After a disappointing performance against paiN Gaming, the Russian Counter-Strike 2 squad delivered a dominant display, led by Petr “fame” Bolyshev and Evgenii “FL1T” Lebedev.

Fame was particularly outstanding on Dust2, posting a 2.10 rating, while Denis “electroNic” Sharipov topped the scoreboard on Inferno.

Following the match, electroNic emphasised his dedication to improving as an in-game leader.

“I’m looking at the best teams and learning a lot from them. I just want to be the best version of myself,” he stated.

Virtus.pro will next face MIBR, with a spot in Stage 2 at stake.

SAW, on the other hand, suffered their third consecutive 0-2 loss since bringing in José “Shr” Gil.

Their struggles on Inferno against Virtus.pro highlighted ongoing issues in their gameplay, as they failed to find their footing.

No problem for the @GamerLegion boys as they inflicted some pain on Mirage pic.twitter.com/nzd5T6CAdl

— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) January 30, 2025

GamerLegion also advanced to Stage 2, dismantling paiN Gaming 2-0 in a match that exposed paiN’s defensive weaknesses.

Erik “ztr” Gustafsson’s strategic play on Inferno and the impressive performance of 17-year-old Old?ich “PR” Novy, who made his international LAN debut, were key factors in their victory.

Fredrik “REZ” Sterner praised the young players, noting their energy and motivation.

“They make me feel young, you know? It’s a nice atmosphere to be around,” he said.

Sketchy to solid.@3DMAXGaming come out victorious over @MIBR as they win 2-0 and advance to Stage 2 of #IEM Katowice 2025!

19-16 Inferno
13-5 Nuke pic.twitter.com/etf5i6rlCe

— Intel? Extreme Masters (@IEM) January 30, 2025

3DMAX continued their strong form with a 2-0 victory over MIBR, securing a top-16 finish.

Despite nearly throwing their lead on Inferno, they rebounded with a dominant showing on Nuke.

Pierre “Ex3rcice” Bulinge admitted to inconsistencies but expressed confidence in their progress.

“We put so much effort into it, and we are happy that it paid off,” he stated.

The French squad has been revitalized since the addition of Filip “Graviti” Brankovic, showing potential to restore France’s Counter-Strike prominence.

Astralis survived their elimination match against FlyQuest, securing a narrow 2-1 victory.

After losing Train, they responded with a strong performance on Ancient before clinching Inferno in a tense decider.

Despite inconsistent results since signing Casper “cadiaN” M?ller, Astralis remains in contention at IEM Katowice.

However, issues in their map pool and terrorist side strategies remain concerns as they look ahead.

BIG eliminated Imperial fe with a commanding 2-0 victory.

The women’s team, missing their in-game leader Victoria “tory” Kazieva, struggled to compete at the tier-one level.

Alexandra “twenty3” Timonina stood out, but it wasn’t enough to prevent an early exit.

Despite their disappointment, Ana “ANa” Dumbrav? and Zainab “zAAz” Turkie remained optimistic, emphasising the significance of competing on such a grand stage.

.@eternalfirecs2 defeat @heroicgg 2-0 to clear Stage 1 at #IEM Katowice with a clean record

13-11 Nuke
16-14 Anubis pic.twitter.com/wqt3qgeqL4

— Intel? Extreme Masters (@IEM) January 30, 2025

Eternal Fire secured their spot in the next stage with a hard-fought 2-0 win over HEROIC.

Key performances from Samet “jottAAA” K?klü, Ismailcan “XANTARES” D?rtkarde?, and ?zgür “woxic” Eker helped them fend off HEROIC’s comeback attempts.

HEROIC, featuring promising talents like Linus “LNZ” Holt?ng and Andrey “tN1R” Tatarinovich, have exceeded expectations despite their loss.

They now face BIG in a decisive match for a place in Stage 2.

IEM Katowice Stage 1 will conclude on Friday, with five teams punching their ticket to Stage 2 of the event.

Friday’s IEM Katowice series

• Complexity ($4.50) vs Team Liquid ($1.16) @ 1:30pm CET
• Wildcard ($2.62) vs FURIA Esports ($1.44) @ 1:30pm CET
• BIG ($3.00) vs HEROIC ($1.36) @ 4pm CET
• MIBR ($2.25) vs Virtus.pro ($1.57) @ 4pm CET
• paiN Gaming ($1.72) vs Astralis ($2.00) @ 6:30pm CET
• Complexity/Team Liquid vs FURIA Esports/Wildcard @ 6:30pm CET

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Meanwhile, Virtus.pro delivered the sole upset of the day, defeating Complexity in their first outing since parting ways with in-game leader Dzhami “?Jame?” Ali.

The day’s highlight was undoubtedly NaVi’s clash with Imperial fe, marking a historic moment for women’s Counter-Strike 2 esports.

Imperial fe—composed of Ana “ANa” Dumbrav?, Alexandra “twenty3” Timonina, Viktoria “tory” Kazieva, Katarína “Kat” Va?ková, and Zainab “zAAz” Turkie—entered the match as underdogs against the world’s third-ranked team.

Despite the 2-0 scoreline in NaVi’s favour, Imperial fe delivered an impressive performance that shattered expectations and cemented their place in Counter-Strike history.

