Gentle Mates members spoke at the post-match press conference after their 1:2 loss to Nongshim RedForce in the opening playoff match of VALORANT Masters Santiago 2026. During the session, the team reflected on the defeat, discussed problems with execution and confidence, addressed Dambi’s impact on the series, and shared their expectations for the lower bracket.
Gentle Mates on facing Dambi’s shotgun-heavy style
One of the first questions focused on Nongshim RedForce’s approach on the second map, where Dambi repeatedly found impact with the Bucky and Judge. Gentle Mates said it was something they expected, but still found difficult to deal with in practice.
The shotgun is something that we expected and we tried to prepare for, but obviously it’s hard without playing any other team. I don’t think anyone in the world right now is playing like this, so it’s hard to prepare. We had the chance to play one scrim against Nongshim before, so we at least felt it there. We were thinking it was going to be a bit better. In the end, we were getting quite bullied by the shotgun. But yeah, that’s the state of Neon with Bucky. I think it’s hard to counter. If you miss your shot against the shotgun, it’s kind of done. So he kind of rolls over you. I think we could have played better for sure. But it’s also hard to counter. So next time hopefully he’s going to be eating my Judge also.Minny
Starxo says nothing about Nongshim RedForce was surprising
Starxo was then asked whether Nongshim RedForce showed the team anything unexpected. His answer was blunt: Gentle Mates knew what was coming, but still failed to play their own game the way they wanted.
Nothing surprised us. We knew what was gonna happen. We’ve been watching their games. They’ve been showing this throughout the entire Kickoff. We had all the preparation. I think what we lacked today was only balls. We lacked being ourselves. I think a little bit of pressure from playoffs got to us since the start of the game. Even though we started good on both sides in the first half, I think we couldn’t keep up the momentum for ourselves. We kind of got too excited for the game and that’s it. We always lose to ourselves. That’s how we lost to BBL. We gave too much respect to them. Here I think it was the same thing. We’re gonna make sure that this is not gonna happen again. This is a one-time thing for us. We’re gonna have a deep talk in the hotel and the lower bracket is gonna be flawless.Starxo
Minny on the lower bracket and the team’s mentality
Another question shifted the focus to what changes mentally now that Gentle Mates have dropped into the lower bracket. Minny said the team’s overall approach remains the same despite the loss.
I never really played lower bracket since I’m in VCT. I was just getting stomped last year, so I was just losing and losing. It was just a loser year, not a bracket. So yeah, I think nothing changed. The other teams, they will also be playing for their lives and everyone’s going to be playing their best and trying their best all the time. So I think nothing changed. Our path still stays the same. We’ll be focused on getting better each day and giving it our all, and nothing changed really.Minny
Gentle Mates say the main lesson is not to lose to themselves
When asked what lessons the team would take away from the match, both the players and staff returned to the same core idea: the result was shaped more by Gentle Mates’ own shortcomings than by anything unexpected from the opposition.
I agree with Starxo. This match we lost a bit to ourselves. So yeah, having a conversation, learning experience definitely for us. And yeah, we will make sure that this doesn’t repeat.pakko
The team wants to play with less respect and more confidence
A later question asked what Gentle Mates need to fix first from a tactical point of view. The response again pointed less to strategy itself and more to confidence and commitment in the server.
Overall I think tactically, like Starxo said, we need the balls. We need to play like gentlemen. Don’t respect the enemy. Just do the call until the end. I think that’s tactically it. And I will just add that tactically there are not a lot of gaps. Sometimes it’s only about the execution, which also I believe we lacked today.KUNDIKUNDI
Bipo downplays the head-to-head narrative with Dambi
Bipo was also asked about his duel with Dambi, especially given both players’ connection to Neon. He dismissed the idea of seeing the match as an individual battle.
I think today we weren’t really playing against Dambi. We were playing against Nongshim, so I really didn’t view it as a 1v1 matchup. We were just playing Nongshim. I didn’t really think about it that much.Bipo
Coaching staff explain the composition change on Corrode
The press conference also touched on Gentle Mates’ composition adjustment on the second map, where Marteen was placed on Phoenix. The coaching staff said the decision came more from flexibility and comfort than from any deep strategic reason.
We believe that the composition is good into the matchups that are currently meta on Corrode, so we have players that can play everything, so we are always open to make changes. Maybe somewhere else also, we’ll see. But yeah, it’s not a deep reason. We just believe that we have players that can play everything, we had comfort picks, and yeah, you just change the comp.pakko
Gentle Mates admit the result came down to their own execution
The final fan-submitted question asked whether the match was more about Gentle Mates failing to execute or Nongshim RedForce forcing them into uncomfortable situations. Bipo gave a direct answer.
I think it was more up to us and we just didn’t deliver today, and yeah, we’ll do better next time.Bipo
Masters Santiago takes place from February 28 to March 16 in Chile. During the tournament, 12 teams compete for a prize pool of $1,000,000, as well as VCT ranking points, which are crucial for further qualification to VALORANT Champions. You can find more details about the results and the schedule of upcoming matches at this link.
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