Gentle Mates and Karmine Corp qualify for the Esports World Cup on VALORANT

What could be better than having three French teams competing at the Esports World Cup in Paris this coming July? Team Vitality had already secured their place at the event thanks to their performances during the VCT EMEA Stage 1, and this weekend the organization was joined by both Karmine Corp and Gentle Mates, who qualified after securing two victories during the EMEA Qualifier.

These are prestigious qualifications for the French organizations, all of whom will now have the opportunity to compete on the international stage in front of a home crowd in Paris after previously missing the chance to do so during VALORANT Champions 2025, which had also been held in the French capital.

After failing to qualify for the second Masters event of the season and making the decision to replace head coach Pavle “pakko” Kostić, Gentle Mates now appears to have rediscovered their rhythm. The team first defeated a Team Liquid roster forced to play without Ayaz “nAts” Akhmetshin due to health issues, before the EMEA Kickoff runners-up followed it up the next day with a dominant 3–0 victory over FUT Esports.

With a new structure placing Patrik “Minny” Hušek on Neon and Taranvir “bipo” Singh in the Sentinel role, the team seems to have found a system that better suits its strengths and which it hopes will allow it to return to the form that previously carried it to the Masters Santiago playoffs earlier this year.

Following a disastrous Stage 1 campaign that ended without a single best-of-three victory, Karmine Corp chose to part ways with Andrey “Engh” Sholokhov in an attempt to reset its trajectory. KC opened the qualifier with a 2-1 victory over Eternal Fire before defeating Fnatic 3-2 to secure their place at the tournament.

After building a 2-0 lead in the series, the French organization watched the multiple-time European champions claw their way back to 2-2, but ultimately managed to hold firm and prevent the reverse sweep by securing the decisive map on Breeze. Judging by the reactions from both the players and coach Ahmed “ZE1SH” Sheikh, the victory clearly carried significant emotional weight for the roster.

Defending champions Team Heretics had already qualified for the competition, which is scheduled to begin on July 2. The three French teams will also be joined by a fifth representative from the EMEA region. The final qualifying spot for the event will be contested this week between Natus Vincere, Fnatic, FUT Esports, and BBL Esports.