A new power has risen out of the passionate French VALORANT scene. The recently promoted Gentle Mates roster coached by one of the most well-regarded Counter-Strike captains in history is already en route to taking over VCT EMEA in 2024.
EMEA Ascension featured the nine teams that finished first in their respective Challengers leagues, plus a single play-in team. The largely competitive event, however, concluded in a dominant display from the French champion Gentle Mates, who swept both Acend and Apeks in back-to-back 3-0 series wins in both the lower final and grand final of the playoffs.
Fittingly, both Acend and Apeks were the only teams that Gentle Mates had lost to earlier in the tournament, with the French team coached by veteran CS in-game leader Kévin “Ex6TenZ” Droolans getting the ultimate revenge late in the playoffs. Against both opponents, Gentle Mates struck first and decisively with a big map one win, then won two straight competitive maps to secure the respective 3-0 victories. Their grand final was even more impressive considering that Apeks were rewarded both map bans as an upper-bracket winner advantage.
All the numbers from this event showcase the Gentle Mates’ dominance. All five starting players were ranked in the top 11 among all players in the playoffs in terms of player rating, according to stats site VLR.gg. The standout player was certainly the sentinel/Viper expert Logan “logaN” Corti, formerly of Team BDS, who finished top five in player rating across the whole tournament.
But Gentle Mates didn’t just put up impressive numbers on the server. Gentle Mates were easily the most-watched team of the tournament, appearing in all five of the most-watched games of EMEA Ascension in terms of peak viewership, with all three of their final playoff games finishing in the top three. Their grand finals win against Apeks was the most-watched match of any Ascension tournament, including Americas and Pacific, peaking at 227,232 viewers according to Esports Charts.
With all this momentum while led by a coach beloved by the French FPS community, Gentle Mates have a real chance to become a big name in VCT EMEA. Even during a disastrous season for Karmine Corp, the French team were still one of the most-watched teams of the 2023 season. The French fan base is one of the most electric in all of esports, as evidenced by the LFL and the Vitality win at the Paris CS:GO Major, and those fans are fiending for a dominant French VALORANT team to come along.
They just might have one now.
