Gentle Mates enter Counter-Strike with Iberian Soul lineup

French esports club Gentle Mates has entered competitive Counter-Strike 2 after signing the all-Spanish roster of Iberian Soul yesterday. Gentle Mates acquired all five starting players and the coaching staff.

The acquisition marks a major step forward for the organization less than three years after it's inception. Gentle Mates was founded in April 2023, entering competitive VALORANT and Fortnite immediately and other titles over the next two years.

The organization has grown substantially recently. In VALORANT, Gentle Mates achieved promotion into VCT EMEA, the highest professional tier in Europe, but were relegated after one season. In late 2024, they acquired a slot in the Call of Duty League, currently competing under the name Los Angeles Guerrillas M8.

The Iberian Soul roster has competed together under an orgless banner since the start of 2025, winning a handful of tier-two/tier-three EU events but falling short of qualifying for some of the larger international LAN events.

Gentle Mates acquired the roster in the midst of their run at ECL Season 50 EU Cup #1. In their first match under the new banner, the players beat Nemiga 2-0 in the lower bracket. Their second match could very well be against one of the all-time greats in Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev, as they await the winner of BC.Game and OG.

Currently the team is ranked 25th globally and 18th in Europe, according to HLTV's VRS rankings page. They'll compete at StarLadder StarSeries Fall next month after qualifying via the EU qualifier.

The full roster of Gentle Mates consists of:

• Alejandro "mopoz" Fernández-Quejo

• David "dav1g" Granado

• Pere "sausol" Solsona

• Alejandro "alex" Masanet

• Antonio "Martinez" Martinez

• Eloy "deLonge" Suárez (Coach)

• Angel "repk3ys" Navarro (Assistant Coach)