Danish Fortnite esports player Marius ‘MariusCOW‘ Wendt has renewed his contract with Gentle Mates.

The player will continue to represent the French esports organisation during the 2026 Fortnite Champion Series (FNCS) season.

Announced on October 16th, the renewal of MariusCOW’s contract is a continuation of Gentle Mates cementing its Fortnite roster ahead of the 2026 season.

Before MariusCOW’s renewal, the organisation announced Vanya ‘Vanyak3k’ Sakach has also renewed his contract.

The Dane recorded plenty of impressive results throughout the 2025 season alongside Vanyak3k, including victory in Europe’s Major 2 Grand Final and a second-place finish at the FNCS 2025 Global Championship.

Gentle Mates is one of several esports organisations competing in Fortnite esports. For 2026, Epic Games has revealed that the FNCS is switching back from Trios to Duos, a format previously used in 2023 and 2024.

In addition to format changes, the developer and publisher of the battle royale title has confirmed four LAN events will take place next year. Notably, the Road Elite Series will be a Reload tournament where players can respawn if a teammate is still alive.

Following the conclusion of the 2025 FNCS season, Gentle Mates has streamlined its Fortnite roster. In October, the organisation parted ways with its coach and five players, reducing its player count from ten to five.

Despite the downsizing of its roster, Gentle Mates is set to field a line-up filled with top European and South American talent.

Outside of Fortnite, Gentle Mates continues to expand into other esports titles.

In August 2025, the organisation signed the former Iberian Soul roster, expanding into Counter-Strike 2 esports.

Currently ranked 23rd in the October Valve Regional Standings (VRS), the team almost qualified for the StarLadder Budapest Major after an impressive showing as a last-minute addition to ESL Pro League Season 22.