"The worst final": CS2 community debates over IEM Katowice 2025 Grand Final

IEM Katowice 2025 concluded on February 9, 2025, with Team Vitality securing a dominant 3-0 victory over Team Spirit in the Grand Final and earning a $400,000 prize. Notably, Donk, the Shanghai Major 2024 MVP, underperformed during this crucial match. Following the event, a post on X by user @Poloolpp gained significant attention, labeling the tournament as the worst IEM event ever. The post criticized various aspects in the caption:

"The worst final. The worst crowd. The worst ticket price and availability. The last Katowice. The worst Katowice. What a send off."

The post gained massive traction in the CS2 community, accumulating over 2,700 likes and numerous comments within a day.

The community's reaction was mixed. Some users agreed with the criticism. User @Bigfanofamy1 expressed disappointment over the playoffs, stating they missed the excitement that FaZe Clan usually brings, while @Nomore_wan41790 found the 3-0 outcome boring and noted Donk's lackluster performance. On the other hand, @kajo890 criticized the game itself, implying it contributed to the event's shortcomings.

Comments from the community (Image via X || @Poloolpp)

Conversely, many people in the community defended the IEM Katowice 2025 event. @InfiNg0 dismissed the complaints, suggesting that the final was a display of dominance by Vitality and that issues like ticket pricing are driven by supply and demand. @Anthololl indicated a lack of sympathy for the complaints in the post. @HanterFN, meanwhile, called IEM Katowice 2025 the best Counter-Strike tournament.

More comments from the community (Image via X || @Poloolpp)

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IEM Katowice 2025: Full list of results

Now that IEM Katowice 2025 has concluded, here's the full list of results with the distributed prize pool of $1 million:

Placement	Prize	Team
1st	$400,000	Team Vitality
2nd	$180,000	Team Spirit
3rd-4th	$80,000	The MongolZ, Natus Vincere
5th-6th	$40,000	Eternal Fire, Virtus.pro
7th-8th	$24,000	FaZe Clan, GamerLegion
9th-12th	$16,000	G2 Esports, 3DMAX, Astralis, Team Liquid
13th-16th	$10,000	Team Falcons, BIG, FURIA Esports, MOUZ
17th-20th	$4,500	Wildcard, paiN Gaming, MIBR, HEROIC
21st-24th	$4,500	Complexity, FlyQuest, SAW, Imperial Fe

Notably, this is Team Vitality's first Intel Extreme Master's Katowice win; they finished 15th last year. Moreover, this was the first even IEM event where Imperial Fe, a female team, qualified.

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