After a nail-biting showdown, Vitality came out on top against MOUZ in the IEM Chengdu 2025 semi-finals, securing their spot in the Grand Final.
Here’s everything that went down across the BO3 series.
Map Veto
- Vitality removed Ancient
- MOUZ removed Dust 2
- Vitality picked Nuke
- MOUZ picked Train
- Vitality removed Overpass
- MOUZ removed Mirage
- Inferno was left over
Map 1: Nuke (Pick: Vitality, Win: Vitality, Final Score: 16-13)
MOUZ kicked off the series on the right foot with a pistol-round win on the CT side of Nuke and followed it up with back-to-back round wins, securing four rounds in a row before conceding one. In fact, MOUZ managed to remain the dominant force throughout the first half, securing nine out of the twelve rounds as they headed into the weaker side of the map.
The T-side of Nuke started smoothly for MOUZ, but a series of missteps allowed Vitality to seize back control. After losing the pistol round, MOUZ managed to find themselves on the brink of victory by securing three rounds in a row, but Vitality weren’t giving up without a fight. The latter left no room for mistakes as they seized one round after another to eventually tie up the score, forcing overtime.
After not giving up a single round on their CT side of Overtime, Vitality managed to close out the game by getting a round on their T side, ending the first map of the series with a score of 16-13.
With a total of 30 kills and only 16 deaths, Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut was undoubtedly the star of the first map.
Map 2: Train (Pick: MOUZ, Win: MOUZ, Final Score: 13-11)
MOUZ once again got a head start with a pistol round win on the T-side of Train, but a force-buy from Vitality shut them down. MOUZ responded with a force-buy of their own and capitalized on the momentum to snatch a few rounds from their opposition. Vitality regained composure shortly afterward, getting seven rounds back-to-back to close the half with a strong lead of 8-4.
A pistol-round win on the CT side kept MOUZ in contention despite entering the second half at a disadvantage. While Vitality managed to secure their own buy-round, MOUZ had the stronger CT-side overall, closing out the game with a narrow 13-11 lead.
Jimi “Jimpphat” Salo topped the scoreboard of the second game with 19 kills and 14 deaths to his name.
Map 3: Inferno (Win: Vitality, Final Score: 13-10)
To call the final map of the BO3 a nail-biter would be an understatement. The rounds swung back and forth between both sides, as neither team was willing to give an inch.
Continuing the trend of the series, MOUZ once again secured the pistol round on the CT side but failed to build a decisive lead, as a force-buy from Vitality quickly shut them down. The half was pretty evenly contested, with both teams trading rounds back and forth, ultimately ending 6–6.
Vitality won their first pistol round in the BO3 on the CT side of Inferno, and capitalized on it to extend their lead to 9-6 before MOUZ could retaliate. A few consecutive round wins enabled the latter to steal the lead by 10-9, but Vitality adapted swiftly and reclaimed momentum to secure a 13–10 finish.
Robin “ropz” Kool stood out for his stellar performance on Inferno with 20 kills and 10 deaths.