Brace For Impact partners with ESL FACEIT Group to fill ESL Impact gap

Darragh Harbinson, Senior Editor

Last Updated: 07/01/2026

Brace For Impact (BFI) has announced a partnership with ESL FaceIT Group, which intends to help fill the gap left by the cessation of ESL Impact.

The non-profit tournament organiser had previously hosted Cash Cup tournaments in Counter-Strike, but will now vastly expand its footprint in the space with its new partnership.

Brace for Impact aims to provide competition and community for women and marginalised genders

The initiative, aimed at supporting women and marginalised genders, will feature tournaments across five regions.

The tournaments, taking place in Europe, North America, South America, Africa, and Oceania, will be held on the third week of every month.

Each tournament will award prize money, though the amounts are not disclosed and are expected to be modest in comparison to ESL Impact’s significant prize pools.

The initiative also includes community-focused FaceIT clubs, which will act as community hubs for women and marginalised groups in the space, allowing for a “safe space for their community to enjoy the best gaming experience.”

British broadcast talent, Leyna ‘Affinity’ McQuillin has been announced as the EU Director of Operations for the initiative.

The caster was a prominent part of ESL Impact’s broadcasts, as part of a larger career that has highlighted and celebrated women’s CS.

Affinity joins founder, Scott ‘ParkS’ Park, in the project. The Canadian caster first organised BFI tournaments in September of last year.

ParkS provided the following statement regarding the partnership:

“I’m super excited to finally be able to announce this partnership with ESL FACEIT Group. Many months of hard work from both the Brace For Impact team and EFG’s partnership group has culminated in allowing us to both run tournaments worldwide as well as FACEIT Clubs in NA and EU.

Providing consistent opportunities for our community throughout the entire year, after losing events such as Cash Cups at the start of 2025, is great and I’m glad we are able to step up and fill the gap with EFG as our partners.”

Anna Pototska, Community Partnership Manager at ESL FACEIT Group, added:

“We are incredibly excited to partner with Brace For Impact and support the important work they are doing for women and marginalized genders in Counter-Strike. BFI has demonstrated a clear commitment to creating consistent, meaningful competitive opportunities, and this collaboration allows us to help scale that vision globally.

By combining their community-first approach with FACEIT’s tournament and Club infrastructure, we believe this partnership can play a significant role in strengthening and sustaining the female Counter-Strike scene across multiple regions.”

Darragh Harbinson, Senior Editor

Darragh Harbinson is an esports writer specialising in Counter-Strike. He has written for Esports News UK, Esports Insider, UKCSGO, Dexerto, and Rush B Media.

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