The professional female Counter-Strike 2 circuit is going through its most challenging period in recent history. The suspension of the ESL Impact circuit in late 2025 has left female players without a reliable tournament calendar, prompting key figures to transition to competitor titles and publicly criticize Valve for the current state of the game.
ASTRA leaves Counter-Strike behind
On August 8, Mayline-Joy “ASTRA” Champliaud announced her departure from CS2 to pursue a career in Riot Games’ Valorant. ASTRA was crowned HLTV’s Women’s Player of the Year in 2025 after leading BIG EQUIPA to the ESL Impact Season 8 title. Following the suspension of the ESL Impact circuit, many organizations, including BIG, chose to pause their female rosters.
In her announcement, ASTRA cited the lack of competitive opportunities in CS2 as the main reason for her transition.
With the recent news of female CS falling apart and the lack of tournaments coming up, I find myself missing practice and competition. Therefore, I made the decision to transition to Valorant and to put my focus into a growing scene,” ASTRA wrote.
She explained that her goals remain the same as they were in Counter-Strike, aiming to compete at the top and become the best version of herself. While she acknowledged a lack of knowledge and playtime in Valorant, she expressed confidence that her mechanical experience will transfer over. She is currently offering to learn roles such as Duelist, Initiator, and Smoker to fit a new team’s needs.
Veterans direct their frustration at Valve
The frustration within the scene is also evident among the most seasoned professionals. Zainab “zAAz” Turkie, a 35-year-old veteran who has competed in esports for two decades and currently represents Clutchain fe, publicly criticized the game developer on Sunday.
zAAz previously won two ESL Impact League titles in 2024 with Imperial Valkyries and has represented prominent organizations like Nigma Galaxy, G2 Oya, XSET, and Beşiktaş during her career. She took to social media to call out Valve directly.
I’ve been around esports for 24 years and competing for 20. I’ve watched CS grow from the very beginning to what it is today. I’ve never witnessed such a massive downgrade to a women’s scene. Valve should be ashamed. I’m speechless,” zAAz stated, tagging the official Counter-Strike account.
The tournament drought of 2026
With ESL Impact suspended, the CS2 calendar for 2026 lacks significant women-only tournaments.The transition to the Valve Ranking System has made the situation even harder for female rosters.Teams struggle to secure invites to larger events because there are no dedicated tournaments to help them build their regional or global ranking points.
This leaves female players with very few places to compete for sustainable prize pools. Competitors like Valorant continue to run the VCT Game Changers program, providing a structured and funded circuit for female players. This disparity in support is currently drawing talent away from Counter-Strike, leaving the future of the female CS2 ecosystem highly uncertain.
