FURIA Beats Team Vitality for a Share of $1,000,000 in Total Winnings and the Coveted IEM Chengdu Trophy
Sunday, November 9, 2025, Chengdu, China: Intel® Extreme Masters (IEM) Chengdu culminated in an action-packed Grand Final where the Brazilian powerhouse FURIA was crowned IEM Champions for the first time in history. Following their dominant 3-0 victory over Team Vitality, FURIA claimed the lion’s share of the $1,000,000 in total winnings, lifted the ESL Pro Tour (EPT) Masters trophy, and entered the race for the $1,000,000 ESL Grand Slam VI.
Fueled by the energy of a live audience from the first matches to the final rounds, IEM Chengdu came to a close. The tournament drew over 35,000 fans from across China and around the world to the sold-out Chengdu Financial City Performing Arts Center, and reached a peak online viewership of over 770,000*.
Group Stage
The IEM Chengdu 2025 Group Stage commenced on November 3 and featured 16 of the world’s top Counter-Strike (CS) teams battling for the final six spots in the Playoff Stage. The tournament delivered unpredictable results from the start, with last year’s winners FaZe Clan facing an early 2-0 elimination, and Team Spirit, the reigning IEM Cologne 2025 Champions, falling in the lower bracket decider. Despite the support of the home crowd, local favorites TYLOO and Lynn Vision also missed out on a chance to compete in the Playoffs.
Team Falcons and MOUZ stormed through their groups, dominating the upper bracket and directly qualifying for the Semifinals with flawless 3-0 scores. Astralis and FURIA followed closely behind as top-seeded Quarterfinalists. Team Vitality and The MongolZ were the last two teams to complete the Playoff lineup, showcasing resilience in their lower-bracket matches.
Playoffs
The IEM Chengdu 2025 Playoff stage took place on November 7-9 and saw the six remaining teams battling on the main stage to reach the Grand Final. The first Quarterfinal proved that, despite a rocky start in the Group Stage, Team Vitality was not ready to back down from the fight for the trophy, defeating Astralis with a 2-1 victory to advance to the Semifinals. Meanwhile, FURIA carried their momentum into a strong 2-0 victory over The MongolZ, securing the last Semifinal spot.
The Semifinals kept fans on the edge of their seats as MOUZ and Team Vitality traded rounds in a heated battle. After three close maps, it was Vitality who held their ground and pushed through Inferno to seal their place in the Grand Final once again. The second Semifinal saw FURIA rise to the occasion, delivering a strong performance from the start. After a tight game on Mirage, FURIA closed the series with a 2-0 victory against Team Falcons and secured their first-ever appearance in a live IEM Grand Final.
Before the Grand Final, Team Falcons finished their IEM Chengdu 2025 by taking the win in the third-place decider match against MOUZ.
Grand Final
The Intel® Extreme Masters Chengdu 2025 Grand Final brought a highly anticipated rematch between FURIA and Team Vitality, following Vitality’s victory over the Brazilian squad in the Quarterfinals of ESL Pro League Season 22.
The opening map showed that the best-of-five Final could be anybody’s game, as both teams traded rounds in a back-and-forth clash on Ancient. FURIA eventually regained control, taking an early lead and closing the first series 13:11. Vitality’s pick, Inferno, started off well for them, but FURIA’s impressive comeback turned the odds in their favor as they took the map 13:10. The third map brought a historic moment for Brazilian Counter-Strike fans, as FURIA outplayed Team Vitality to win the final series and become the IEM Chengdu 2025 Champions in a dominant 3-0 fashion. The team claimed their first-ever Intel® Extreme Masters trophy, a lion’s share of the $1,000,000 in total winnings, and entered the ESL Grand Slam VI race. On top of that, FURIA’s prodigy Daniel “molodoy” Golubenko earned the DHL MVP award for his outstanding performance through the tournament.
“Amazing experience in Chengdu as we win the competition beating Vitality 3-0! Proud of everyone in the group, players, staff, and organization. It was a well-fought battle. See you guys and xiexie zhongwo, “ said Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo.
The next year of ESL Pro Tour for Counter-Strike will kick off with the inaugural Intel® Extreme Masters Kraków, taking place on January 28 – February 8, where 24 of the world’s best teams will battle for the Championship trophy. For more information about the ESL’s Counter-Strike ecosystem, go to the official website or follow ESL Counter-Strike on X, Instagram, and Facebook.
*according to escharts.com
