BLAST Bounty Spring 2025‘s Closed Qualifier match between Imperial Fe and NAVI peaked at nearly half a million viewers.
As a result, Imperial Fe versus NAVI has become the most-watched match featuring a female Counter-Strike team ever, recording 490,804 viewers according to Esports Charts.
The match between the two sides took place on the third day of the BLAST Bounty’s closed qualifiers. In total, 32 teams are aiming to qualify for the LAN finals which will take place from January 23rd to 26th in Copenhagen.
NAVI — the most-watched CS2 team in 2024 — secured a 2-0 (13-7, 13-8) victory against the Brazilian team. However, despite not taking a map, large sections of the Counter-Strike 2 community praised Imperial Fe’s performance against one of the best CS2 teams in the world.
In addition to being the highest-viewed match involving a female Counter-Strike team, Imperial Fe versus NAVI is the most-watched match of the closed qualifiers as of this writing.
By defeating Imperial Fe, NAVI advances to the round of 16 phase of the BLAST Bounty Closed Qualifiers. If the Ukrainian organisation wins its next match, it will secure one of eight places at the $500,000 (~£409,678) LAN Finals.
For Imperial Fe, BLAST Bounty is one of several international tournaments the team is competing in throughout 2025.
On January 29th, the team is set to compete in IEM Katowice, becoming the first female roster to qualify for an event that forms part of the ESL Pro Tour Championship.
IEM Katowice is organised by ESL FACEIT Group and features 24 teams competing for a share of its $1m (~£817,450) prize pool.
