M8 marteen: "Everyone trusts me, and I see a lot of respect. It keeps me going to work hard"

After their win against NAVI 2-0, marteen looks back on his fresh start with Gentle Mates, the team’s rapid progress, and more topics

marteen during the game against NAVI. Credit: Wojciech Wandzel/Riot Games

"Based on practice, how we worked, and how we believe in each other, I believe we would look strong. The question was how strong we would look"

Gentle Mates are picking up momentum early in the VCT EMEA KickOff 2026, and Martin "marteen" Pátek has quickly looked at home in his new colors. After winning the series 2-0 against Natus Vincere, he spoke with Sheep Esports about the confidence inside the VALORANT roster, how the offseason reshaped his mindset, and the one goal that matters most to him this year: reaching Champions Shangai. Gentles Mates are one win away from qualifying for their first international tournament, the Masters Santiago.

Did you expect the series to be a quick 2-0? And what was the turning point in your opinion in this match?

Martin "marteen" Pátek: “I wouldn’t say I expected it to be a quick 2-0, but I expected us to be very strong. Based on practice, how we worked, and how we believe in each other, I believe we would look strong. The question was how strong we would look.

With your split beginning with Gentle Mates, how are you experiencing it? What gives you confidence, and what shows you still have some room to improve?

marteen: I see everyone trusts me, and I see a lot of respect. It keeps me going to work hard.

Let’s go back a bit to the end of the year with KC. How did you live it from the inside?

marteen: It was hard. We were losing for two years, and it felt like we were losing the same way all the time. Every match was close. I get bad flashbacks when I think about this year and the year before because it was such a big choke. I believe we could have won every single game, but we didn’t.

On the server, what’s the biggest difference you feel between the marteen we saw at the end and now, the marteen with full confidence, full frag?

marteen: It’s more about the change. I changed the environment to feel the hype again. It felt sad at the end of the year because we were losing a lot, and we didn’t know how to fix things. Now it feels refreshing.

How did the contract with Gentle Mates happen? When did it become concrete for you? And what made you say, “Okay, I go to Gentle Mates now”?

marteen: It felt like a good choice for me. I was trialing for a few teams as a full Duelist, and I was talking with them, but I hadn’t made any decisions. Then my agent told me they signed bipo (Taranvir Singh) as a Duelist. I suggested I would like to take the second Duelist-Smoker role because that interested me. As soon as they saw it, we started talking with Gentle Mates, and they agreed. I agreed too, and we finished the deal. It happened really fast because I was convinced. I like Minny (Patrik Hušek), I think he’s a great player and really smart. I like the people because I played with them before. I believed in the team, and I instantly took it. It felt like something I wanted to do.

How did it go on your side? We know you played with bipo before. Do you think that helped you settle in faster?

marteen: For sure. I respect him a lot, he respects me a lot, and we work easily together. We are not close-minded. We respect what the other says. If I say something, bipo listens. If he says something, I do the same. It’s great.

Gentle Mates celebrating their win against NAVI. Credit: Wojciech Wandzel/Riot Games

Do you think the offseason tournaments helped you become the team you are now? And when did you think, “Okay, we are really good now”?

marteen: At the beginning, we didn’t have a great structure. We didn’t have what we wanted or how we wanted to work. The off-season tournaments highlighted what we needed. Then we had long team talks and a lot of feedback to the coaches about how we want to work: what is inefficient and what is efficient. Where we are now is what we found works for us. We are not a perfect team, but when we all believe, we are a great team.

For you, what was the turning point where Gentle Mates became completely different?

marteen: It’s hard. It’s like watching your child grow up. You don’t notice it. Other people can see that it changed a lot, but if you play four months in a row, you don’t notice the change in one day. We improved over a long period of time.

If you had to name one quality for each player on your roster, what would it be and why?

marteen: starxo (Patryk Kopczynski) has energy because he plays much better when there is good energy. bipo is humble. He takes feedback, he gives feedback, and if he doesn’t like something, he says it. He’s a really good guy. Minny is smart because he calls a lot. Him and starxo call together well. Then other people bring ideas, and sometimes they call,l and we take it. GLYPH (Conner Garcia) is focused. He is focused on doing his own thing, how people are going on him, and what he needs.

You just talked about starxo as the IGL of the team. How do you adapt to his IGLing? In-game, who calls the most for decisions?

marteen: starxo calls the beginning of rounds and does mid-rounding. Minny brings ideas, like what’s normal, what we can do, where to stay, and what he will do. He’s like a second IGL. Other people call scaling and fighting. I usually call scaling and what to fight with people. GLYPH is usually in the back holding flank. It can’t be five people talking.

What are your goals for this split and for the year? And what would make you say Marteen had a successful season with Gentle Mates?

marteen: I just want to make Champions at least once. The last two years were depressing. I felt like I needed to change and go for Champs. Start winning, get Champs points, qualify for Champs, and do something great.

And if we don’t talk about internationals, what is your personal goal without Champs?

marteen: Deny the concerned accusations."