ESL FACEIT Group Partners with Brace for Enhanced Impact in Esports

ESL FACEIT Group (EFG) has teamed up with Brace For Impact (BFI) to launch Counter-Strike 2 competitions specifically designed for women and marginalized genders in Europe and South America.

The financial details of this partnership remain undisclosed.

Alongside organizing these targeted tournaments, BFI will establish its own FACEIT Club on EFG’s online competition platform.

For those unfamiliar with BFI, it is a Canadian non-profit tournament organizer dedicated to supporting women and marginalized genders within the Counter-Strike 2 community. Founded in 2025 by Scott “ParkS” Park and Tatiana “t4tiana” [last name withheld], the organization takes its name from a 56-episode Counter-Strike podcast. BFI emerged to fill the void left by the end of ESL Impact in 2025, hosting numerous Cash Cups across North America, South Africa, and Oceania aimed at women.

“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,” said Anna Pototska, community partnership manager at ESL FACEIT Group. “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.”

Further details about these tournaments in 2025 will be shared at a later date.

Properties associated with the Saudi Arabian government, including EFG and its parent company Savvy Games Group, often face criticism for allegedly engaging in “sports washing,” using sports and entertainment to distract from their human rights record, including issues related to women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and military actions in Yemen. These concerns are frequently highlighted by international watchdog organizations.