Home

French esports organisation Gentle Mates has officially entered the world of Counter-Strike 2, signing the rising Spanish roster Iberian Soul.

It’s a major addition for Gentle Mates, who first started out in VALORANT back in 2023 under the name SBG before rebranding. Founded by French esports and content icons Corentin “Gotaga” Houssein, Kevin “Brawks” Georges, and Lucas “Squeezie” Hauchard, the organisation already fields squads in League of Legends, Rocket League, Call of Duty, VALORANT, and Fortnite. Now, CS2 is joining that list.

Iberian Soul Find Their Organisation

For Iberian Soul, this signing brings an end to a long search. The team had been without an organisation since January after parting ways with KOI, but they’ve stayed active and competitive in Europe’s tier-two scene over the past eight months.

The roster is made up of:

  • Alejandro “alex” Masanet
  • Alejandro “mopoz” Fernández-Quejo Cano
  • Pere “sausol” Solsona Saumell
  • David “dav1g” Granado Bermudo
  • Antonio “MartinezSa” Martinez
  • Eloy “deLonge” Suárez (Coach)
  • Angel “repk3ys” Navarro (Assistant Coach)

Despite not having backing, they’ve had an impressive year. The team lifted trophies at epicLAN 45 (where Owen “smooya” Butterfield stood in), the OMEN Roman Imperium Cup I, Exort The Proving Grounds Season 2, and Galaxy Battle 2025 Phase 3. Those results pushed them up to 29th in the global VRS rankings and 20th in Europe as of August, with more chances to climb in September’s update.

They also have upcoming LAN appearances at DraculaN Season 1 in Bucharest and StarLadder StarSeries Fall in Budapest, both of which could put them even closer to a Major qualification spot.

MartinezSa, who reunited with his former Movistar Riders teammates earlier this year, has been a key piece of the puzzle. He described joining Gentle Mates as a “very happy moment,” while mopoz said that representing the organisation as a full Spanish lineup “fills us with joy.”

What’s Next

The Gentle Mates CS2 debut will be streamed live on Squeezie’s official Twitch channel this week. From there, all eyes will be on Budapest, where StarLadder StarSeries Fall could define whether Iberian Soul make the jump into Tier 1.

The roster already has a proven pedigree. Alex, dav1g, and mopoz were part of Movistar Riders’ breakthrough, winning ESL Challenger Valencia and reaching the semi-finals of IEM Cologne 2022. MartinezSa also has top-tier experience after helping his team reach the top four at IEM Dallas 2024.

With Gentle Mates’ backing and their track record, Iberian Soul might just be one of the strongest contenders to break through from Tier 2 to Tier 1 CS.