After more than four years with the same people at FunPlus Phoenix and then NAVI, Pontus “Zyppan” Eek is about to make a fresh start. The Swede has reached a verbal agreement with Gentle Mates in VCT EMEA, according to Sheep Esports sources. The Duelist, who also plays Initiator, will take Nathan “nataNk” Bocqueho's place at the French club.

In addition to the high priority that Gentle Mates gave to the player, three other teams in VCT EMEA showed interest in the player where one of them ended up having him in their top 2 to sign him for their next 2025 roster. Gentle Mates was deciding between Zyppan and Elias "Jamppi" Olkkonen for this position, and ended up choosing the Swedish player to form the roster.

Zyppan therefore discovered the VALORANT EMEA elite in 2021 at FPX. Despite the team's domination of the local league at the time, the club failed to win a single international tournament that year. The following season, they made up for this by winning the Copenhagen 2022 Masters, before finishing 4th in the Champions. NAVI then acquired the roster led by captain Kyrylo “ANGE1” Karasov. Only Ardis “ardiis” Svarenieks had left the boat for the 2023 season and was replaced by Mehmet “cNed” İpek.

Despite an almost identical formula to that of 2022, NAVI spent the 2023 season in the shadow of their great rival on the Old Continent, Fnatic. Zyppan finished 3rd at the Sao Paulo LOCK//IN, won by Black and Orange, and then 4th at the VCT EMEA, which Team Liquid surprisingly won in the Grand Final... against Fnatic. Despite taking part in that year's Masters: Tokyo and Champions, Zyppan never came close to the title.

Fourth signing of this offseason

In 2024, NAVI brought back ardiis to reform their previous five. And despite a successful start to the EMEA Kick-Off and the Stage 1 regular season, NAVI failed to win a single playoff match all season. As a result, the Ukrainian team missed out on qualification for international tournaments... just like Gentle Mates. After a flamboyant first year in 2023 in VCL France capped by a promotion earned through their victory in the Ascension EMEA tournament, M8 suffered in their first season at the highest level.

The arrival of Thomas “kAdavra” Johner in the middle of the season was the first change in the club's history. However, faced with a lack of good results despite this change (9th in Stage 2), Gentle Mates had to make changes again. And this time, Gentle Mates has made several : the team has not only found a new coach - Alex “Goked” Kie - but also two new players: Patrik “Minny” Hušek and Robbie “RobbieBk” Boerkamp, as previously reported by Sheep Esports.