We’re barrelling towards the conclusion of IEM Katowice 2025, with just three matches to go now until we crown a champion in the Spodek. Today, two more teams were eliminated as The MongolZ took on Eternal Fire, and Spirit faced Virtus.pro. How did things go on the server? Read on to find out.
The MongolZ impress against Virtus.pro
Credit: Helena Kristiansson | ESL
I felt like I needed a break after watching The MongolZ vs. Eternal Fire. This was an epic matchup, which began with The MongolZ breaking EF’s unbeaten Anubis streak in 2025 in dominant fashion. This was supposed to be their home turf, but The MongolZ made it look easy to complicate matters for the Turkish team. Mirage is where things got really spicy, though. Triple overtime was needed to separate the teams there, with The MongolZ managing to claim a clean sweep in the series. 22:18 was the final Mirage score – a real barn-burner of a game.
Leading the way for The MongolZ were bLitz and Techno on 49 kills apiece across the series. This was closely followed by 910, who continues to impress despite only picking up CS for the first time back in the pandemic. It’s a crazy amount of progress individually, which has made this team among the best CS2 teams in the world. Vitality is the next test for The MongolZ, who can now genuinely start to dream of a champion’s run at IEM Katowice 2025.
Team Spirit make swift work of Virtus.pro
Credit: ESL
In Team Spirit vs. Virtus.pro, there’s actually very little to talk about. Virtus.pro had stand-in mir, instantly giving the already-better-on-paper Spirit a massive advantage. We saw the results of that play out on the server, with Team Spirit running rampant to a 2:0 win. After the adrenaline rush of The MongolZ vs. Eternal Fire, this one felt like a game of FACEIT in CS2.
In a pretty standard turn of events, donk top-fragged for Team Spirit, but what’s new there? He’s immense, we know that. He was joined near the top of the leaderboard by magixx, who continues the rich vein of form that started in the Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024 Final. Next up for Spirit is NAVI, in what will be their biggest test yet. Get over that hump, and I think they’ll go on to defend their IEM Katowice title in the Spodek.