Vitality 's dominance and m0NESY 's debut in Falcons - Results of the first game day at IEM Melbourne 2025
The group stage of IEM Melbourne 2025 started with a series of intense matches in the Bo3 format. 16 teams have started their way to the playoffs, and the first day has already brought some high-profile results, map comebacks, and stellar individual performances. Below is an overview of all the quarterfinals of the top two groups.
Natus Vincere 2:1 MIBR
The match between NAVI and MIBR was the most emotional end of the game day. The Brazilians unexpectedly defeated NAVI on Anubis, where Lucaozy registered 20 frags and 107 ADR. But on Mirage, the situation changed dramatically: the Ukrainian team dominated thanks to iM and b1t . The decisive map - Inferno - was equal until the last, but NAVI finished off their opponent with a series of 3 rounds at the end of the game.
MVP: b1t - 43-35, 83 ADR, 6.9 rating
EVP: saffee - 43-37, 71 ADR, 6.4 rating
Vitality 2: 0 FlyQuest
The French-European mix Vitality easily dealt with the FlyQuest. At Anubis, XTQZZZ started with a crushing series, winning 10 rounds in the first half, and ropz showed a perfect game: 16 frags, 113 ADR and a rating of 8.9. On Nuke, FlyQuest managed to impose a fight, but ZywOo and flameZ left no chance for a comeback.
MVP: ropz - 36-21, 96 ADR, 7.9 rating
EVP: regali (FlyQuest) - 27-27, 77 ADR, 6.0 rating
Liquid 2:1 Virtus.pro
The most competitive pair of the first day. Liquid won Dust2 thanks to a powerful performance of Twistzz (18 frags, 111 ADR), but Virtus.pro managed to respond with a victory on Mirage. At Ancient , everything was decided until the last rounds, but the strength of siuhy and Nertz allowed Liquid to win.
MVP: Ultimate - 47-43, 66 ADR, 6.5 rating
EVP: FL4MUS - 49-47, 78 ADR, 6.3 rating
Falcons 2: 0 SAW
Falcons played in the new roster for the first time on LAN, and they looked solid. kyxsan became the main driving force of the team (31 frags, 83 ADR), and m0NESY , as always, was accurate. SAW tried to impose a fight, but AZUWU 's erratic play did not allow the team to gain a foothold in either of the two maps.
MVP: m0NESY - 32-25, 70 ADR, 6.3 rating
EVP: cej0t - 28-29, 71 ADR, 6.0 rating
Mouz 2:1 BIG
BIG shocked fans by confidently beating Mouz at Inferno, where tabseN and hyped dominated. But at Mirage and Ancient , Mouz regained control. Spinx became the MVP thanks to its steady shooting and confident performance on crucial maps.
MVP: Spinx - 42-37, 83 ADR, 6.4 rating
EVP: kyuubii - 38-49, 80 ADR, 6.1 rating
GamerLegion 2:0 3DMAX
One of the most one-sided series of the day. pr played a great game for GL with 36 fps, 100 ADR, and a 7.7 rating. sl3nd also looked convincing on AWP, recording 28 kills and 78 ADR. 3DMAX looked confused and lost all the shootouts.
MVP: pr - 36-22, 100 ADR, 7.7 rating
EVP: Maka - 23-26, 67 ADR, 5.9 rating
FaZe 2:0 pain
FaZe returned to their usual style - tough individual actions and clutches. Although pain stayed close in both maps, the experience of rain and broky allowed FaZe to avoid the third map. Despite the defeat, dav1deuS from pain became the MVP, making 36 frags.
MVP: dav1deuS - 36-34, 88 ADR, 6.5 rating
EVP: rain - 30-25, 78 ADR, 6.4 rating
The MongolZ 2:1 Complexity
Complexity won the first map, but The MongolZ camebacked on Ancient and won Inferno thanks to the clutch performances of mzinho and Senzu . Grim from Complexity made a phenomenal match (65 frags!), but it wasn't enough.
MVP: Grim - 65-53, 100 ADR, 7.2 rating
EVP: mzinho - 57-47, 77 ADR, 6.6 rating
What's next.
The matches of both groups are scheduled to continue on April 22:
04:15 CEST - BIG vs 3DMAX (Lower Bracket)
04:15 CEST - pain vs Complexity (Lower Bracket)
06:45 CEST - Mouz vs GamerLegion
06:45 CEST - FaZe vs The MongolZ
09:15 CEST - SAW vs MIBR (Lower Bracket)
09:15 CEST - FlyQuest vs Virtus.pro (Lower Bracket)
11:45 CEST - Falcons vs NAVI
11:45 CEST - Vitality vs Liquid
The teams that lose in the upper bracket will continue to compete in the lower bracket, and the winners will play in the group finals for a playoff slot.
IEM Melbourne 2025 takes place from April 21 to 27. The entire tournament is held in Melbourne, Australia, at the Rod Laver Arena. Participants are competing for a prize pool of $300,000. You can follow the results and progress of the tournament at this link.
