FURIA fe VALORANT Move Ends Six-Year Counter-Strike Run

FURIA moved its women’s Counter-Strike roster into VALORANT on 18 August 2026, ending more than six years of competition across CS:GO and Counter-Strike 2 while keeping the five-player lineup together under the FURIA Inclusivo banner. The roster will now compete in Riot Games’ Game Changers ecosystem rather than continue in women’s Counter-Strike.

Viemos, vimos e vencemos no Counter-Strike.
Novo cenário, mesma força. 🐾

A #FURIACS Fe AGORA É #FURIAVAL Inclusivo! 🔥
Com o amor pela competição e vontade insaciável de vencer, a Pantera vai explorar mais um cenário, com a mesma garra de sempre!

SEGUIMOS!#DIADEFURIA pic.twitter.com/CGF6tmeXCk

— FURIA (@FURIA) August 17, 2026

The switch takes one of South America’s most successful women’s CS teams out of the game after an ESL Impact League championship in 2025. It also arrives amid a wider exodus from the scene following the indefinite suspension of ESL Impact, with 2025 Women’s Player of the Year Mayline-Joy “ASTRA” Champliaud among the other prominent players recently moving to VALORANT.

FURIA Moves Its Women’s Roster Into VALORANT

FURIA framed the change as a move into a new competitive environment rather than the end of the roster itself. In its announcement, the Brazilian organisation referenced what the team had achieved in Counter-Strike before presenting VALORANT as its next challenge, with the same competitive ambitions carrying across to the new game.

The organisation is retaining Karina “kaahSENSEI” Takahashi, Izabella “izaa” Galle, Gabriela “gabs” Freindorfer, Bruna “bizinha” Marvila and Lucia “lulitenz” Dubra. Instead of rebuilding around established VALORANT players, FURIA is effectively moving an existing Counter-Strike unit into Riot’s ecosystem together.

That distinction matters because the move is not simply an organisation dropping one women’s roster and signing another. The players who built FURIA’s Counter-Strike record are the ones being given the opportunity to continue competing under the same organisation in a different title.

A Six-Year Counter-Strike Run Ends With an ESL Impact Title

FURIA’s women’s project had competed in Counter-Strike for more than six years, winning several titles in South America and repeatedly reaching the final stages of ESL Impact. Its biggest international breakthrough came with victory in ESL Impact League Season 7 in 2025 after several previous runner-up finishes.

Much of the roster also predates that championship run. KaahSENSEI and izaa have been with FURIA since the organisation’s inaugural year in women’s Counter-Strike, while gabs joined in 2023. Bizinha and lulitenz completed the current core in 2024.

Player	Nationality	FURIA Tenure
Karina “kaahSENSEI” Takahashi	Brazil	Since inaugural year
Izabella “izaa” Galle	Brazil	Since inaugural year
Gabriela “gabs” Freindorfer	Brazil	Joined in 2023
Bruna “bizinha” Marvila	Brazil	Joined in 2024
Lucia “lulitenz” Dubra	Argentina	Joined in 2024

Women’s Counter-Strike Has Lost Another Major Team

FURIA’s departure follows the indefinite suspension of ESL Impact at the end of 2025, after eight seasons of a circuit built specifically around women’s Counter-Strike. Several organisations subsequently parted ways with their women’s teams, reducing the number of structured opportunities available to established rosters.

ASTRA made the same jump earlier in August. The French player, named HLTV’s best women’s player of 2025, left Counter-Strike after a five-year career and cited the “recent news of female CS falling apart” alongside the lack of upcoming tournaments as factors behind her decision to move into VALORANT.

For players who still want a dedicated competitive circuit, that difference between the two games is now concrete. Counter-Strike’s main women’s league remains on hold, while VALORANT continues to operate Game Changers competitions where teams such as FURIA can enter without breaking apart the roster that competed together in CS2.

FalleN Calls the Situation a Sad Reflection of Women’s CS

Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo responded to FURIA’s announcement by directing criticism beyond the organisation itself. In a post on X, the Brazilian veteran described women from FURIA and elsewhere leaving for VALORANT’s more active competitive environment as a “sad reflection” of the lack of interest from viewers, Valve and tournament organisers in finding alternatives that could keep the ecosystem functioning.

His criticism did not place the problem solely on Valve. FalleN explicitly included the Counter-Strike audience and tournament operators in his assessment, arguing that the situation reflected a broader failure to sustain the scene around the players who wanted to compete.

FalleN also saw a positive outcome for the roster itself. In a follow-up post, he said it was good that another game existed where the players could keep competing with better opportunities. He added that he was curious to see how they would fare against women who have already spent years playing VALORANT.

Por outro lado que bom que ha outro game onde elas possam continuar competindo com mais qualidade.
Acho uma grande história e sendo bem sincero estou curioso para ver como elas vao se sair contra as meninas que ja estão jogando faz tempo

— Gabriel Toledo (@FalleNCS) August 17, 2026

Only Bizinha Brings Previous Professional VALORANT Experience

That comparison will be particularly relevant because FURIA is not entering Game Changers with five established VALORANT players. Bizinha is the only member of the roster with previous professional experience in Riot’s shooter, having competed for MIBR GC in 2022 and 00Nation Fem in 2023.

Her previous teams placed her alongside recognised Brazilian Game Changers players including Sayuri “sayuri” Termini and Melissa “melissa” Souza. The other four members of FURIA’s lineup arrive primarily from their Counter-Strike careers, making the transition itself one of the central questions around the new roster.

FURIA Inclusivo will now enter Brazil’s existing Game Changers scene with the same five players who finished the organisation’s Counter-Strike chapter. A date for the roster’s first official VALORANT match has not yet been announced.