Spirit took down MOUZ – IEM Cologne 2025 Group B Upper Bracket Final

Spirit defeated MOUZ 2–1 in the Group B upper bracket final of IEM Cologne 2025, advancing directly to the semifinals. MOUZ drop to the quarterfinals. The series featured a hard-fought double-overtime on Mirage, but Spirit closed things cleanly on Overpass. Danil “donk” Kryshkovets was named MVP of the match with a 1.32 rating and 98.2 ADR across all three maps.

Map 1 – Ancient (16:13 Spirit)

Spirit’s pick of Ancient paid off, but only after a tough back-and-forth. The first half ended 7:5 in Spirit’s favor, with sh1ro anchoring B site and donk pushing mid aggressively. MOUZ nearly forced overtime, with torzsi and Jimpphat combining for a late-round streak. However, Spirit’s late clutch rounds from zweih and Spinx shut it down at 16:13.

Map 2 – Mirage (22:19 MOUZ)

MOUZ responded on their map pick, Mirage, with a grueling 41-round win. Spirit took an early edge at the half (7:5), but MOUZ rallied back with key plays from xertioN and Brollan. chopper landed a crucial 1v2 to force overtime, but xertioN closed it with a fast 1v2 post-plant clutch in double OT. torzsi's 1v2 AWP clutch in regulation also helped swing momentum.

Map 3 – Overpass (13:6 Spirit)

Overpass was the decider and Spirit controlled it from the start. A 4K ACE from sh1ro in Round 6 put them firmly ahead. The halftime score read 8:4, and Spirit quickly wrapped up the second half with minimal resistance. donk maintained top form, while zont1x supported with consistent utility and trades.

With the win, Spirit moves on to the semifinals of IEM Cologne 2025. MOUZ fall to the quarterfinals and will face The MongolZ. Spirit await the winner of that matchup in the playoff bracket. Elsewhere, Vitality have already locked in their semifinal spot from Group A.

IEM Cologne 2025 is held in Cologne, Germany from July 26 to August 4. The event features 24 teams across the Play-In, Group Stage, and Playoffs. The $1,000,000 prize pool awards $400,000 to the winner, $180,000 to the runner-up, and $80,000 to third place. This is the second event of the Intel Grand Slam Season 6. Vitality won the season opener and are in strong form to chase another $1 million gold bar bonus.