The news significantly affects the women’s Counter-Strike ecosystem, with teams and players now searching for new avenues to compete.

ESL have made the tough decision to terminate ESL Impact stating that “the current economic model is simply not sustainable”. This comes as a shock for fans, players and teams, as this seems to have been held a secret up until its revelation today.

A lot of opposition against the decision of ESL has arisen on X, with people citing the fact that ESL are owned and backed by Saudi funds and that money should not be an issue. However, ESL Impact has never been profitable for the tournament organiser. This does not come as an excuse, as it was the biggest tournaments for female Counter-Strike leaving them players and teams out on their own so abruptly.

ESL do however state that they “remain committed to supporting women’s Counter-Strike”. Teams like FlyQuest, MIBR and Imperial Valkyries have all made posts showing their commitment to continuing the their female rosters and helping women’s CS bounce back from this loss.