This Saturday,
Gentle Mates opened a new chapter in its history by playing its very first international
VALORANT match at the Masters Santiago. Even more notably, M8 secured a convincing debut victory against
2024 World Champions EDward Gaming (2–0). Following the match, Patrik “
Minny” Hušek reflected, for
Sheep Esports, on his team’s win on Haven — EDG’s map pick — as well as on his experience in Chile. Gentle Mates will also play a playoff qualification match this Monday at 22:00 CET against a familiar opponent: Team Liquid, the third seed from VCT EMEA.
How are you feeling after playing your first Masters match — and getting your first win — today?
Patrik "Minny" Hušek: “The emotions are extremely high. It has been a dream come true to be here, and now going to Worlds. It shows how good I am and how good we are as a team. It’s amazing. It’s a dream come true. I feel very blessed to be here, and I can’t wait to play more and more.
Did you feel any special pressure before walking on stage, especially knowing you were about to face a champion player like Zheng "ZmjjKK" Yongkang?
Minny: I told the boys before the match that we were the favorites. If you look at the betting odds, we’re the favorites on paper, so there was no reason for us to be nervous. They should be nervous facing us, and we proved it on the server. It was a normal day in the office. Of course, it’s amazing to play in front of this crowd. The energy is so different from EMEA. It wasn’t pressure, just more tense, like everyone was more hyped to play. There was more energy, but it wasn’t bad pressure at all.
How did your preparation go for these Masters?
Minny: We prepared like we do for every other team in EMEA: basic anti-strat, basic scrims, and adjusting our game plan a bit. There was nothing special. We knew we were playing very well, and they play different compositions, things we’re not used to in EMEA, so we just needed to adjust a little. It took us some time on Haven to get back into the game, but overall, the preparation was normal. We made sure we felt ready, and we showed it.
How does it feel to scrim these kinds of teams now, since it’s not the same as EMEA, where you often face the same teams?
Minny: It feels amazing to play against different playstyles we’re not used to. It makes you think during scrims about what to adjust: this guy is lurking a lot, and you constantly need to analyze the gameplay. When you play teams like Fnatic or BBL, I know what to expect because I’ve played against them for the last three years. But when I face EDG, I’ve never scrimmed them in my life, so it’s a question mark. You can watch VODs, but you can’t feel the game through VODs. It’s amazing, it’s fun to scrim here, it’s fun to be in the practice room, and spending time here in Chile is amazing.
You beat EDG on their map pick, Haven. From your point of view, what gave you the edge on this map?
Minny: Our individual level and our calmness. On the attack, we were very calm. We won a lot of advantages, like 4v5, but we never gave up the round. We always made good plans and stayed composed. That’s what won us Haven. After we started losing some rounds, we got back into the mindset of making plans together and thinking about the game properly, and we were back.
Gentle mates before the game against Edward Gaming at Masters Santiago. Credit: Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games
ZmjjKK had a big impact on the Operator. When you’re playing against an Op that dominant, what’s the key? Do you change your gameplay or force him into off-angles?
Minny: The Operator isn’t very nice in this meta. You don’t have double drones like back in the day, and there are a lot of double-Duelist compositions, so it’s harder to play against an Op. But we handled it well. Sometimes we over-peeked and made mistakes, and that’s why he had that much impact. But he wasn’t dominating us at all. There are better Operator players.
Is there a team or a player you’d love to face during this Masters, and why?
Minny: EDG were already cool to face. It feels amazing to play against players like ZmjjKK, and I respect their head coach, Autumn (Yoon Eu-teum) a lot. It was amazing to play against EDG. But maybe T1. Honestly, all the teams here are cool to play against. It’s hard to choose. I just want to play as many teams as possible and win as many matches as possible.
What does this journey mean to you, and what would you like to tell the fans who believed in you from day one?
Minny: It means the work I’ve put in over the last few years is paying off. I deserve to be here, and I deserve to win matches like this, and I’m showing it. I’m very grateful for the Gentle Mates fans. Last year was tough, and they never stopped supporting Gentle Mates and me. I’m forever grateful. Keep supporting us, it gives us a lot of energy. Thank you. And also the people in the crowd, the Chilean people here, it’s amazing. Since we arrived from the van, people have been so nice, smiling, asking for pictures, and so happy. It’s a blessing to be here.
You looked super energetic and celebrated with the crowd almost every round. Is that to hype your teammates, or mainly to vibe with the audience?
Minny: It’s also to hype myself. The most important feedback is from my teammates; they always tell me that when I stand up and enjoy the game, I play my best. So I really focused on it today. Even when I don’t get the kill, I stand up, look at the crowd, and get energy from them. It motivates me to keep pushing, screaming, and having fun. It’s joy for my teammates too, so I’m doing my best.
If you had to name an MVP among your teammates tonight, who would it be and why?
Minny: I can’t name an MVP. Everyone did their job bipo (Taranvir Singh), starxo (Patryk Kopczynski), GLYPH (Conner Garcia), and marteen (Martin Pátek). Everyone is an MVP in my eyes all the time. We win as a team and lose as a team. There isn’t one individual making us win games. So we’re all the MVPs today, and of course, the coaching staff.”
