Light Mates Launch Complete VALORANT Roster and Coaches

Light Mates have cleared the decks. The French organisation has parted methods with all 5 gamers on its lively VALORANT roster, together with each of its coaches, forward of its first season as a VCT companion group in 2027. The membership confirmed the exits in a brief farewell publish on X, thanking marteen, starxo, Minny, Proxh and H1ber.

Head coach Jiri “KUNDIKUNDI” Honkala and assistant coach Erim “Mavera” Sasal are additionally gone, which suggests the Mates will begin their 2027 mission with a very clean sheet. The transfer is without doubt one of the largest but in an low season that has already seen Staff Vitality half methods with Derke.

Merci pour tout et bonne continuation 🩷

@minnyfn@starxo5@imthemarteen@H1berr@proxhh

Light Mates (@gentlemates) October 25, 2026

A season that began with a bang

It’s a sharp flip for a facet that appeared like one of many shock packages of the 12 months early within the season. After ending final in EMEA in 2025, Light Mates rebuilt virtually from scratch. Patrik “Minny” Hušek was the one participant stored, with Patryk “starxo” Kopczynski introduced in to steer the group in recreation, joined by Martin “marteen” Pátek, Taranvir “bipo” Singh and Conner “GLYPH” Garcia.

That group completed second at EMEA Kickoff, a run during which marteen set a brand new kill report for a best-of-five sequence. It additionally earned the Mates a ticket to Masters Santiago, the primary worldwide occasion within the membership’s historical past. They went 2-2 in Chile and bowed out within the high eight.

Adjustments that by no means caught

The remainder of 2026 was far much less sort. Based on VLR.gg, a 2-3 group stage report in Stage 1 value head coach Pavle “pakko” Kostic his job, with KUNDIKUNDI stepping up from assistant. GLYPH left after a 0-2 exit within the Stage 1 playoffs, and Yusuf “Proxh” Emre Tunc, who had performed for the membership in 2025, returned in his place.

Stage 2 introduced one other 2-3 group report. Joona “H1ber” Parviainen then changed bipo earlier than the play-ins, the place Eintracht Frankfurt ended the Mates’ season. Earlier this month, VLR.gg reported that KUNDIKUNDI was in search of a brand new group, that starxo and bipo had been allowed to discover their choices and that H1ber had been launched. Alongside the way in which, the group additionally reached the Esports World Cup, the place eventual runners-up NRG knocked them out within the quarter-finals.

What comes subsequent for Light Mates

Light Mates are one of many organisations Riot Video games picked as companion groups for the subsequent period of the VALORANT Champions Tour, so their place in EMEA is safe. The query now could be who they’ll construct round. With no gamers or coaches left from the 2026 line-up, each position on the group is open.

For the 5 departing gamers, the timing is sweet. The switch window is busy and loads of companion groups are reshaping their rosters, as our round-up of early VALORANT low season strikes reveals. marteen particularly ought to draw curiosity after his record-setting Kickoff, whereas Minny leaves after two seasons with the membership.