Gentle Mates Are Leaving Counter-Strike - and FaZe Want Their Star AWPer

Gentle Mates are set to exit Counter-Strike after co-founder Corentin "Gotaga" Houssein confirmed the organization is leaving the scene. The French org, which acquired the predominantly Spanish roster approximately 10 months ago, is in active negotiations to sell the team.

French CS2 streamer and commentator Sebastien "KRL" Perez, who broke the news, has pointed to three Spanish organizations as the most likely landing spots for the roster: Heretics, KOI, and GiantX. All three are established Spanish esports brands with existing CS2 infrastructure, making them credible suitors for a team currently sitting 34th in the VRS rankings.

Key Takeaways

• Gentle Mates are exiting Counter-Strike - Gotaga confirmed the org is leaving the scene.
• Heretics, KOI, and GiantX are the three linked buyers for the intact roster.
• FaZe want MartinezSa individually, but price talks are stuck - and his sale complicates any full roster deal.

FaZe Want MartinezSa - But the Price Is a Problem

The more complicated subplot is FaZe Clan's interest in Antonio "MartinezSa" Martinez, the team's AWPer. HLTV can confirm the interest is real, but the negotiations are currently at an impasse - the American and French organizations cannot agree on a transfer fee.

The sticking point is structural: because MartinezSa is the roster's key asset, selling him individually would undermine any sale of the team as a whole. Gentle Mates are therefore pricing him at a premium, and FaZe are not yet willing to meet that number.

FaZe themselves have not made a final decision on which player or players they intend to replace, leaving their options open across multiple targets as the off-season develops.

The Gentle Mates Roster

What This Means

If MartinezSa departs to FaZe before the roster sale completes, the remaining four players - alex, dav1g, mopoz, and sausol - would arrive at a new organization without their best player, which significantly reduces the package's value. Any prospective buyer will be watching the FaZe situation closely before committing.

For the players themselves, the outcome is uncertain. A move to Heretics, KOI, or GiantX would keep the core intact under a Spanish brand aligned with their nationality. A breakdown in talks could see the roster fragment into individual free agency during the off-season transfer window.

"Gentle Mates lasted roughly ten months in CS2. The roster they picked up was a genuine tier-two unit - 34th in the world is not a failure. But running a Counter-Strike team at this level is expensive, and the org has clearly decided the return does not justify the investment. The Spanish connection makes a sale to one of the three linked clubs the cleanest outcome for everyone."

Community Reaction

The HLTV community's main focus was the FaZe-MartinezSa link and what it means for broky's future at the club.

"Martinez over broky?" - absorber "The wording makes me think they'll put broky on rifle." - REALbossnoob "Any HLTV user would be an upgrade over broky." - Powerhouse69 "HLTV also learned that FaZe have not made a final decision on what player or players will be replaced, and are keeping their options open... We might see broky rifle." - ak47lover "BCG going from Portugal to now Spain would be absolutely hilarious ngl - not so much for alex, sausol and mopoz though." - FreePolleChai "Next core for BC.Game to run through." - whaunw

The broky-to-rifle theory picked up traction in the thread, with the consensus being that FaZe are unlikely to carry two AWPers and would convert broky if MartinezSa arrives. Whether that improves or hurts the team is genuinely contested - several users argued broky's utility and comms make him more useful as a rifle-hybrid than jcobbb, whose individual skill is acknowledged but whose team role is seen as limited.

Source: HLTV.org, KRL on X