How ESL Impact is empowering women in Counter-Strike

It’s no secret that over the years, the Counter-Strike scene has often proven to be a tough space for women to thrive in. It has often been a black mark on the scene’s reputation, with many women in the space sharing their own stories of how they’ve been treated, from random pugs all the way to in-person LAN events.

Now, ESL Impact is helping to change this. With qualification for Season 5 now underway, we wanted to take a look at how ESL Impact is helping to empower women in the CS scene.

ESL Impact is legitimizing top-tier women’s CS

Female Counter-Strike has been locked in a battle for legitimacy for many years now. Too many are (even still) stuck in the mindset that women’s CS isn’t close to the standard set in the men’s game, thanks to a lack of exposure. It’s hard to legitimize something without the grandeur of the big stage – when the best women’s CS2 teams are only playing online and at tiny LAN events, it’s harder for players to see what they’re capable of.

As the biggest tournament organizer in Counter-Strike, ESL hosting Impact events is enormous. These tournaments are played on LAN, and broadcast across the official ESL Twitch channels, giving them an audience they might not have had otherwise. Often, the LANs line up with events on the men’s schedule. For example, the ESL Impact Season 3 Finals played out alongside IEM Dallas 2023, with the Grand Finals of both being played on the same day.

Does this overshadow women’s CS?

There’s an argument to be made that this overshadows women’s CS, but I think that’s shortsighted. People who may have previously simply ignored ESL Impact tournaments could find themselves drawn in while waiting for the other Final and be pleasantly surprised by the great level of CS on display. Already, during the ESL Impact Season 5 Qualifiers, we’ve seen some crazy plays that do not look even a little bit out of place at the highest level.



There’s just no downplaying how much ESL’s involvement legitimizes these tournaments, putting them on display to huge audiences with solid prize pools. With players like ANa, vicu, and Olga in the scene, women’s CS is in a strong place to inspire the next generation for years to come.

The next steps for women’s CS

So, what are the next steps to ensure women’s CS continues to grow? Continued investment from ESL is essential via Impact tournaments. We’ve already discussed their impact on the scene, with great strides made so far. They can’t stop now, with each tournament becoming more popular than the last.

More top pros speaking out on the treatment females in CS still receive is crucial, too. Recently, we’ve seen the likes of HooXi and jL talk about it online, and there’s no doubt it pushes some players away. What’s the motivation to play if you just get flamed the second you turn on voice chat?

If popular figures in the community keep their voices heard on this matter, there’s no doubt that the situation will improve. As a community, we never know when the next top talent is around the corner, and we don’t want to lose them to a toxic scene. Keep it clean, CS2 players.