Vitality conquer Falcons in a thrilling IEM Melbourne 2025 Grand Final
Vitality lifts another trophy after a legendary battle. ZywOo grabs his 24th MVP award, setting yet another record.
The Vitality era shows no signs of slowing down. The French organization once again turned their vitality into gold, defeating Falcons 3-2 in the IEM Melbourne 2025 Grand Final. ZywOo added yet another milestone to his legacy, earning his 24th MVP medal and reinforcing his status as the all-time leader for MVPs. Falcons fought bravely, but the growing pains of their new roster showed, though this was far more than just a "nice try" from them.
Map |
Score
Winner
Inferno
Vitality 13-2
Vitality
Dust2
Falcons 16-12
Falcons
Train
Vitality 13-9
Vitality
Mirage
Falcons 13-10
Falcons
Nuke
Vitality 22-20
Vitality
Vitality started the series by obliterating Falcons on Inferno — their signature map. A brutal 13-2 scoreline reminded everyone why you don't let Vitality pick Inferno. Falcons managed just two rounds, overwhelmed by a team deep in its prime and riding a monster winstreak. Facing a titan on its best map created extra pressure Falcons simply couldn't overcome.
Dust2 offered Falcons a glimmer of hope. They pushed Vitality to the limit, forcing overtime and flipping the script to steal their own pick 16-12. Mistakes still crept in under pressure, but this was the version of Falcons fans wanted to see — fast, aggressive, and resilient. Vitality played more loosely compared to Inferno, with risky plays that didn't always land this time around.
Then came Train, and with it, an early scare. Falcons took the first half with a strong T-side showing. But Vitality, unfazed, clawed its way back. A pivotal eco round win, followed by multiple 3v5 comebacks, showed why Vitality are still the best under pressure. They locked Train 13-9, flexing their world-class clutch factor and killer instincts.
On Mirage, Falcons struck back again. Their best map saw them explode out of the gate with five quick rounds. Vitality stabilized, evening up the half 6-6. After the break, m0NESY unleashed a superstar-level performance, backed by his teammates to grab Mirage 13-10 and force a deciding fifth map.
On Nuke, the decisive fifth map, Falcons delivered a near-perfect first half, leading 9-3. The victory on the previous map had left Vitality drained, facing an opponent playing with the momentum of a team on the brink of victory. Falcons carried their confidence into Nuke, maintaining a comfortable and composed style throughout. In the second half of the final map, Vitality, though shaken, managed to delay defeat with scattered resistance.
The greatest CS2 final so far? Probably.
With a clutch decision, kyxsan faked the bomb plant at the very last second and eliminated ZywOo, who tried to peek him. Falcons secured their 12th round and pushed Vitality under massive pressure, under which the French side continued their comeback attempt, eventually dragging the game into overtime from a 6-12 deficit.
Vitality found new life and managed to take the lead for the first time on Nuke at 14-13. However, Falcons' fire and resilience didn’t fade, and they held off the revived Vitality to push the game into a second overtime. Vitality claimed the championship map point at 18-15 but gave up three rounds in the second half of double overtime.
The third overtime continued the neck-and-neck battle, with both teams trading rounds back and forth. In the end, Vitality secured the win with a 22-20 scoreline.
After the match, team captain apEX praised Vitality’s best signing of 2025, ropz, who couldn’t hold back tears and said he hoped the fans enjoyed the spectacle.
On top of the $285,000 prize money, Vitality secured the $1,000,000 gold bars bonus for winning the ESL Grand Slam Season 5.
Full Match Vitality - Falcons (IEM Melbourne Grand Final) Stats
Player |
Team
K-D
+/-
ADR
KAST
Rating 2.0
ZywOo
Vitality
110-82
+28
91.1
80.8%
1.34
ropz
Vitality
98-74
+24
77.3
76.2%
1.18
mezii
Vitality
86-89
-3
67.3
73.1%
0.98
apEX
Vitality
78-94
-16
70.2
71.5%
0.96
flameZ
Vitality
75-96
-21
69.3
71.5%
0.93
TeSeS
Falcons
105-95
+10
90.0
71.5%
1.16
m0NESY
Falcons
97-81
+16
73.2
70.0%
1.09
NiKo
Falcons
83-92
-9
74.7
72.3%
0.98
kyxsan
Falcons
81-96
-15
75.9
71.5%
0.97
Magisk
Falcons
68-87
-19
60.2
69.2%
0.83
MVP Comparison: ZywOo vs m0NESY
Player |
Rating 2.0
ADR
KAST
Impact
ZywOo
1.34
91.1
80.8%
1.30
m0NESY
1.09
73.2
70.0%
1.00
This is just the beginning for Falcons. Taking the silver here will only fuel their drive to refine and strengthen their new roster, which, by the way, barely had time to fully prepare for the tournament. So the real question is — what happens when they do? Overall, Falcons have passed their first true Tier-1 test with flying colors, and as expected, they’ve secured their spot as a proud and rightful member of the world’s top 5 teams.
Vitalii Diakiv writes gaming blogs and guides, focusing on the latest announcements and games matched with pop-cultural phenomena. Second, he covers esports events Counter-Strike 2, Marvel Rivals, League of Legends, and others.
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