After falling to FURIA 2:0 at IEM Katowice 2025, Imperial Fe became history-makers in multiple ways regardless of results. It’s another loss for the team, but one that showed signs they can kick it with the teams we typically see in Tier 1. This does come with a couple of asterisks, but I’ll get into them soon enough.
Imperial Should Have Won a Map
After dropping to 11:3 on Mirage, it looked like we were set to get a result more akin to what we expected when Imperial Fe faced NAVI at BLAST Bounty Spring. Given the fact they had coach bubble standing in for IGL tory due to visa issues, I could definitely understand this. What I didn’t expect was Imperial’s mental resilience to battle battle, going from 11:3 down to 12:11 up. The truth is that from there, Imperial should have closed the map in regulation, and it was one bad call to pull ANa away from Mirage’s A-site that allowed this to go to Overtime.
These Imperial girls are real competitors, not here for a participation trophy. They’ll be disappointed they couldn’t close the first map, in what would have been even more history made on the server. The worst part is that with tory calling, they likely get over the line on that map. Tier 1 experience counted for everything there, which FURIA has in spades. Still, Mirage was an affirmation of the potential of this team, should they be able to practice against Tier 1 teams in the future.
My obvious caveat was map two, where FURIA utterly stomped in a quick 13:1. No one said the road would be easy for female players, and this was a good lesson. Dust2 is a map where the tactically superior team usually wins, and there was a stark contrast between the two here. Again, though, how do you truly judge a team’s tactical setup and mid-round calls when their IGL is absent?
The idea that this was Imperial Fe somehow “crashing back to reality” at IEM Katowice 2025 is frankly laughable. This was another positive step forward for female CS – a showcase of their qualities and a good learning experience all in one package.
Mixed Team Makes History
With tory missing thanks to the aforementioned visa issues, bubble’s slot in the lineup has created a unique piece of esports history. To my knowledge, I don’t believe a mixed-gender esports team has ever played at this level of tournament. You have florescent breaking barriers for Apeks over in Valorant, but she’s yet to play in a tournament with the prestige of IEM Katowice 2025. Even the four ladies, zAAz, ANa, twenty3, and Kat have the distinction of being the first females to play at a LAN like this. No matter the result, you can’t take these slices of history away from them.
Obviously, the end goal is that mixed-gender rosters are the norm in CS. We’ve got a way to go in terms of the level before that can happen on a wider scale, but the process had to start somewhere. With Imperial Fe playing with bubble, even just for a single tournament, is a first step towards that worth appreciating. I’d still prefer they played with tory, through.
Now, Imperial Fe have another chance to impress tomorrow against BIG. Again, bubble is expected to remain as a stand-in, so I won’t be poking too many holes in their tactical plan and hope the girls shine in individual moments.
