Spirit confidently dealt with Astralis, confirming their status as favorites, while The MongolZ beat Liquid in a close battle. The winners will continue their journey to the playoffs of IEM Katowice 2025, while the losers have dropped to the lower bracket, where they will face elimination.

Spirit vs. Astralis

After their triumph at BLAST Bounty Spring 2025, Spirit arrived in Katowice as the favorites. Their opponents were Astralis, who performed well in the Play-in stage. The first map was Nuke, where Astralis started strong but then crumbled. The first half ended with a score of 7:5. In the second half, Spirit completely dominated and finished the map 13:5. 

The second map followed a similar pattern, where Astralis attempted to play in the first half but surrendered in the second without a chance. The first half ended 8:4, and the second 5:0, allowing Spirit to advance to the playoff match, where they will play against NAVI.

The MongolZ vs. Liquid

For The MongolZ, this was the first tournament of the new season, and no one knew what shape they would be in. The first map was very interesting, with the first half ending 6:6, and in the second, Liquid showed good play and, thanks to winning key rounds, clinched victory and won the map 13:10.

On the second map, The MongolZ woke up and started to show their level. The first half ended 8:4, and the second 5:4, allowing The MongolZ to win the map 13:8. The third map was on fire, both teams showed incredible performances, and the first half ended 6:6. The second half was evenly matched, but due to winning important and key rounds, The MongolZ emerged as winners, finishing the map 13:11.

IEM Katowice 2025 takes place from January 29 to February 9 in Katowice, Poland. Twenty-four teams will compete for a prize pool of $1 million. You can follow the event's schedule and results through this link.