Following Furia Female’s win over Supernova Comets in the ESL Impact League Season 7 final, competitors have faced a torrent of online abuse from several angles.
The presence of transgender competitors on the Supernova Comets roster sparked pointed criticism of the inclusion of gender minorities in the Women’s League, specifically regarding the recognition of transgender women in the women’s esports space.
ESL Impact Season 7 Grand Finals
ESL Impact Season 7 concluded on the LAN stage during DreamHack Dallas on May 25th, 2025, attracting a peak online viewership of 102,644 according to Esports Charts and a sizeable in-venue crowd.
The closely fought Best-of-3 series saw Furia Female edge ahead of Supernova Comets to lift the trophy, an achievement that also represents a significant win for the South American region.
However, the achievements of both teams on stage were overshadowed by aggressive online discourse during the tournament.
The discourse surrounded the inclusion of transgender players in the tournament – a point of contention that is not isolated to ESL Impact and has been raised across multiple titles across the women’s esports scenes.
Impact of ESL Impact on the players
The effect on ESL Impact on its competitors has been apparent, particularly from the words of Supernova’s Lucy “empathy” Verkaik.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter) she said, “I poured my heart and soul into this game and have tried so hard to get better and yet all I get told is to kill myself.” In her post, she also admitted, “I’m so tired of seeing all the hate every day, I just want to be left alone and treated like a human being doing what I love.”
With the highest rating out of the finals competitors, with a 56-43 Kills to Death ratio, empathy attracted a significant portion of the backlash against Supernova Comets.
In particular, from those arguing that biologically male competitors have an advantage over their biologically female counterparts.
This narrative was particularly amplified in online discourse after Supernova Comet’s semi-final win over Ninjas in Pyjamas.
In a demonstration of cross-competition allyship, empathy’s competitor and Furia player Karina “kaahSENSEI” Takahashi replied with supportive encouragement, telling her rival, “You played amazing and that ancient was crazy, hope one day world be better.”
The support from kaahSENSEI echoes claims from other industry figures that much of the questioning of competitive integrity regarding transgender competitors comes from viewers rather than competitors.
the significant majority of women's esports players, the ones actually competing in leagues like Impact and GC, not only have no problem with trans women competing but are incredibly supportive. neok comes off as bitter more than anything
— Rod Breslau (@Slasher) May 25, 2025
His input came after the content creator Koen ‘NEOK’ Pruntel had his creator privileges and IEM Dallas tickets revoked following a post on X that appeared to mock the Impact League for its inclusion of Supernova Comets due to reasons related to gender identity.
Relevance of #GGFORALL
ESL has not released an independent statement regarding this wave of discussion, but their website maintains the following:
“#GGFORALL is an initiative launched to combat negativity and toxicity within the esports industry and foster diversity and inclusivity.
ESL
Currently, ESL Impact is the main focus, established to provide a safe, competitive environment for women in Counter-Strike.
#GGFORALL also includes an environmentally-friendly approach within gaming and esports It’s not GG until it’s #GGFORALL”
The primary response to the negativity towards competitors is that “all women” includes transgender women, given the similar battles those who identify as transgender women face in the world of competitive gaming.
This sentiment is summarised by freelance host and caster, DarfMike, who stated, “The barriers to competition are not biological.
They’re societal and situational[…] biases and barriers exist for trans women just the same as they do for cis women.
Our scene is stronger and more vibrant the more representation and opportunity we have. Let’s keep building on that.”
Following the completion of Season 7, European, North American, and South American ESL Impact Season 8 Qualifiers begin in August 2025.
The season officially starts in September and ends at the end of November in Sweden, where Furia Female will hope to make the finals once again to defend their title.
Hannah is a writer specialising in the esports, gaming, and technology sectors. Working for outlets such as Dot Esports, Esports Insider, and of course ENUK, she has developed a love for wider esports and Apex Legends, although it may never surpass her drive to passionately beat her friends in every game of Mariokart. You may have seen her at various esports and gaming events, including ESI London, EGX, Discover: Esports and many League of Legends watch parties.
