Gentle Mates negotiate roster sale as they exit Counter-Strike

Gentle Mates, the French esports organization co-founded by streaming icon Corentin “Gotaga” Houssein, is pulling the plug on its Counter-Strike 2 operation. The team announced its departure from the scene on June 23, with negotiations underway to sell the entire roster rather than simply release players into free agency.

Gentle Mates only entered CS2 in August 2025, meaning the org lasted roughly ten months in one of esports’ most competitive and expensive ecosystems.

FaZe wants the AWPer, but the price tag is a problem

The most immediate subplot here involves Antonio “MartinezSa” Martinez, the roster’s AWPer who has caught the attention of FaZe Clan. In Counter-Strike, the AWPer is the player wielding the game’s most expensive and powerful sniper rifle, a role that demands exceptional precision and composure.

Negotiations between FaZe and Gentle Mates have reportedly hit a deadlock over financial valuations. The complication is structural: Gentle Mates isn’t looking to sell individual players piecemeal. They want to move the full roster as a package, which means MartinezSa’s price is tangled up in the valuation of the entire squad.