starxo Cleared to Leave: 5 of 6 Expire in 2027
Five of Gentle Mates' Six Contracts Expire in the Year Guaranteed Slots Disappear
This article was machine translated from the Japanese original. Quotes were translated too, so they are not the speaker's exact words. Where anything reads oddly, the Japanese version is authoritative. Read the Japanese original →
starxo ·
On September 2, Gentle Mates' starxo revealed they have been cleared to negotiate with other organizations for 2027. The contract with Gentle Mates remains in place. But this goes beyond one player's move. Gentle Mates entered EMEA on a one-year deal, and five of the six players on the roster see their contracts expire at the same time. In 2027 the VCT scraps guaranteed slots for partner teams and shifts to open qualifiers. This is the first name to surface in a year when the market opens all at once.
starxo cleared to talk to other organizations while still under contract
Gentle Mates' starxo announced on September 2 that they had received permission to explore other options for 2027. VLR.gg reported the news.
"I'm still under contract and I'm continuing to talk with Gentle Mates about my 2027 future. That said, I've been given permission to explore other options"
starxo is from Poland, serves as IGL, and has handled Controller and Initiator. In this announcement, starxo said the role does not matter — IGL or second caller — and listed both Controller and Initiator as roles played.
Career includes a Champions win with Acend
starxo turned pro with Entropiq in 2020. In 2021 starxo moved to Acend and won Champions Berlin. After staying with Acend through 2022, two seasons followed at KOI. In 2025 starxo joined Challengers side Joblife and reached EMEA Ascension. The move to Gentle Mates came last offseason, against the backdrop of KOI dropping out of VCT EMEA.
| Period | Team | Key result |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Entropiq | Turned pro |
| 2021–2022 | Acend | Won Champions Berlin |
| 2023–2024 | KOI | Two seasons |
| 2025 | Joblife | Reached EMEA Ascension |
| 2026 | Gentle Mates | 2nd at EMEA Kickoff, played Masters Santiago |
Gentle Mates entered VCT EMEA on a one-year deal
Gentle Mates joined VCT EMEA from the 2026 season. That entry is a one-year deal. VLR.gg's article from the time of the entry states that the organization signed only a one-year partnership and will be re-evaluated after the 2026 season along with all the other partner teams. In other words, the point at which starxo's contract expires overlaps with the point at which the organization's own slot is put back under review.
According to VLR.gg, five of the six players on Gentle Mates' roster have contracts expiring at the same time, at the end of 2026. starxo is one of them.
The 2027 VCT has no guaranteed slots
Riot announced the new VCT format for 2027 onward on April 8, 2026. The league format is being dropped in favor of a tournament-centered structure. The partner team designation remains, but slots guaranteed solely on the basis of a long-term contract are gone. Any team in the world will be able to go after Masters and Champions from the open qualifiers, and Ascension is being abolished. More than 20 tournaments a year will be held across more than 16 cities, with total prize money said to exceed $6 million per year.
What partner teams keep is base payments, performance-based bonuses, a share of team capsule revenue, and a direct seed into the later rounds of qualifying. Partnership deals move to a two-year cycle from 2027.
| Item | Through 2026 | From 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Slots | Guaranteed for partner teams | Not guaranteed. Open qualifiers |
| Path up | Ascension | Abolished. Folded into open qualifiers |
| Contract cycle | Per entry (one year for Gentle Mates) | Two-year cycle |
| Partner benefits | The league slot itself | Base payments, bonuses, revenue share, direct seed |
Gentle Mates' 2026 kept sliding after 2nd place at Kickoff
Gentle Mates' 2026 began with 2nd place at EMEA Kickoff. That result sent them to Masters Santiago, where they finished 7–8th. It went downhill from there. EMEA Stage 1 ended 5–6th in the playoffs, Stage 2 9–10th in the group stage. VLR.gg writes that this slide came after the Yoru nerf. The roster changed in August, with H1ber swapped with bipo.
| Event | Result |
|---|---|
| VCT 2026 EMEA Kickoff | 2nd |
| Masters Santiago | 7–8th |
| VCT 2026 EMEA Stage 1 | Playoffs 5–6th |
| VCT 2026 EMEA Stage 2 | Group stage 9–10th |
| Esports World Cup 2026 | 5–8th |
The negotiations started moving before Champions begins
Champions Shanghai starts on September 24. starxo's announcement came 22 days before that. Gentle Mates were eliminated in Stage 2 and will not be at Champions. The market has started moving first on the side with no matches left to play.
This framing is this article's own reading, drawn from cross-referencing multiple sources; no source presents it in this form. As for where starxo will go, or whether Gentle Mates themselves will remain a partner team in 2027, there is nothing yet on which to base a judgment.
✍️ This is an original article by VALOPEDIA Editorial Team.
