Games

Imperial fe lose to NAVI, but show potential for the future

BBG News

Imperial fe’s performance versus NAVI was a great step towards more inclusion in esports.

On January 16, the Imperial Valkyries, more casually referred to as Imperial, stunned the esports community within Counter-Strike 2 by putting up a strong challenge against NAVI, a top-tier team globally.

In the BLAST Bounty Season 1 tournament, the squad made up of Ana “ANa” Dumbravă, Alexandra “twenty3” Timonina, Viktoria “tory” Kazieva, Katarína “Kat” Vašková, and Zainab “zAAz” Turkie faced off against NAVI. Although they were relatively inexperienced at this level of play, they displayed a commendable performance, ultimately losing the match 2-0.

In much the same way as many all-female squads in CS2, Imperial Fe primarily participate in female-focused tournaments. They have been a force to reckon with in the ESL Impact arena for quite some time now, and today they seized their chance to showcase their skills at BLAST, marking the initial tier-one tournament of the year.

The success of this event was largely due to Valve giving significant importance to women’s tournaments, which placed Imperial fe among the top 25 teams globally in their official rankings. Consequently, Imperial fe received an invitation to participate in the BLAST Bounty tournament.

NAVI versus Imperial fe at BLAST Bounty Season 1: Recap

  • NAVI 13-7 Imperial fe (Ancient)
  • NAVI 13-8 Imperial fe (Mirage)

A significant number of CS:2 enthusiasts anticipated that Imperial would suffer a defeat at the hands of NAVI, believing their previous tournament performances were subpar. Some even criticized Valve for extending the invitation to begin with.

Yet, it was evident that Imperial seized this chance effectively. They demonstrated their potential as a capable team competing at the top tier.

The game commenced on Ancient, and the initial stages established the tempo for the series, indicating that NAVI might face challenges in securing a victory. Aleksi “Aleksib” Virolainen and his team needed to emerge victorious from two critical rounds at the outset of Ancient.

Losing grip (control) of the game didn’t shake Imperial Fe’s self-assurance; instead, it boosted them. They went on to win an impressive five consecutive rounds on the T-side, surpassing NAVI in the standings.

In the ancient game, Imperial’s performance was impressive as they consistently played well during the CT rounds. However, a setback due to an economic loss left them vulnerable, which allowed Navi to capitalize and maintain their lead without looking back.

Those assuming that Imperial’s success on Ancient was merely due to their best map proved incorrect, as they showed resilience on Mirage too. However, NAVI demonstrated greater consistency throughout the match, ultimately clinching the victory following a successful eco round during the second half.

Nonetheless, it was Kat who truly shone during Mirage, as she outperformed everyone else by setting up winning plays against Valerij “b1t” Vakhovsjkyj and Ihor “w0nderful” Zhdanov, two highly-ranked players (both in the top 20) from 2024.

Despite Imperial Fe suffering a defeat in the series today, it’s clear that they possess remarkable potential. Intriguingly, Imperial Fe outperformed their male counterparts against NAVI. Unfortunately, the men’s team lost by a significant margin of 13-2 at IEM Rio in October 2024.

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2025-01-16 23:40

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