Team Vitality Clinches Intel Grand Slam with Thrilling Victory at IEM Melbourne 2025
- Sahil Mankar
- 6 hours ago
- 3 min read
Team Vitality has won the IEM Melbourne 2025 tournament after defeating Team Falcons in an intense five-map final, securing the prestigious Intel Grand Slam title.
The victory marks Vitality's third trophy of the year, with star player ZywOo earning tournament MVP honors.
The championship match delivered one of the most exciting Counter-Strike 2 finals in recent memory, with both teams battling through all five maps in a series that required three overtime periods to determine a winner.
The final scoreline read 3-2 in favor of Vitality with individual map scores of 13-2 (Inferno), 12-16 (Dust II), 13-9 (Train), 10-13 (Mirage), and 22-20 (Nuke).
The decisive fifth map showcased Vitality's resilience as they overcame a significant 12-6 deficit on Nuke. Falcons had six championship points but couldn't close out the match, allowing Vitality to force overtime and eventually secure the victory after three extra periods.
The win extends Vitality's impressive streak to 21 consecutive series victories, the third-longest in Counter-Strike history. More importantly, they became only the fifth team ever to complete the Intel Grand Slam, joining elite company that includes former champions like Astralis (2018) and Natus Vincere (2021).
The Intel Grand Slam represents a significant achievement in competitive Counter-Strike, requiring teams to win four major ESL or DreamHack events within a specific timeframe.
Team Falcons, despite the heartbreaking defeat, impressed many observers with their performance. The recent addition of star player m0NESY to their roster seemed to pay immediate dividends as they pushed the world's best team to the absolute limit.
"I'll admit it – even with the addition of m0NESY, I never could have imagined that Falcons would be in a position to push Vitality to the very brink, coming within one round of glory," one analyst commented.
The tournament, held at Melbourne's Rod Laver Arena from April 21-27, featured 16 top teams competing for a $300,000 prize pool. As champions, Vitality took home $125,000, while Falcons earned $50,000 for their second-place finish.
The grand final drew significant viewership interest, with Esports Charts reports indicating a peak audience of 1.24 million viewers, setting a new esports record for Australia. While this figure falls short of global records like the 2.75 million peak viewers at PGL Major Stockholm 2021, it represents a major milestone for Australian esports.
IEM Melbourne 2025 marked the first time the Intel Extreme Masters tournament series visited Melbourne, and the enthusiastic response suggests it won't be the last. The event served as a standalone tournament in the ESL Pro Tour calendar.
The tournament structure consisted of two groups in the initial stage, with the top three teams from each group advancing to the playoffs. Vitality dominated Group B, while MOUZ topped Group A. The playoff bracket saw Vitality defeat The MongolZ in the semifinals before facing Falcons, who had beaten MOUZ in their semifinal match.
For Team Falcons, owned by a Saudi-backed esports organization, the second-place finish represents their continued rise in competitive Counter-Strike. Despite facing some criticism for their rapid expansion across multiple esports titles since 2023, their CS2 roster has proven they belong among the elite teams in the world.
The addition of m0NESY to a roster that already included experienced players like NiKo and Magisk (a four-time major winner from his time with Astralis) has created high expectations for the team. Though they fell just short at IEM Melbourne, their performance suggests they could be serious contenders for upcoming major tournaments.