Gentle Mates are going to Santiago

Gentle Mates become the second participant of VALORANT Masters Santiago 2026 from EMEA, pulling off a historic comeback against Fnatic

On February 14 at Riot Games Arena in Berlin, the second representative of the EMEA region at VALORANT Masters Santiago 2026 was determined. Gentle Mates, in an incredible five-map middle bracket final, defeated Fnatic 3:2 and secured a spot at the international tournament after being down 0:2 in the series.

Martin marteen Pátek was named the best player of the match – his 1.65 rating, 179.44 average damage per round, and 82.26% KAST were decisive in this epic comeback. Moreover, the Czech player set a new record for the number of kills in a Bo5 match on the professional VALORANT scene – 126 frags, beating the previous achievement of ZmjjKK from EDward Gaming, which stood at 111 kills.

The first lucky team from EMEA had previously been BBL Esports, who won the upper bracket and sent Gentle Mates to the middle final. Now Fnatic will have to face Team Liquid for the third and final slot from the region.

Champions' lineup
Patrik Minny Hušek
Taranvir bipo Singh
Conner glyph Garcia
Martin marteen Pátek
Patryk starxo Kopczyński - IGL
Pavle pakko Kostić - head coach

Tournament format
VCT 2026: EMEA Kickoff is taking place in Berlin from January 20 to February 15. Twelve teams are competing in a triple-elimination system. All matches, except bracket finals, are played in a best-of-three format, with the finals being best-of-five.

Before each match, the teams determine the side for the map pick-ban through Skirmish Side Selection – a 1v1 duel in Skirmish mode without abilities, where the winner is the first player to take five rounds.

The winner of the tournament receives 4 EMEA Points. The second- and third-place teams also qualify for VALORANT Masters Santiago 2026. The organizer is Riot Games.