Gentle Mates crowned VCT EMEA Ascension Champions

After an impressive performance throughout both splits of the French VCL, Gentle Mates easily qualified for the VCT EMEA Ascension tournament. After a couple of weeks of matches, they came out on top, beating Apeks 3-0 in the Grand Finals. The huge victory over the expected winners of the event secured the French team a spot in the 2024 and 2025 season of the VCT EMEA League.

YOUR VCT ASCENSION EMEA 2023 CHAMPIONS:

🇫🇷 🏆 GENTLE MATES 🏆 🇫🇷#VCTAscensionEMEA pic.twitter.com/5tPSWfFaSj

— VALORANT Challengers EMEA (@valleague_emea) July 16, 2023

Gentle Mates started their journey in EMEA Ascension with a win against Team Falcons in the Group Stage. They then managed to win two out of the three next matchups to place second in their group and secure a spot in the playoffs, which would take place on LAN in Berlin. The only team Gentle Mates lost to in the Group Stage was Apeks, who haven't lost a single matchup in months and went a perfect 4-0 in the Group Stage to claim the #1 seed heading into Playoffs.

The four teams that qualified to the Playoffs were Gentle Mates, Apeks, Acend, and SAW. The opening match was between Acend, hailing from VCL East, and Gentle Mates, hailing from VCL France. This wasn't a particularly close matchup, as Acend looked much more comfortable and won the first map 13-9 and the second map 13-4. With the win, Acend advanced to the Upper Final. With the loss, Gentle Mates dropped to the Lower Bracket.

The second matchup was between Apeks, hailing from VCL Northern Europe, and SAW, hailing from VCL Portugal. Apeks dominated the first map, winning 13-6. SAW tried to claw their way back and tie the series, but Apeks pulled ahead, kept their composure, and closed out the game with a 13-11 victory. With the win, Apeks advanced to the Upper Final, where Acend was waiting for them. With the loss, Gentle Mates dropped to the Lower Bracket.

The highly anticipated Upper Final was between giants Acend and Apeks. Both teams have looked extremely strong throughout Ascension so far, but it was Apeks to get the victory here today with a 2-1 win and advance to the Grand Finals. Meanwhile, in the Lower Bracket, it was Gentle Mates who were cruising through, as they looked much more comfortable than on Day 1. After victories over both SAW and Acend, they found themselves in a Grand Finals matchup against Apeks.

The first map in the Grand Finals was Haven. This is a map Apeks have been extremely strong on, but somehow Gentle Mates were able to turn the tide and win on it. The French team opened the game with a strong half, winning eight out of twelve rounds and going up 8-4. They continued the strong performance into the second half, winning five out of the next seven rounds to win the game. The final score was 13-6.

The second map was Ascent. Gentle Mates again had a strong first half, this time leading 7-5. They continued their good performance into the beginning of the second half, winning five straight rounds, to now lead 10-5. Apeks answered back with five straight rounds of their own, but Gentle Mates managed to close it out and win 13-10.

Gentle Mates now led 2-0 and only needed one more map victory to win the Grand Finals. Pearl would be the decider, a map the French team has been bad on in the past. However, they defied the odds here today and managed to win a close 13-10 game over Apeks to seal the deal. Gentle Mates were now the winners of VCT EMEA Ascension!

FROM SBG TO VCT

ILS L'ONT FAIT #M8WIN pic.twitter.com/28vOr6emtV

— Gentle Mates (@gentlemates) July 16, 2023

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