Riot Games announced Tuesday that French esports organization Gentle Mates would take over the Valorant Champions Tour EMEA (VCT EMEA) slot held by Spanish esports organization Movistar KOI in 2026. Gentle Mates will officially join the league for the 2026 VCT EMEA season.
“This decision follows a comprehensive and competitive application process, with ten teams invited to participate in the process from the Valorant Esports EMEA ecosystem – including previous Visitor Teams and the 2025 VALORANT Ascension contenders. Nine teams responded to the invite,” said the league in its announcement.
The league added that this process mirrored the system used during the inception of VCT EMEA, when 10 teams were originally selected as partners. Gentle Mates was evaluated against criteria such as organizational goals, strategic alignment and channel strategy, operational readiness, competitive plans and player support systems, and community resonance and the ability to generate fandom. Of the applicants—the league claims—Gentle Mates “achieved the highest overall score.”
The term of this deal will be for one year, or through the end of 2026, when all VCT EMEA partnerships conclude.
Finally, the league said that, following Valorant Ascension EMEA later this year, two additional teams will be promoted into VCT EMEA, keeping the league at 12 teams for the 2026 season.
Riot Games announced in September that it had terminated Movistar KOI’s partnership agreement with VCT EMEA, claiming a “breach of the team’s contractual agreement with the league.” Movistar KOI is a division of OverActive Media. On Sept. 22, Riot Games Head of Valorant EMEA Daniel Ringland said on social media that the league has not made up its mind and has invited 10 organizations in the region to apply.
At the time there had been speculation that Gentle Mates was the likely candidate to take over the spot from Movistar KOI…