Team Vitality pulled off an unexpected victory against the top-ranked Team Spirit, claiming the championship title at IEM Katowice 2025. With a clean sweep of 3-0, this is definitely one for the books. Can you believe it? It feels like just yesterday that they were struggling!
The grand final kicked off on Dust2, Spirit’s chosen map, but Vitality came out like a house on fire! Robin “ropz” Kool had an absolute blast, racking up 26 kills and only 9 deaths. His performance was nothing short of phenomenal, especially in the second half. Next up was Nuke where the legend himself, Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut, took center stage with another jaw-dropping performance, 26 kills to just 6 deaths!
You could feel the tension rising as they moved to Mirage. Vitality maintained their lead into halftime yet again. Here’s where it got interesting: Spirit fell behind early after losing their sixth consecutive pistol round throughout the series, a real shocker considering how crucial those rounds can be! Trailing 11-4 felt dire for them, but hey, they didn’t give up easily. They rallied back with 7 straight rounds to tie things up!
But wait, Vitality wasn’t having any of that! Shahar “flameZ” Shushan fired back decisively in that nail-biting final round of regulation. He secured not just the map but also clinched the series and lifted that trophy high for his team.
This win marks a milestone for Vitality; it’s been over half a dozen attempts since they last bagged a trophy in Katowice. Team leader Dan “apEX” Madesclaire finally gets his win after all these years, it must feel surreal for him! Meanwhile, ZywOo ties with Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyljev for most tournament MVP awards at an impressive count of 21.
