Gentle Mates Bench deLonge After Missing IEM Cologne 2026 Major Qualification

Gentle Mates have officially benched head coach Eloy “deLonge” Suárez following the team’s failed attempt to qualify for the IEM Cologne 2026 Major, ending an eight-month tenure under the French organization.

The move marks another shift for a core that has been together since early 2024, previously competing under Iberian Soul and KOI before joining Gentle Mates in August 2025.

Why Gentle Mates Benched deLonge

The decision comes after Gentle Mates narrowly missed out on a spot at IEM Cologne 2026, falling short in the final stretch of the Valve Regional Standings (VRS) race.

Despite staying within qualification range until early April, two key LAN results proved decisive:

A quarter-final exit at BC Game Masters Season 1, including a crucial loss to BIG

Elimination at Stake Ranked Episode 1, where they were knocked out by 9INE

These losses caused the team to drop out of the Major invite threshold just before the April 6 cutoff.

Stake Ranked Collapse Ended Major Dreams

At Stake Ranked in Barcelona, Gentle Mates had one final opportunity to secure enough ranking points.

However, their campaign unraveled quickly:

Opening loss to Ninjas in Pyjamas

Lower-bracket elimination against 9INE

The team started strong in the elimination series, winning the first map, but collapsed on their own Nuke pick and failed to recover on Overpass—effectively ending their Cologne hopes.

Long-Term Project Shows Promise but Falls Short

The benching of deLonge also signals a pause in what had been a steadily improving project.

Key milestones during this roster’s evolution include:

Competing at the PGL Copenhagen Major 2024 under KOI

Strong LAN performances in 2025, including wins at regional events

Signing with Gentle Mates while ranked inside the European top 20

At one point, the team was firmly in contention for Cologne invites after winning IstanbuLAN and finishing runner-up at the Roman Imperium Cup.

deLonge Reacts to Being Benched

Following the announcement, deLonge shared a message on social media, expressing gratitude for his time with the roster:

“Grateful for this year and everything we built together… wonderful memories with amazing teammates.”

He also acknowledged that recent results did not meet expectations and thanked fans for their continued support.

alex Previously Warned About Consistency Issues

The team’s struggles were not entirely unexpected. In a previous interview, in-game leader Alejandro 'alex' Masanet emphasized the importance of consistency:

“Those victories over top teams don’t mean anything if you don’t find consistency.”

That concern ultimately materialized, as Gentle Mates failed to maintain form during the most critical stage of the Major qualification race.

Current Gentle Mates CS2 Roster

After the coaching change, the active lineup remains:

Alejandro 'alex' Masanet

Alejandro 'mopoz' Fernández-Quejo Cano

Álvaro 'sausol' García

David 'dav1g' Granado Bermudo

Antonio 'MartinezSa' Martínez Sánchez

The organization has not yet announced a replacement for deLonge.

What’s Next for Gentle Mates?

With the IEM Cologne 2026 missed, Gentle Mates now shift focus to rebuilding momentum in upcoming tournaments and improving their VRS standing.

The key question remains whether the team will:

Appoint a new head coach

Make roster changes

Or continue developing the current core