Clutchain Sign Pigeons Roster as zAAz Returns to Former Imperial Valkyries Core in Women’s CS2

Newly launched gaming and esports platform Clutchain has signed Pigeons, bringing one of the most recognizable lineups in women’s Counter-Strike under a new banner. The roster is built around the core that previously competed as Imperial Valkyries, and the move also marks the return of Zainab “zAAz” Turkie, who is back alongside Viktoria “tory” Kazieva, Alexandra “twenty3” Timonina, Katarína “Kat” Vašková, and Wiktoria “vicu” Janicka. HLTV’s transfer tracker also shows the April 2 moves of twenty3, Kat, and vicu from Pigeons to Clutchain, while Clutchain’s current team page lists the same five-player lineup. 

For the team itself, the signing ends a period of uncertainty that followed the breakup of the Imperial Valkyries era. That core had already built a strong reputation before operating as Pigeons, and its earlier success under Imperial made it one of the most decorated squads in the women’s scene. Liquipedia’s Imperial Female page identifies the previous lineup structure around players such as zAAz, tory, twenty3, and Kat, while HLTV’s earlier reporting on the roster changes confirmed that Narmina “wieenN” Gasanova had replaced zAAz in July 2025 after Turkie’s departure from Imperial Valkyries in June 2025. In other words, the Clutchain deal is not just an organizational pickup — it is also a reunion, with zAAz reclaiming the place that had later gone to wieenN. 

That reunion became possible after Pigeons decided to part ways with wieenN in early March. HLTV reported on March 7 that the organization-less side had ended its partnership with the Georgian rifler after a short stint alongside the former Imperial Valkyries core. At the time, the change came shortly after an important achievement: Pigeons had just won JB Pro League Female Season 1, beating Let Her Cook 2-1 in the final and taking home the $15,000 first-place prize from a $25,000 event. The tournament result mattered because it showed that even without a formal organization, the lineup could still convert pedigree into trophies and remain one of the leading teams in the post-Impact transition period of women’s CS2. 

At the same time, the move to Clutchain comes after an uneven stretch of results. HLTV described the signing as a timely boost for Pigeons, noting that the team had struggled for consistency in 2026 outside of that February title run. Their recent match history supports that reading: the squad forfeited an ESL Challenger League Season 51 Europe Cup 2 series against ex-Zero Tenacity on March 18, later played under the Pigeons name in Europe Cup 3 on April 1, and then appeared as Clutchain in the same competition on April 2 against HEROIC Academy. The match pages on HLTV clearly reflect the transition, with the old listing still tied to Pigeons in one place while the updated version identifies the team as Clutchain for the HEROIC Academy series. 

The immediate competitive impact has yet to be proven, but the transfer gives the players something they had been missing: organizational backing and a more stable identity. HLTV now lists Pigeons as having no active roster, while the Clutchain profile shows the full five-woman lineup. Pigeons are also still listed at #244 in HLTV’s world ranking, a reminder that the old team name now functions more as a historical reference point than an active project. For Clutchain, signing an already established roster is a fast way to enter Counter-Strike with instant name recognition; for the players, it offers a chance to rebuild momentum after a mixed start to the year.

There is also a broader ecosystem angle to the move. HLTV called Clutchain a newly launched gaming and esports platform, while Clutchain’s public app description says the company is building a network focused on esports and immersive experiences, with competitions, leaderboards, daily quests, and rewards tied into its application. That does not, on its own, guarantee long-term competitive success, but it helps explain why the company might prioritize signing a proven lineup rather than starting from scratch. In a women’s CS2 scene that has been adjusting to structural changes after the ESL Impact era, established rosters with recognizable names remain valuable assets.

From a sporting perspective, the main storyline is simple: a championship-caliber core has found a new home, and one of the scene’s most experienced veterans is back in the server with her former teammates. The challenge now is to turn that narrative into results. Pigeons showed in February that the roster could still win events, but March and early April exposed the instability that can come with operating without long-term backing. Clutchain changes that equation. Whether the team can convert the reunion with zAAz and the new organizational support into another trophy run will be decided in the months ahead, but the signing already stands as one of the more notable women’s CS2 roster developments of early April 2026.