Vitality has finally broken their curse and is now the winner of IEM Katowice 2025 after failing to pick this trophy up on several occasions. Freshly minted singing ropz delivered a star-level performance that brought home one of Vitality’s most coveted trophies to their cabinet.
VETO
- Spirit removed Inferno
- Vitality removed Ancient
- Spirit picked Dust2
- Vitality picked Nuke
- Spirit picked Mirage
- Vitality picked Train
- Anubis was left over
Map 1: Dust 2; Pick: Spirit ; Winner: Vitality
A quick rush by Spirit was shut down by Vitality leading them to be in charge of the momentum for the rest of the map. Starting on the back foot, Spirit pulled in a few rounds that made the first half quite competitive, switching sides with a 7-5 scoreline favoring Vitality. While Spirit found momentum late in the game, it did not make it to the second half, as Vitality ran all over the Russian side, with ropz delivering a masterclass in his lurking role. A dynamic T-side, good calls, and individual brilliance led Vitality to win the map with a 13-6 scoreline. With a rating of 2.18, ropz dropped 26 kills to give Vitality a stellar start to the series.
Map 2: Nuke; Pick: Vitality ; Winner: Vitality
Being their best map, Vitality startled Team Spirit on Nuke with a stellar offense and once again it was ropz who remained dynamic across the map. ZyWoo came online, being a driving force along with ropz behind the stellar Vitality offense that led them to a one-sided 8-4 half. Replicating their performance from Dust 2, Vitality quickly closed it on the defense as Spirit managed only one round before Vitality shut them down. Along with ropz, ZyWoo stood out as the best performer with a 2a .83 rating and 26 kills.
Map 3: Mirage; Pick: Spirit; Winner: Vitality
A stellar B site retake saw Vitality take charge of the game early on as donk failed to provide his team with his entry-fragging prowess. As individuals from Spirit struggled, Vitality left little room for Team Spirit players to make a game out of it. Swapping halves with 8-4, Spirit managed to push the game as close as it could get but Vitality managed to push it over the line by the end of the map as Spirit got completely wiped in Katowice despite being the defending champions.
