Kat: "I'm really proud even though the second map wasn't our best at all"

Imperial continued to show they can compete against some of the world's best teams as they nearly took a map off FURIA in their IEM Katowice opener.

After being thrown into the deep end with some unexpected invites to the tier-one circuit off the back of their success in the women's scene, Imperial Valkyries continue to surprise against the odds.

The three-time Women's Team of the Year impressed many in their competitive affair against Natus Vincere in the BLAST Bounty earlier this month. Now at IEM Katowice, they came within one round from taking a map off FURIA in their opening match despite their in-game leader, Victoria "⁠tory⁠" Kazieva, missing the tournament due to visa issues.

Gabriel "⁠FalleN⁠" Toledo heaped praise on Imperial Valkyries after the match. "It really felt like we should have lost [Mirage]," he admitted. Imperial Valkyries recovered a 3-11 deficit with a superb CT side and had the game in their hands, but the Brazilians overturned a 4v5 situation in the final round of regulation before locking it down in overtime.

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FalleN after FURIA beat Imperial fe: "It really felt like we should have lost [Mirage]"

In an interview with HLTV, Katarína "⁠Kat⁠" Vašková shared FalleN's sentiment. "We had it, we literally had it," she said. "There were some rounds where there was miscommunication, a bit stressed situations, of course the pressure and everything."

It was a missed opportunity, one that Imperial Valkyries came to regret after the second map was far from as competitive, with FURIA dominating Dust2 13-1 to win the series. Train would have been the decider, a map that FURIA have yet to play in an official match.

"We were really happy that we even got to overtime, everything that we have done. But after the second map, I'm having the feeling that we actually could have won it," she went on.

Not having their in-game leader by their side has made the challenging task all the more difficult for Imperial Valkyries. "It's very different without tory. bubble is not the same. We are obviously playing with tory all the time and she has a big voice," Kat explained.

"It's just different than other players, I can't explain, she just talks a lot (laughs), which helps a lot. Now we have to step up, everyone, with comms, which is also hard, but we're trying our best. It's a missed opportunity for her not being here, which is just unfortunate."

Despite the loss, Imperial Valkyries are holding their heads high. They look to make the best out of the situation as they drop to the lower bracket to face off against BIG in an elimination series, in another opportunity to keep showing that they can compete against the best.

"Overall I'm [still] really proud even though our second map wasn't the best at all," Kat said. "Winning the first map would have been huge for us, but I think we're just going to learn from it more and more, as we did from the NAVI game."

Date	Matches
IEM Katowice 2025 Play-in
30/01/2025	BIG 18:30 Imperial Valkyries	Match