Sources: Gentle Mates have been selected as a VCT EMEA partner team for the 2027-2028 cycle

Gentle Mates will be one of the eight partner organisations in Riot Games’ VCT EMEA programme next season, sources tell Sheep Esports. The decision comes as little surprise given the French team’s community, which is among the most active in the region. Despite the team’s struggles to deliver consistent competitive results so far, its place in the league appears hardly unexpected.

The French organization made its debut in Europe’s premier league in 2024, becoming the first team to qualify for VCT EMEA through Ascension. However, its first two seasons proved largely disappointing, with a string of defeats eventually sending the club back down to VCL. Gentle Mates then chose to leave VALORANT despite its attachment to the game, before reversing that decision when Riot Games opted to remove Movistar KOI from the league and offer its partnership slot to M8 after considering several applications.

As a partner team, M8 made progress this season, notably qualifying for the first international tournament in its history at Masters Santiago, where they reached the playoffs. The rest of the season, however, was largely defined by disappointing results and a succession of roster changes, despite a quarter-final finish at the Esports World Cup. Their campaign came to an end with the team among the first to be eliminated from VCT EMEA Stage 2, following two defeats against Tier 2 teams.

The organization has frequently faced criticism over its constant roster changes. Across their three seasons, 19 different players have represented Gentle Mates, the highest total of any team in VCT EMEA. That number is expected to rise further, as the team is reportedly set to overhaul its entire roster once again ahead of the 2027 season.

According to information previously reported by Sheep Esports, four new players have already reached verbal agreements with the organisation: Martin “Magnum” Peňkov, Denis-Stefan “kozzy” Aionitoaei, Uğur “Ruxic” Güç and Emir “Alfajer” Beder. They will reportedly be joined by a new head coach, Adam “kaplan” Kaplan, and assistant coach Casper "Desmo" Rasmussen.

With a far more high-profile lineup that makes no secret of their ambition to become one of the best teams in the world, Gentle Mates will be looking to make the strongest possible start to this new era of the partnership programme and put their past setbacks behind it. The question now is whether this roster can live up to the organization’s ambitions.