Gentle Mates Move CDL Franchise to Paris, Announce 2026 Roster

The France-based esports organisation, Gentle Mates, has shifted its Call of Duty League (CDL) team from Los Angeles, found in California, to Paris, situated in France, in anticipation of the 2026 season.

Simultaneously with the change in venue, the team introduced its entirely American lineup, which includes Dylan ‘Envoy‘ Hannon, a world champion from 2022.

As revealed during Gentle Mates’ main presentation broadcast on November 26th, 2025, the collection of Envoy, Daniel ‘Ghosty‘ Rothe, Travis ‘Neptune‘ McCloud, and Daunte ‘Sib‘ Gray will be competing as the Paris Gentle Mates for the Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 season.

The inauguration of Paris Gentle Mates signifies a fresh phase for the Call of Duty League. The Black Ops 7 season will represent the initial occasion that the league will not showcase any of the original team names that entered the competition in 2020.

While the Paris Gentle Mates name did not participate in the Monster Energy Launch Invitational, the team has already garnered attention prior to the commencement of the regular season on December 5th. Under the name Still Orgless, the team concluded the pre-season event in second position, experiencing a close defeat against OpTic Texas in the Grand Final.

Furthermore, along with the unveiling of its new location and set of players, Gentle Mates announced that it will be the host for the fourth Major of the season in the French capital. Scheduled from June 25th to 28th, all 12 teams will be vying for a portion of the $365,000 (~£276-137) prize money.

Under its former identification, the team encountered difficulties in establishing its standing among the leading teams during the Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 season. A placement in the top eight at Major 4 in May marked its highest achievement, with the team concluding the season in 11th position, having secured five victories and suffered 26 defeats.

With a team comprising extensive experience and numerous tournament wins, Paris Gentle Mates has already established itself as one of the early contenders and aims to leave behind a challenging Black Ops 6 season by delivering a strong performance in Black Ops 7.