MOUZ pulled off a major upset in the IEM Cologne 2025 semifinals, confidently defeating tournament favorites Team Vitality 2-0. The French powerhouse lost a BO3/BO5 series for the first time in over half a year, while MOUZ advanced to the grand final where they’ll seek revenge against Team Spirit.
Road to the Semifinal
MOUZ started their journey in the main stage of IEM Cologne with convincing victories over Liquid and NAVI. After losing to Spirit in the upper bracket final, they dropped to the quarterfinals, where they overcame FURIA to secure a spot in the semifinal against Vitality.
Vitality, considered the tournament favorites, dominated their path to the semifinals. They claimed three straight 2-0 victories over Astralis, G2, and The MongolZ, earning a direct spot in the top four. However, their run ended there as they fell to MOUZ and exited the tournament.
Battle for the Final
Despite MOUZ having a higher win rate on Mirage, their map pick, it was Vitality who started strong, taking the first half 8-4. But MOUZ bounced back on the CT side, winning five rounds in a row to go up 9-8. They dropped only one more round and closed out the map 13-9. Notably, ZywOo had his worst CS2 performance yet, finishing with just 8 kills, 54.2 ADR, and a 0.53 rating.
On their own map pick, Vitality looked lost — particularly flameZ, who ended the map with a 1/18 scoreline and a 0.27 rating. The French squad couldn’t handle MOUZ’s aggressive offense. Although Vitality showed signs of a comeback at 12-6, MOUZ shut the door and sealed the map 13-8, winning the series 2-0.
Vitality’s Win Streak Ends
This was Vitality’s first BO3 or BO5 loss since January 24. Their record-breaking streak of 37 consecutive series wins and seven straight tournament titles has come to an end. It’s also their first missed final since BLAST Bounty, where they last lost a BO3 — falling to Eternal Fire in the quarterfinals.
Player of the Match
The standout player of the match was xertioN, who delivered phenomenal performances from the first map. He finished the series with 40 kills, 109.8 ADR, and a 1.58 rating.
MOUZ in the Final
Team Vitality finish their tournament run in 3rd–4th place, earning $80,000 in prize money plus an additional $28,000 for the organization. MOUZ now prepare for the grand final against Team Spirit, scheduled for Sunday at 18:00 EEST. The two teams have already met earlier in the tournament, where MOUZ lost 2-1. Whether they can take revenge in the BO5 grand final of IEM Cologne — we’ll find out tomorrow.
