Gentle Mates collapsed this Thursday evening against FUT Esports in the opening match of Stage 2 of the VALORANT VCT EMEA. The result is all the more disappointing given that the French organization had six match points on Lotus, the final map of the series, yet failed to close it out. In the end, it was the Turkish players who came out on top in overtime with a 16-14 scoreline. Adding to M8’s disappointment, they had actually opened the Bo3 with a win on Bind, before falling 13-5 on Sunset and heading into the deciding third map.

Veqaj tried everything

On Lotus, it was initially Gentle Mates who took the upper hand, stringing together six consecutive rounds on defense to go into halftime with a two-point lead. Continuing that momentum, M8 took five of the first six rounds in their attacking phase, reaching match point at 12-6. But the Turkish side bounced back with six rounds in a row to tie the game. The comeback could have been stopped at the last moment (12-11) with a key play by Sylvain “Veqaj” Pattyn, who came close to pulling off a 1v3 with the Operator to secure victory for the Mates.

Veqaj eventually did manage to clutch a round in overtime, picking up three kills to deny FUT a 14-12 win. That play even gave the French side another match point, the last round they would win in the series. FUT ultimately secured the victory with a final elimination by Doğukan "qRaxs" Balaban. A tough end to the match, which can also be explained by one key stat: opening kills. Over the last twelve rounds, the Turkish players claimed the first kill nine times, a major advantage in setting the tone for each round. Mehmet “cNed” Yağız İpek finished the series with a KDA of +15 (65 eliminations for 50 deaths) on his return to the VCT, after several months' absence.