Imperial fe IGL tory to Miss IEM Katowice 2025 Play-Ins

Making CS2 history, Imperial fe are the first female Counter-Strike team to qualify for IEM Katowice, making their debut on the Polish stage on January 29, 2025. But, despite this, the team will be operating on the back foot.

Imperial fe's IGL Victoria "⁠tory⁠" Kazieva will miss the tournament's Play-In stage due to visa issues, calling the circumstance "heartbreaking." Standing in for the Russian 26-year old will be the team's coach, Kamen "⁠bubble⁠" Kostadinov. The Bulgarian player hasn't played on the server since  2023 where he was a player with Katuna. The 33-year old has been on the competitive scene since 2012. 

Imperial fe face their first match of IEM Katowice 2025 Play-Ins against Brazilian team FURIA. Imperial fe's roster will consist of:

• Ana "⁠ANa⁠" Dumbravă
• Alexandra "⁠twenty3⁠" Timonina
• Katarína "⁠Kat⁠" Vašková
• Zainab "⁠zAAz⁠" Turkie
• Kamen "⁠bubble⁠" Kostadinov  

The full team, including tory, recently competed in the BLAST Bounty, where the team took on NAVI. Though Imperial fe managed to hold their own, the match ultimately resulted in a loss for the female team. Regardless of the loss, the game was watched concurrently by over 480,000, according to Esports Charts, making this the most-watched women's team match in CS history. Needless to say, all eyes are on Imperial fe during IEM Katowice 2025.