Gentle Mates win VCT Asencion EMEA 2023

The wait and struggle in the VALORANT EMEA Tier 2 scene is over, as Gentle Mates pulled off a very pleasant surprise by winning the VCT Asencion EMEA 2023 to secure their place in the VCT EMEA League for the 2024 and 2025 seasons.

Gentle Mates defeated Apeks in the Grand Final of the tournament, a team that arrived with a lot of confidence and with the label of favorites after dominating the Challengers scene during the entire 2023 season. However, they showed that every match is different and that the team with the best form will always win. Now, Apeks will have to fight for one more season to punch their ticket to VALORANT’s top tier in EMEA, while Gentle Mates will be rubbing shoulders with the best from next season onwards.

Gentle Mates’ Path in the VCT Ascension EMEA 2023

Gentle Mates’ path in the tournament was really interesting and positive. After being drawn in Group B, they managed to qualify for the playoffs by winning three of the four matches they played. In addition, it is worth noting that the team’s only defeat in the Group Phase was against Apeks by 0-2.

Then, in the playoffs, the team was stunned by Acend in the first game, and they fell to the Lower Bracket after a tough 0-2 loss. The team stayed alive after a 2-1 win over SAW, while they got revenge on Acend in the Lower Bracket final with an excellent 3-0 score.

Gentle Mates apply a clean sweep against Apeks in the Grand Final

In the Grand Final, there is no doubt that Apeks came in as favorites to take the win. However, the Gentle Mates boys thought otherwise, as they delivered a spectacular 3-0 thrashing to seal their direct ticket to the VCT EMEA League 2024 and 2025.

It all started in Haven, Apeks’ map pick, where we saw an impressive wall of defensive play from Gentle Mates to take a partial 8-4 first-half victory. Then, at the change of sides, Apeks could not stop the onslaught of Gentle Mates and fell by 6-13.

Then, at Ascent, Gentle Mates’ map pick, things changed slightly as Apeks woke up and started putting pressure on the series. However, the coolness and excellent level of play of Gentle Mates’ Logan “logaN” Corti took care of keeping Apeks from coming back in the series.

Man of the match deserving stats from @logaNN_csgo! 😱

Get ready, @valesports_emea! 😈#VCTAscensionEMEA pic.twitter.com/SjeQmuudpV

— VALORANT Challengers EMEA (@valleague_emea) July 16, 2023

The first half ended with a partial score of 7-5 in favor of Gentle Mates. Then, in the second half, GM won the first five rounds to take a 12-5 lead. However, Apeks woke up and won five consecutive rounds to place the score 10-12, but this was not enough, and Gentle Mates closed the map with an excellent 13-10.

Finally, in Pearl, we watched a spectacular match worthy of a grand final. The first half ended even 6-6, thanks to a phenomenal display by both teams. However, the second half was all Gentle Mates, who won seven of the 11 rounds played to take the win 13-10.

The moment every #ChallengersEMEA team has fought for 🔥

Congratulations @gentlemates! 🥇#VCTAscensionEMEA pic.twitter.com/WTGqHs5tw7

— VALORANT Challengers EMEA (@valleague_emea) July 16, 2023

Header: VCT EMEA