{"id":7726,"date":"2026-06-24T14:00:57","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T11:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vpesports.com\/cs\/?p=7726"},"modified":"2026-06-24T14:00:57","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T11:00:57","slug":"gentle-mates-exit-cs-faze-target-awper-martinezsa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vpesports.com\/cs\/gentle-mates-exit-cs-faze-target-awper-martinezsa\/","title":{"rendered":"Gentle Mates exit CS; FaZe target AWPer MartinezSa"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Gentle Mates have shut down their Counter\u2011Strike division. Co\u2011founder Corentin &#8220;Gotaga&#8221; Houssein broke the news right after the team&#8217;s final match of the season, explaining that the organisation could no longer justify the spending needed to stay competitive in CS2. \u201cIt\u2019s just too expensive for us right now,\u201d Gotaga said, pointing to the steep costs of running a tier\u2011one roster.<\/p>\n<p>The departure was first leaked a few hours earlier by French insider S\u00e9bastien &#8220;KRL&#8221; Perez, who also reported that Spanish organisations Heretics, KOI, and GIANTX are circling the now\u2011available squad. Gentle Mates\u2019 CS venture started in 2023 with a blend of young French and Spanish talent and briefly broke into the VRS global top 20 earlier this year. But the team never managed to hold that momentum. A string of missed opportunities \u2014 including failure to qualify for the IEM Cologne Major and early exits at IEM Rio and PGL Astana \u2014 combined with inconsistent online form pushed them out of tier\u2011one invite range.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-7725\" src=\"https:\/\/vpesports.com\/cs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/gentle-mates-cs2-87471.jpg\" alt=\"Gentle Mates CS2\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>Gentle Mates step away from Counter\u2011Strike<\/h2>\n<p>Gotaga made it clear that the decision came down to finances. Unlike the organisation\u2019s Call of Duty and VALORANT rosters, which operate inside partner leagues, the CS2 team required heavy investment just to stay in the conversation for top events. \u201cWe are used to partner\u2011league models, and Counter\u2011Strike is a completely different beast,\u201d Gotaga said. The roster built around AWPer Antonio &#8220;MartinezSa&#8221; Martinez showed flashes of potential \u2014 including a notable online win over ENCE \u2014 but without deep LAN runs, the project never became sustainable.<\/p>\n<h3>FaZe reportedly interested in MartinezSa<\/h3>\n<p>While several Spanish organisations are evaluating a full pickup of the Gentle Mates core, one player has drawn interest from an established powerhouse. According to KRL and HLTV, FaZe have set their sights on MartinezSa. The report states that FaZe have not made a final decision on which player or players would be moved, but the interest in the Spanish AWPer is concrete. FaZe\u2019s current lineup features the legendary AWPer broky, so any addition of MartinezSa would likely either signal a role shift or a broader roster shake\u2011up after a season that saw FaZe struggle to maintain top\u2011three consistency internationally.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Gentle Mates exited Counter\u2011Strike after Gotaga announced the decision following their final match of the season.<\/li>\n<li>Heretics, KOI, and GIANTX are reportedly interested in acquiring the roster.<\/li>\n<li>The team briefly sat in the VRS global top 20 but failed to qualify for IEM Cologne and missed playoffs at IEM Rio and PGL Astana.<\/li>\n<li>FaZe are targeting AWPer MartinezSa, though a final decision on which players to replace has not been made.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What\u2019s next for the Gentle Mates core?<\/h2>\n<p>The four players left behind \u2014 riflers and support \u2014 now wait for one of the three Spanish suitors to formalise an offer. If FaZe sign MartinezSa, the remaining trio would likely serve as the foundation of a new project under a different banner. The off\u2011season transfer window is already open, and the market for the Gentle Mates pieces is expected to move quickly.<\/p>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Event \/ Timeline<\/th>\n<th>Details<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Gentle Mates exit announcement<\/td>\n<td>Gotaga confirmed exit after final match; cited high costs of CS<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>KRL leak<\/td>\n<td>Leak preceded official announcement; named Heretics, KOI, GIANTX as suitors<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Team peak performance<\/td>\n<td>Reached VRS global top 20 but couldn&#8217;t sustain form<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Missed LAN playoffs<\/td>\n<td>IEM Rio, PGL Astana; failed IEM Cologne Major qualifier<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>FaZe interest in MartinezSa<\/td>\n<td>AWPer is a target; FaZe have not decided whom to replace<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Potential roster moves<\/td>\n<td>MartinezSa may leave core; remaining players likely to join new org<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>No official offers have been announced yet, but the next few weeks will determine whether MartinezSa ends up wearing black and red or stays part of a Spanish\u2011led revival.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Gentle Mates leave Counter-Strike after failing to secure funding; FaZe reportedly interested in signing AWPer MartinezSa.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7991,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7726","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Gentle Mates exit CS; FaZe target AWPer MartinezSa - CS2 VPEsports<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Gentle Mates leave Counter-Strike after failing to secure funding; FaZe reportedly interested in signing AWPer MartinezSa.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/vpesports.com\/cs\/gentle-mates-exit-cs-faze-target-awper-martinezsa\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Gentle Mates exit CS; 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