ESL has confirmed that its female-only Impact circuit is set to return in 2025, with full details for the tournament calendar of the year ahead. After several teams, including Astralis and Spirit, pulled out of the female CS2 scene in recent weeks, there were some concerns about the future of ESL Impact, but the company has moved fast to quash any rumors.
Credit: ESL
ESL Impact Seasonal Club Incentive
Throughout 2025, teams who attend ESL Impact events will be eligible to earn a share of $700,000 in prize money as part of the Seasonal Club Incentive. This involves rewards for in-game results as well as “an incentive structure focused on Short-Form and Long-Form content creation.” The reason for this “is to help teams showcase their journey and connect with their fans,” thus facilitating more growth in the female CS2 scene.
Each season of ESL Impact will have $350,000 each, distributed as follows:
- Club Prize Money: $100,000 for teams ranked in the Top-8 at the Season Finals.
- Short-Form Video Incentive: $125,000 for teams ranked in the Top-6 for short-form content.
- Long-Form Video Incentive: $125,000 for teams ranked in the Top-6 for long-form content.
| Team Rank | Club Prize Money ($100k) | Short-Form Video Series ($125k) | Long-Form Video Series ($125k) |
| #1 | $25,000 | $35,000 | $35,000 |
| #2 | $20,000 | $30,000 | $30,000 |
| #3 | $13,500 | $25,000 | $25,000 |
| #4 | $13,500 | $15,000 | $15,000 |
| #5 | $10,000 | $10,000 | $10,000 |
| #6 | $10,000 | $10,000 | $10,000 |
| #7 | $4,000 | – | – |
| #8 | $4,000 | – | – |
ESL also shared details about how competitive prize pools will be distributed throughout 2025 Impact events. See below for full details:
| Online League North America | |
| 1-2. | Qualification to Season Finals |
| 3. | $1,900 |
| 4. | $1,500 |
| 5. | $1,300 |
| 6. | $1,200 |
| 7. | $1,100 |
| 8. | $1,000 |
| $8,000 | |
| Online League South America | |
| 1-2. | Qualification to Season Finals |
| 3. | $1,900 |
| 4. | $1,500 |
| 5. | $1,300 |
| 6. | $1,200 |
| 7. | $1,100 |
| 8. | $1,000 |
| $8,000 | |
| Online League Europe | |
| 1-4. | Qualification to Season Finals |
| 5. | $2,000 |
| 6. | $1,700 |
| 7-8. | $1,450 |
| 9-10. | $1,200 |
| 11-12. | $1,000 |
| $11,000 | |
| Season Finals | |
| 1. | $50,000 |
| 2. | $25,000 |
| 3-4. | $13,000 |
| 5-6. | $7,000 |
| 7-8. | $4,000 |
| $123,000 | |
ESL Impact 2025 Calendar
Credit: ESL
As part of the announcement, ESL also confirmed the full Impact calendar for 2025. Much like in 2024, there will be two LAN Finals, this time in Dallas and Stockholm, respectively. Can Imperial fe retain their iron grip on the ESL Impact trophy? Only time will tell. All the dates for these events can be found here:
ESL Impact Season 7
- Open Qualifiers: January 31st – February 6th, 2025
- ESL Impact League Season 7: February 26th – April 13th, 2025
- Dallas Global Finals: May 23rd – 25th, 2025
ESL Impact Season 8
- Open Qualifiers: August 15th – 24th, 2025
- ESL Impact League Season 8: September 10th – October 26th, 2025
- Stockholm Global Finals: November 28th – 30th, 2025
While teams will be able to requalify from Season 6 for Season 7, Season 8 will use a mix of VRS invites and open qualifiers to determine its teams, as per Valve’s rules for 2025. It’s a relief to see ESL Impact return for 2025 – it’s essential for the long-term growth of female CS, and it seems set to endure Valve’s huge overhaul of the competitive CS2 scene from next year.