The tournament highlights the current power balance on the top CS2 esports scene. The grand final is a rerun of the Chengdu battle.
After so many exciting matches of the Play-In and Group Stage, we could see pretty familiar faces in the top 6 Playoffs. FURIA and Vitality reached the IEM Kraków 2026 grand final—to proclaim their dominance in Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) esports.
MOUZ and Spirit stumbled in the semifinals, so third place became their tournament goal at this point. Many strong teams fell even on the path to the final brackets.
FURIA vs Vitality: The IEM Kraków 2026 grand final
These teams faced each other in the grand final at Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) Chengdu 2025. In that match, FURIA won 3:0. For Vitality, it’s a chance to pull off their revenge and also start the CS2 2026 season with a big tournament victory.
Match score | Map 1 | Map 2 | Map 3 | Map 4 | Map 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bo5 | Mirage, FUR | Inferno, VIT | Nuke, FUR | Overpass, VIT | Anubis, decider |
| FURIA 1:3 Vitality | FUR 13:11 VIT | FUR 8:13 VIT | FUR 2:13 VIT | FUR 10:13 VIT | - |
FURIA demonstrated miracles of recovery, as they pulled off a comeback from a 3:9 on Mirage. That was their only map win in the IEM Krakow grand final.
Team Vitality took a back-and-forth battle on Inferno. Then, they delivered a mind-blowing 13:2 on Nuke, with a 9-round streak on the CT side.
There was a glimpse of hope for FURIA to bring the match to Anubis, as they even led with a 9:6 on Overpass. Vitality did not let that happen. In the final rounds, ZywOo missed no shots — and made this tournament historically best for himself, with 2.20 KDR and 101.0 ADR in the grand final.
With this win, Vitality have three ESL Grand Slam VI points on their account.
“Back to back, even though it’s not Katowice, it’s Krakow. I’m really proud of my boys. I mean — ZywOo showed that he’s the best player in the world. I felt like he didn’t miss anything, he was moving everywhere. It was such a joy to play with him today.”
“This amazing team is making history. It’s been so many big trophies together. We are closer to the second Grand Slam. I’m speechless: my team is amazing!”
Team Vitality | Dan "apEX" Madesclaire
Vitality to repeat their tournament streak?
In the semifinal against MOUZ, it really looked like Vitality players are back to their overpowered state. Dan "apEX" Madesclaire led his team with many early frags and tricky positioning. Mathieu "ZywOo" Herbaut delivered lots of amazing AWP shots. The entire team worked as one machine: especially in the second half on Dust II.
This whole narrative of the Vitality era in Counter-Strike is not going to disappear quickly. The team made a great impact in 2025 — with a phenomenal tournament-win streak and two Major trophies.
To be fully clear, IEM Kraków 2026 in its Group Stage wasn't a huge challenge for Team Vitality. They had BC.Game Esports, 3DMAX, and Aurora Gaming as their group opponents. Vitality won all these matches with 2:0s.
FURIA should recover from Budapest
The second half of 2025 almost became an era of FURIA. They won a few big tournaments and were the favorites at the StarLadder Major 2025 in Budapest. The Playoffs of that event did not go too well for FURIA: they got eliminated by NAVI.
IEM Kraków became a nice opportunity for FURIA to recover emotionally. They still were shaky with an opening loss to FUT Esports. Then, FURIA defeated pretty strong opponents in the groups lower brackets: The MongolZ and NAVI. Yes, this revenge was sweet for FURIA!
In the Playoffs, FURIA seemingly had no problems with Aurora. Team Spirit pushed them to the limits with an overtime on Mirage, and a loss on Dust II. The decisive map, Nuke, featured a T-side dominance by FURIA.
Aurora Gaming and splashes of power
After BLAST Bounty Winter 2026, many eyes were on PARAVISION as the most successful underdog team. With this focus, we underestimated the might of CS2 Aurora Gaming.
After their win at PGL Masters Bucharest 2025, Aurora got a notable drop in their results. At IEM Kraków 2026, that changed: with the top 6 placement and wins over a few big favorites. Aurora Gaming defeated Falcons and MOUZ in the groups.
In the match versus Vitality, Aurora pulled off the longest overtime of the entire tournament — 22:25 on Ancient.
Failed promises of MOUZ
It's really harsh to be a fan of MOUZ. The team has an amazing potential, but taking a trophy is still a dream for these players.
In the first half of 2025, MOUZ often were one step away from tournament wins, stopped only by Vitality. The results in the second half declined, but MOUZ were stubborn in their dedication, including keeping the current roster unchanged.
At IEM Kraków 2026, there was promise for a big breakthrough. MOUZ defeated FaZe Clan and Falcons. They had a great match against G2. The semifinal versus Team Vitality turned out to be another failure for MOUZ. The second half on Dust II wasn't even too competitive.
G2 Esports are among the top CS2 teams again?
The ups and downs of G2 are not over at IEM Kraków, but reaching the top 6 feels good for the team.
G2 won over The MongolZ in the groups. They had amazing rounds in the quarterfinal versus MOUZ.
Spirit to build their new/old synergy
Team Spirit had the second tournament after the return of two players to the main roster. The period of building winning synergy may be too long at this point, though. After a great Group Stage, Spirit lost to FURIA, which denied another ESL Grand Slam point for them.
The return of s1mple
One of the most exciting parts of the Play-In stage at IEM Kraków 2026 was the return of Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev to the top-tier CS2 esports tournaments. With his new team, BC.Game Esports, s1mple celebrated victories over Legacy and NiP. The losses were to 3DMAX, Vitality, and FaZe — this means no wins in the groups.
The best underdogs at IEM Kraków 2026
Apart from Aurora Gaming, which weren't the favorites at CS2 esports betting platforms, no other underdogs had wow results. However, some teams surprised us with their wins.
- FUT Esports defeated FURIA with a 2:0 in the opening match of the Group Stage.
- 3DMAX had a win over FaZe. The opponents were in the Budapest Major grand final, but the rollercoaster of FaZe is still a real thing.
Big teams and their big struggles
NAVI disappointed their fans again. After their no-wins run at Bounty 2026 Season 1, NAVI could not advance to the Playoffs at IEM Kraków. They won over PARAVISION but then lost to FURIA and Spirit. At least, those finals opponents are super strong, right?
The MongolZ make their high-level status doubted again. They played two games, lost to G2 and FURIA, and left the tournament.
FaZe Clan proved that their magic may not always work. High expectations after the Budapest Major grand final crushed after losses to 3DMAX and MOUZ.
Falcons lost to Aurora and MOUZ to be out of IEM Kraków. Winning over NRG and 3DMAX doesn't feel like decent emotional compensation for such a team. It's not like another trophy slipped from them, as Falcons did not even see it on the horizon.
Intel Extreme Masters 2026 in Kraków is a milestone event. It featured the first finals in front of the crowd. We could see the teams' true form ahead of the competitive season: up to IEM Cologne Major 2026.
The next tournament not to miss is PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026, from Feb. 14 to Feb. 25. Many top teams participate in it, including FURIA and Vitality.
