Women’s Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) circuit ESL Impact is back for its seventh season from February 26th, 2025 until May 25th.
Since its launch in 2022, the tournament has been at the forefront of women’s esports, providing teams with a chance to compete within a dedicated ecosystem.
Following the likes of Imperial Valkyries qualifying for IEM Katowice, Season 7 of ESL Impact is set to be the biggest season yet with teams from three regions looking to earn a place in the season finals. Here’s everything you need to know about ESL Impact Season 7.
ESL Impact Season 7 Format
A total of 28 teams from Europe, North and South America will compete in the group stage where eight teams will earn a place at the offline final taking place at DreamHack Dallas from May 23rd to May 25th.
The Group Stage of ESL Impact Season 7 consists of a single round-robin format, with all matches being a best-of-three (BO3).
For Europe, the team that tops each of its two groups will earn automatic qualification to the finals. Meanwhile, the second and third-place teams will play in decider matches to see which organisation makes it to LAN.
Both the North and South American divisions will follow the same round-robin format but feature eight teams competing in a single group. The top two teams from those groups will qualify for the final. There are no decider matches for North and South America.
For the Finals, the format sees the eight qualified teams split into two groups of four. Using a GSL format, the top two teams from each group earn a place in the Playoffs, a best-of-three, single-elimination bracket.
Which teams have qualified?
In accordance with Valve’s tournament operation rulebook, ESL FACEIT Group has invited teams that competed in Season 6 to join its new season. For the remaining spots, open qualifiers have been utilised.
For Europe, BIG EQUIPA, DMS, Let Her Cook, Ninjas in Pyjamas, and defending champions Imperial Valkyries will all be returning to the competition. Meanwhile, AKA HERO KAJO, Akuma, CS2News Ladies, Eco Warriors, nomercy, Prototype Blaza and Spray and Slay earned their places through open qualifiers.
In the North American division the likes of FlyQuest Red, Lumen and Supernova Comets qualified via Season 6. These teams will compete against blackmold, Ghost Gaming, MEGA JUNERS, Nouns Fe and Nyx Empire.
Finally, South America’s SEES Atrix eSports, FURIA and MIBR return for ESL Impact Season 7. Bounty Hunters, Brave Bears, MESSITAS, thekillaz and QUEM SAO ELAS round out the teams competing in the region.
Prize Breakdown
ESL Impact Season 7 will feature a $250,000 (~£198,068) prize pool split across online and LAN matches:
- 1st: $75,000 (~£59,391)
- 2nd: $45,000 (~£35,639)
- 3rd/4th: $26,500 (~£20,985)
- 5th/6th: $17,000 (~£13,462)
- 7th/8th: $8,000 (~£6,335)
In addition to the prize pool, teams can earn an additional $250,000 through ESL FACEIT Groups’s Club Incentive initiative. Based on their rankings, teams can earn additional income by creating long-form and short-form video content surrounding their journey through the tournament.
Where to watch ESL Impact Season 7
ESL Impact will be streamed across its Twitch and YouTube channels. In addition, all matches will be shown on FACEIT Watch, ESL FACEIT Group’s dedicated platform.
The integration with FACEIT Watch aims to allow viewers to tune into the action from multiple perspectives and create personalised broadcast experiences.