Mandatory announced this Saturday, July 5, the recruitment of Valentin "Road" Terrier as Assistant Coach. He will join Florentin "Derly" Derly, who also holds the same position within the French club, and Kévin "madC" Ducourtioux, the project's head coach. This coaching duo has been active since the end of 2024 and will now expand with the addition of Road, to support the MDR roster for the upcoming Split of the Challengers France.

Back in business

Road is thus making his return to the French VALORANT league, after stepping away from it a year ago following the shutdown of the Akroma project at the end of the 2024 season. With that previous team, he notably reached the finals of the 2023 Coupe de France, though they fell short against Valiant. Despite that strong result, Akroma’s following season proved difficult, as the team failed to reach the podium.

By joining Mandatory, the French coach is stepping up to a new level, with a club that is consistently at the top of the VCL France and rarely finishes outside the top 3. In 2025, Mandatory qualified for the EMEA Challengers during Split 1 and even secured a third-place finish after losing in the lower bracket final against Eternal Fire. In the next segment, they narrowly missed qualification, falling one match short after a double loss to Valiant in the playoffs.

The Challengers France are also making their return this Saturday, July 5, with Mandatory kicking off their run on Sunday against the mixed roster of Animals.