BOUNTY HELD: They went big with their pick and gave it their all, but @natusvincere were too strong for @imperialesports Fe today! #BLASTPremier pic.twitter.com/L1e9N71xj0

— BLAST Premier (@BLASTPremier) January 16, 2025

The series kicked off on Ancient, with Imperial fe showing early signs of promise.

NaVi relied on clutch rounds from Aleksi “Aleksib” Virolainen to stay competitive, but Imperial fe’s aggressive terrorist side, powered by standout plays from twenty3 and zAAz, saw them claim five consecutive rounds and momentarily lead the scoreboard.

On their counter-terrorist side, Imperial fe kept the pressure on NaVi until an eco round loss derailed their momentum.

NaVi’s superior firepower, led by Justinas “?jL?” Lekavicius and Ihor “?w0nderful?” Zhdanov, secured the map victory.

Mirage followed a similar pattern.

Imperial fe put up a respectable fight, with Kat stealing the spotlight through flashy shots against NaVi stars Valeriy “?b1t?” Vakhovskyi and Ihor “?w0nderful?” Zhdanov.

However, NaVi’s consistency and experience once again proved decisive, with b1t delivering a masterclass performance, racking up 140 ADR and 31 kills.

NaVi closed out the series, but not without effort, as Imperial fe showcased remarkable resilience.

The match broke records, drawing over 480,000 concurrent viewers, making it the most-watched women’s CS2 match in history, according to Esports Charts.

For Imperial fe, the performance silenced sceptics who had questioned their invitation to the tier-one tournament.

Elsewhere, FaZe Clan began their new season with Jonathan “?EliGE?” Jablonowski by defeating M80.

The North American squad, featuring stand-in Nils “?k1to?” Gruhne, provided stiffer resistance than anticipated but ultimately fell to FaZe’s star power in the late-game moments.

Virtus.pro, now without Jame at the helm, secured an upset victory over Complexity.

Despite close maps, powerful performances from Timur “?FL4MUS?” Marev and Petr “?fame?” Bolyshev sealed the deal.

Complexity, though unsuccessful, showed potential in their first match since losing EliGE during the player break.

Meanwhile, Eternal Fire continued their strong form, dispatching Fluxo with relative ease.

Ismailcan “?XANTARES?” D?rtkarde? once again demonstrated his top-20 pedigree, dominating with over 100 ADR.

While newcomer Samet “?jottAAA?” K?klü struggled to make an impact, the Turkish squad proved too strong for their Brazilian opponents.

The opening round of the BLAST Bounty Spring event will continue on Friday, with the final four matches taking place.

Check out ESB’s free betting preview and tips for Friday’s BLAST Bounty Spring fixtures.

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Scheduled to take place on January 29–February 9, 2025, IEM Katowice 2025 is the second S-Tier Counter-Strike tournament of the season, succeeding BLAST Bounty Spring 2025.

And like BLAST Bounty, IEM Katowice 2025 invites have been sent out according to the Valve Global Standings rather than the ESL World Rankings used in last year’s iteration of the Polish event.

ALL 24 TEAMS INVITED TO #IEM KATOWICE 2025

The Hall of Heroes awakens once again.

Stage 2
Stage 1 pic.twitter.com/L7tq1BS1TN

— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) January 9, 2025

The top eight teams were invited straight into Stage 2 of the tournament. Those include G2 Esports, The MongolZ, Team Vitality, FaZe Clan, MOUZ, Natus Vincere, Team Falcons, and the defending champions, Team Spirit.

Many of the top contenders will travel to Katowice with different lineups than what they fielded in 2024, as Nikola “?NiKo?” Kova? left G2 Esports to join Team Falcons, while FaZe Clan waved goodbye to Robin “?ropz?” Kool in a reported transfer to Team Vitality.

The remaining 16 teams were placed in Stage 1, which will feature six squads from the Americas region, including MiBR, FURIA Esports, Team Liquid, paiN Gaming, Wildcard, and Complexity Gaming.

Europe will be represented by nine teams, while Oceania will have a sole representative in FlyQuest.

Intel Extreme Masters Katowice 2025 Stage 1 will feature a female Counter-Strike roster, Imperial Female, who won two ESL Impact League titles last season and climbed to the 23rd spot on Valve’s rankings.

Like last season, IEM Katowice 2025 will welcome 24 teams and have a US$1,000,000 prize pool; however, there are some adjustments to the format.

The first stage (formerly Play-In) is double-elimination with all matches being best-of-three (Bo3) series. The top eight teams will advance to the second stage.

The second stage (formerly the group stage) will divide the 16 teams into two groups of eight in a double-elimination bracket. All matches are best-of-three, with six teams (three from each group) proceeding to the playoffs.

The group stage winners will receive a direct bye to the semifinals, and runners-up will advance to the quarterfinals as high seeds. Third-placed teams will enter the quarterfinals as low seeds.

IEM Katowice 2025 playoffs will be single-elimination, with quarterfinals and semifinals played as best-of-three. The grand final is a best-of-five series.

IEM Katowice 2025 teams

Stage 1 (Play In)

Stage 2 (Group Stage)

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