Vitality dismantle Spirit to win IEM Katowice

It looks like Spirit's dominance has come to an end much sooner than anyone anticipated, Vitality absolutely dismantled them in the final of IEM Katowice to lift their first trophy of 2025.

Barely a week after running riot at BLAST Bounty, Spirit ultimately fell flat in the final of IEM Katowice, losing 3-0 and missing out on the $460,000 Vitality will now take home.

Photo: Michal Konkol

Vitality win in Poland

An uncharacteristically poor game from donk, the best player of 2024 was limited to just a 0.88 rating in the final as Vitality had full control over the first two maps.

On the side of Vitality, ropz and ZywOo both impressed, both players had a map with a 2+ rating as Vitality won Dust2 13-6 and Nuke 13-5.

Map three was closer, Spirit almost pulled off an impressive comeback on Mirage, but economic damage ultimately meant that Vitality could close it out in regulation with the score 13-11.

Vitality shone throughout their time in Katowice, going straight through to the semi-finals after wins versus 3DMAX, FaZe, and Virtus.pro in the Group Stage.

When they got into the iconic Spodek Arena, they then made light work of The MongolZ, polishing off the fan-favourite Asian team with a confident 2-0 showing.

The final itself was nothing like anyone would have expected, an utterly dominant display from Vitality. Their victory was never in doubt and it also means that they can now put their Katowice woes behind them after struggling in the event since the organisation entered CS.