Whoa whoa.. that was unprecedented to say the least. The whole world came to watch the women make history at the BLAST Bounty Spring qualifiers and the girls put on quite a show for it. They didn’t just put NAVI to the edge, but this is history in the making. In a game where conservative mindsets often dominate, Imperial FE boldly took on NAVI, a team they handpicked themselves.
Imperial FE made the best team in the world sweat
It wasn’t like any of the games where a handful of flashy plays get hyped beyond belief. It was pure domination to the point where NAVI, the best team in the world, were left wiping their brows. The start of Ancient started as expected, with NAVI taking a 4-0 lead and we all held our breaths. Hope wasn’t lost though. The girls showed they can shoot, and could call circles around the defenses with some good calls.
Then came the buy rounds, and that’s when Imperial FE built on the laid groundwork. While I was expected the rest of the game to be an extension of the first four rounds, some silver linings but not quite hitting the mark, I was left stumped with what followed.
Tory was able to outsmart ALeksib, yes, that Aleksib, the 2024 IGL of the Year.
And with the help of great individual positioning, surgical trading, and some crazy shooting, they managed to assert a lead against the Team of the Year of 2024. What I was watching was just unreal. It wasn’t just a statement start for Imperial FE, but a declaration against all the skeptics.
NAVI did get the last three rounds to find a 7-5 lead, but that vanished soon after. On the pistol round, Kat, secured a 1v2 against B1t, and jL. And while I am not at all trying to throw shade at HLTV, or at NAVI, but both of these NAVI players were nominees for Closer of The Year in 2024, with the latter winning the award. This only goes to show how skilled these girls are and how well they played.
NAVI did close out the map on the T-side with a 13-7 win, but it was no cakewalk. I think a large part of failing to capitulate against the T-side can largely be attributed to their lack of experience against the Tier-1 EU meta. I will go on a limb to say that Imperial FE has all the tools in their arsenal, an argument they reinforced in the second map.
The show didn’t end on Ancient
With Mirage up next, and a 4-0 start from NAVI, I was expecting things returning back to reality and NAVI running through on the second map. Guess I didn’t learn anything from the first map. It all started spiralling from a 1v1 clutch from Kat, who then doubled down with a delirious headshot on a primed-in w0nderful to post the first two rounds on the board. And then the rest of the team followed.
Stringing together round by round, Imperial FE soon found themselves on equal footing, tied at 5-5. They fought tooth and nail throughout the map, against a terrifying b1t. While it wasn’t enough, and they did end up losing 0-2, you cannot understate what they have achieved in this series.
We will see more of Imperial FE
No one expected Imperial FE to win, but equally, no one expected them to play this well. The calls from Tory, the entries from zAAz, the consistency from twenty3, and Kat’s clutch performances were all made loud and clear. I feel their shortcoming was largely due to them simply being inexperienced. Once they’re used to the meta, the coming time will see more people surprised by what they can do.
Fortunately for us, they have also been invited to IEM Katowice 2025 Play-In, where we will get a chance to see how well they can compete against Tier-2 teams. I, for one, can’t wait to see more of this team after the show they put on for us against NAVI. Buckle up, folks, more surprises are on the way.
