Brace For Impact: FlyQuest RED backs female CS organiser for OCE Cash Cup

Brace For Impact (BFI), a grassroots Counter-Strike tournament organiser targeting female and marginalised genders, will expand its series of Cash Cups across three regions this month with the aim of filling the gap left by ESL's Impact series shutdown.

BFI, based in Canada, will be running this round of Cash Cups online on Sunday, Nov. 23 with North American, South African, and Oceanian players all getting the chance to compete.

The NA and South African events are community funded, while the OCE event has been graciously sponsored by longtime supporters FlyQuest RED, who will be supporting the OCE region's Cash Cups for the rest of the year.

November's Cash Cup will feature a single-elimination bracket, with all matches best-of-three and hosted on FACEIT servers. The action will kick off at 8pm AEDT on Sunday, Nov. 23. Signups for the November BFI OCE Cash Cup are open here.

The prize pool has been set at $100 USD, but BFI's focus isn't about the prizes — it's all about giving our girls a chance to play. “Brace For Impact is a grassroots community for women and marginalized genders to have their own safe space, to meet new teammates, and to compete amongst their peers,” BFI founder Scott "ParkS" Park said.

"Tournaments sport a relatively small prize pool, but are either funded by the community or by organizations that actively support what we are working for, like FlyQuest."

BFI is looking beyond November's event, too, with the opportunity hopefully returning for OCE players on a regular basis after the series kicked off Down Under in October.

"Our future plans revolve around having monthly Cash Cups in all possible regions, supported by a donations page [or] website alongside sponsorships from third-party companies,” ParkS said.

It may be small, but it's a much-needed step in the right direction for female CS following the suspension of ESL's Impact series in early October. Developing the scene at a grassroots level, particularly in OCE, is crucially important for the survival of the scene — one that OCE has a deep history in.

Signups for the November BFI OCE Cash Cup are open here. For those chasing additional info about BFI can stay tuned to the organizer's official X/Twitter account, view the Cash Cup rulebook, or join the BFI Discord!