Gentle Mates sign safiaa instead of tokameite ahead of GC Championship
Gentle Mates bench tokameite and signs safiaa from Karmine Corp ahead of the Game Changers Championship in São Paulo
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safiaa joins M8. Credit: Gentle Mates
From KC to M8
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Qualified for the Game Changers Championship in its first year, Gentle Mates has announced a change ahead of the competition, benching Anastasia "tokameite" Pozharskaya and bringing in Safia "safiaa" Leghzal from Karmine Corp. Present at the 2025 World Championship with KCorp, the French-Algerian Sentinel will therefore also be in São Paulo, Brazil, from October 22 for the climax of the competitive year in the VALORANTcircuit dedicated to women and marginalized genders.
Winners of GC EMEA Stage 1, the French organization made a strong entrance onto the Game Changers scene, defeating some of the region's top teams, including G2 Gozen, GIANTX and Karmine Corp. The rest of the season was almost as successful for M8, with two lost finals across the following two stages, against SK Nebula and G2 Esports respectively. Thanks to the points earned throughout the year, Gentle Mates nevertheless secured qualification as the region's second seed, behind G2 Gozen and SK Gaming's GC division.
As the team's Game Changers coach since the project launched at Gentle Mates, Kévin "Ex6TenZ" Droolans took to X to explain the reasoning behind the change:
“The decision to make a change has been something we’ve discussed as a staff for some time. Doing it right before Champs was never something we wanted to do, but after a lot of thought, we felt it was the right decision for the team. Ultimately, the decision came down to team dynamics. We completely understand and share that it’s a tough timing, especially for a player who has been a big part of our journey this year, however we believe this is the right direction for the team moving forward. Sometimes, even when you genuinely value someone and everything you’ve been through together, going your separate ways can still be the right decision for everyone involved. I feel like we’re in that situation. We’ve shared a lot of great moments and achieved a lot together this year, and I’m grateful for everything Toka has brought to the team. I’m optimistic about what comes next, and I genuinely wish her nothing but the best in the future.”
Mates ready for the future
For Karmine Corp and safiaa, the season was much more difficult, following a 2025 campaign that had been highly successful for the Blue Wall. After winning the first two stages of the previous year, KC qualified for Seoul and the World Championship, finishing in 5th-6th place. In 2026, however, they struggled to find their rhythm, finishing fourth in Stage 1, Top 7 in Stage 2 and finally 9th-10th in Stage 3. It was a season below expectations for the players, but safiaa will now have the opportunity to brighten her campaign with a move to M8 as a replacement for São Paulo.
The change also comes despite the two players having different roles. tokameite has primarily played Initiators, including Sova during the latest stage, while safiaa is much more established on Duelists and Sentinels, leaving questions over the role she will take on. Those two roles are also more commonly occupied by Gülce "wens" Sürmeli and Emine "berryx" Çoban, who play Sentinel and Duelist, respectively, and are recently renewed with Gentle Mates for next year, as previously reported by Sheep Esports.
