Gentle Mates secured their ticket to Masters Santiago, powered by marteen, who set a new all-time kill record with 126 kills.
Martin “marteen” Pátek came to dominate, shattering four records in just 24 hours, including the all-time kill record with 126 kills. His phenomenal performance helped Gentle Mates (M8) secure a ticket to the Masters Santiago, just one year after being relegated from the VCT EMEA.
M8 marteen breaks all-time kill record
In just 24 hours, marteen has proven to be a killing machine. In the best-of-five (Bo5) against BBL Esports, marteen has broken the VCT EMEA kill record that previously belonged to Georgio "keiko" Sanassy, with more than 88 kills. He also ended up beating his personal record, finishing that series with 106 kills. Gentle Mates ended up losing that series against BBL Esports.
The next day, Gentle Mates faced another opportunity to prove their strength in the Mid Bracket Finals against Fnatic. It didn’t take long for Martin "marteen" Pátek to surpass Zheng "ZmjjKK" Yongkang’s Bo5 kill record, exceeding 111 kills. By the end of this incredible series, which went to three overtimes, he broke Nicolas "srN" Niederauer’s all-time kill record, finishing with an astonishing 126 kills.
The next aspas?
He surprised everyone with his debut in Tier 1, securing a VCT 2024: EMEA Kickoff victory while playing for Karmine Corp. However, their momentum stalled at Masters Madrid, where they finished in 5th–6th place. Following that, Karmine Corp was unable to qualify for any further international events.
During the 2025 off-season, marteen joined Gentle Mates, a team that had been relegated from the circuit but made a comeback following KOI’s removal. After a modest showing in Project Blender, marteen returned stronger than ever for VCT 2026: EMEA Kickoff.
They stormed through the Upper Bracket, defeating FUT Esports, GIANTX, and NAVI. Although they fell to BBL Esports, marteen showed everyone an incredible performance throughout the series. Some fans are even dubbing him “the next aspas,” recalling Erick “aspas” Santos’s spectacular Tier 1 debut back in 2021.
Gentle Mates have qualified for the Masters Santiago tournament as EMEA's second seed. They will be playing in the Swiss Stage against the already confirmed Xi Lai Gaming, EDward Gaming, and T1.
