08.02.20257 min read

Biggest Surprises & Upsets at IEM Katowice 2025

Every year the Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) arranges its international eSports competition in different countries across the globe. The competition launched in 2007 but Katowice, Poland became one of its permanent destinations during the 2013 season. The IEM Katowice tournament has become a vital part of the IEM schedule after establishing new viewership records each year. The mysterious nature of Counter-Strike 2 gains some influence on viewer interest but the unpredictable tournament results contribute significantly more to the continuously increasing audience size.

The 2025 edition of IEM Katowice presented fans with unexpected team departures along with resilient underdog victories and unbelievable comeback strategies. This piece examines the major tournament upsets together with their influence on the competition along with future expectations.

What Qualifies as an “Upset” in Esports?

The defying of established team expectations stands at the core of upsets, and such events regularly occur at the Intel Extreme Masters eSports tournament. These predictions get challenged through multiple scenarios, including underdog wins against favored rankings, sudden eliminations of top favorites, and remarkable late-game recoveries. Upsets in tournaments like Intel Extreme Masters Katowice 2025 result from the natural differences between rosters along with changing meta systems and abrupt team roster modifications.

Factor	Explanation
🎯 Meta Shifts	Changes in weapon balance, maps, or strategies can favor underdog teams.
🔥 LAN Pressure	Stage nerves affect performance, causing top teams to underperform.
🧩 Roster Changes	Last-minute substitutions or new players disrupt team synergy.
🧠 Mental Resilience	Some teams thrive under pressure, while others struggle.
📕 Overconfidence	Top teams sometimes underestimate opponents, leading to surprises.

Biggest Upsets at IEM Katowice 2025

Now that we have established what counts as an upset at these events, here are some upsets that have gone down at this year’s Intel Extreme Masters in Katowice.

Top Contenders Eliminated Early

Up first are some favorites that were eliminated earlier on in the game.

FaZE

FaZe clan stands at the top position among the eliminated teams. Faze entered the competition through direct qualification yet lost to Vitality before falling to Eternal Fire in the group stage as a play-in team eliminated them. Eternal Fire secured a double victory against FaZe Clan on Anubis and Nuke through the talents of Wicadia, Woxic, and Xantares.

The combination of individual shortcomings by Carrin and Elige and FaZe’s failure to counter Eternal Fire’s strategic approaches led to their elimination. The analysis rests on Carrin’s subpar performances and Elige’s premature deaths which created several situations where FaZe had only four members versus five opponents. Broky made six clutch attempts during the tournament, yet FaZe Clan exited without reaching the third round of competition. The upcoming match between Eternal Fire and Team Vitality will likely lead to strategy changes and the recognition of new talent emerging from Eternal Fire.

G2 eSports

During the group stage FaZe clan dismissed G2 from the competition prematurely. The main mistakes G2 made included their forceful gameplay tactics and difficulties with bomb defense and site retrieval during post-plant phases. The G2 team faced difficulties using their utility items, including smokes, because they lost control of the map which made it tougher to both defend and attack. The team suffered defeats mainly because of individual players’ poor performances, including Monesy and Hunter missing their shots.

Team Liquid

Team Liquid failed to reach the playoffs when Mouz defeated them before Team Spirit completed their elimination later in the competition. Although Team Spirit stands as one of the stronger teams in Intel Extreme Masters Katowice 2025, they had noticeable lapses that should have caused them the game. Yet, Team Liquid yielded multiple advantageous positions throughout both matches. Zont1x used his Molotov play for Team Spirit which forced Team Liquid to modify their positions and strategy while allowing Team Spirit to execute their infiltration and knock Liquid out of the competition.

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Underdogs That Shocked the World

Next up, underdogs that defied logic and shocked the world with their performances.

Eternal Fire

First, the popular Turkish team, Eternal Fire. Eternal Fire has maintained a single defeat in the tournament while defeating both Team Falcons and FaZe as opponents. Eternal Fire stunned the globe by winning 11 rounds against FaZe on Anubis while using a clever strategy to hide Xantares during the sixth-round breach of FaZe’s defense through Nuke’s open window.

The MongolZ

The Mongolian team demonstrated steady progress until they delivered an unexpected upset performance during IEM Katowice 2025. GamerLegion and Liquid fell to their defeat at the hands of this rising team, which secured them a spot in the playoff matches. The team’s disciplined structur,e together with their team cohesion enables them to defeat opponents with more experience.

GamerLegion

GamerLegion failed to qualify for playoffs but their competitive play was a significant disruption for the season. The team demonstrated their capability by defeating Astralis and MOUZ and establishing themselves in the CS2 competition. The team’s recent recruitment of REZ and PR directly influenced their better results, which signals additional success for GamerLegion in the upcoming months.

Craziest Comebacks & Unexpected Clutch Moments

As always, IEM Katowice 2025 has been a rollercoaster of emotions, featuring nail-biting finishes and jaw-dropping individual plays. Here are some of the craziest comebacks and clutch moments in the tournament so far.

Eternal Fire’s Miraculous Comeback vs. FaZe Clan

The score of 1-7 on Inferno’s Counter-Terrorist side indicated that FaZe was about to defeat Eternal Fire. However, Eternal Fire endured a fantastic comeback by winning 12 consecutive rounds after their initial 1-7 deficit which led to their 16-14 triumph. The team’s successful resurgence resulted from XANTARES’s clutch performance and Woxic’s constant elimination of opponents.

The MongolZ’s Clutch Against Liquid

MongolZ entered their qualifying group stage match against Liquid, facing difficult circumstances. Despite facing challenging moments in the match, MongolZ displayed impressive resilience while their players managed to secure important victories with minimal team members on the field.

How These Upsets Shaped the Tournament

Most CS2 fans witnessed their pick’em predictions fail because of Eternal Fire and MongolZ’s jaw-dropping performances. Various unbelievable team outcomes at the Intel Extreme Masters Katowice 2025 exposed the unpredictable nature of the highly competitive esports scene and engrossed fans with these teams’ developing stories. The competitive CS2 landscape shows signs of transformation because top teams prove that they can lose matches to new contenders who enter the scene. Such a competitive environment would create an exciting scene that reminds esports fans about the numerous possibilities within competitive gaming.

Conclusion – What’s Next?

IEM Katowice 2025 brought unexpected results that will transform the CS2 competition in the future. The shocking victories show elite teams that they need to maintain their edge since every team deserves respect in competition.

The skill gap between title contenders remains unclear yet the recent performances of Eternal Fire, The MongolZ, and GamerLegion demonstrate that the gap continues to decrease. Top teams need to understand their losses by developing better strategies and maintaining focus on staying at the forefront of competition.

The upcoming major CS2 event will experience significant changes due to these recent results which will influence both seedings and the overall expectations. The current shuffle in competition forces teams to adapt their strategies to the new reality. Once you are prepared to engage with this shift in your role as a fan, proceed to the Melbet Pickem Platform to put in your predictions for the upcoming Intel Extreme Masters tournament, where you will have a chance to win our great prizes.

AuthorTemujin Batbayar

Analyst from Ulaanbaatar specializing in CS2. Has competed in MESA tournaments, worked with Esports TV during the ESL Pro League, and reviewed both the PGL Major Antwerp 2022 and IEM Katowice 2024. Author of his own player evaluation metrics and known for accurate predictions. Has interviewed s1mple and ZywOo. In esports since the days of CS 1.3.