success on Yoru

marteen made his VCT debut in 2023 with Karmine Corp. Since then, he has attended one international event: VCT 2024 - Masters Madrid. After joining Gentle Mates in November 2025, marteen has leveled up. The Duelist has become one of the top performers at EMEA Kickoff, bringing a new level of firepower to the roster.

On his former squad, marteen played a flex role, filling multiple positions. But on M8, he’s found his stride by locking in Yoru and consistently finding entries and stacking multikills. Heading to Masters Santiago will be a massive milestone for both M8 and marteen.

Rest before Masters

With the Middle Final win, M8 now get a few weeks to reset before facing international competition in Chile. Fnatic, meanwhile, drop to the Lower Final, where Team Liquid awaits for a high-stakes rematch. The winner will claim the final EMEA spot at Masters Santiago on Sunday, February 15.

For more VCT news, stay tuned to THESPIKE.GG.

Featured image source: Wojciech Wandzel/Riot Games.