FURIA fe Leave for VALORANT: Women's CS Loses Its Flagship

On August 17, FURIA announced that its women's roster, FURIA fe, is leaving Counter-Strike for VALORANT. Not a disband, not a benching: the entire five moves into the VCT Game Changers ecosystem. Dot Esports calls it the first time a full roster has switched games while keeping its structure intact.

And this is not a random team walking away. FURIA fe spent six years with the organization and won ESL Impact Season 7; the league's final, eighth season went to BIG EQUIPA. When a scene loses a team of this caliber, it stops being transfer news. It becomes a diagnosis.

Who is leaving

In May 2025 this lineup won the ESL Impact Season 7 Finals in Dallas, beating Supernova Comets 2-1 for $50,000 of the $123,000 pool and snapping Imperial Valkyries' win streak in the semifinal along the way. Before that, the team had reached three Impact finals. bizinha was a finalist for HLTV's Women's Player of the Year 2025 with a 1.37 rating across the league's online seasons.

Why: the league died before the teams did

The point of no return came earlier. In October 2025, ESL announced an indefinite pause of Impact League, the only systemic women's CS league. The wording was brutally honest: "The current economic model is simply not sustainable." The Season 8 finals in Stockholm that November were the last.

Per HLTV, the league paid out over $1.5 million across eight seasons, and its 2025 economy ran on a $300,000 annual prize pool plus $700,000 in club incentive payments. The problems had been piling up: LAN finals were cut from three a year to two, and in 2024 the league dropped its Asia-Pacific slots, forcing teams like HSG fe to relocate to Europe at a cost of $70,000 for three months.

Then the dominoes fell. In December 2025, NIP disbanded its women's roster, citing "uncertainties around long term sustainability and consistent opportunities to compete." In January 2026, Imperial Valkyries lost their lineup, with four players moving to the newly formed Pigeons. On August 8, ASTRA, HLTV's Women's Player of the Year for 2025, left for VALORANT. Nine days later, FURIA fe followed.

Where they are going, and for what money

The destination is VCT Game Changers, VALORANT's women's ecosystem backed by Riot. The paradox: on paper there is less money there. The 2026 Game Changers North America prize pool is $150,000 for the season, and that is a single region. Impact paid more in its best years. The difference is elsewhere: Game Changers is alive, with a calendar, publisher support and a path upward. Women's CS after the Impact freeze had none of the three.

Brazilian CS legend FalleN reacted bitterly, as quoted by Dot Esports: "It's a sad snapshot of the failure/lack of interest from both us viewers and Valve/tournaments in making an effort." FURIA's men's roster, meanwhile, is playing in the Esports World Cup playoffs: the organization itself is not going anywhere.

What is left of the women's scene

Not much is still breathing. MIBR fe keep playing: the finalists of Impact's last season have won FERJEE and the Lotus Challenge. The remaining tournaments are regional: Clutch Queens and FERJEE (~$65,000, Rio), JB Pro League with a $25,000 women's event, Female Pro League, ELITE FE. All of it is an order of magnitude smaller than the league that died, with no global system or calendar.

The economic backdrop is the same one choking all non-elite CS: the Major sticker system overhaul wiped out tier-2 clubs' main revenue source, and nobody is left to fund rosters without a clear competitive path. The women's scene was simply first in line.

FAQ

Why did FURIA fe leave CS2 for VALORANT?

After ESL Impact League was frozen indefinitely in late 2025, women's CS lost its only systemic league, calendar and path upward. Riot's VCT Game Changers offers all three, even at lower prize money: the 2026 North America pool alone is $150,000.

Who played for FURIA fe?

kaahSENSEI (AWP), izaa, gabs, bizinha and lulitenz. The roster moves to VALORANT as a whole; Dot Esports calls it the first full five to switch games with its structure intact.

What did FURIA fe achieve in Counter-Strike?

ESL Impact Season 7 champions (Dallas, May 2025) and three-time finalists before that. bizinha was a finalist for HLTV's Women's Player of the Year 2025.

What remains of women's CS?

Among notable teams, MIBR fe still compete; NIP and Imperial Valkyries disbanded their rosters, while ASTRA and FURIA fe left for VALORANT. The remaining events are regional: Clutch Queens, FERJEE, JB Pro League and Female Pro League, all far smaller than the shuttered ESL Impact.