IEM Melbourne 2025 is here – Counter-Strike is back for another Aussie adventure, with things set to heat up on the server with $1,000,000 in prize money on the line. This time around, it’s an event with one clear favorite, with the remaining pack lining up to attempt to dethrone the Kings of Counter-Strike down under.
So, who exactly are we talking about? Read on to find out our IEM Melbourne 2025 power rankings, as well as some analysis of favorites and underdogs.
Credit: ESL
IEM Melbourne 2025 Favorites
Coming into IEM Melbourne 2025, Team Vitality are the clear favorites. They have won almost every event they’ve competed in this year and are currently on a three-tournament winning streak. Scarily, no team even looks close to stopping them, either, which is further exacerbated by Spirit pulling out of the event last-minute. Should Vitality get the job done in Melbourne, they’ll also win the ESL Grand Slam, becoming the fifth-ever team to do so. They’re top of the pile – there’s no question about that.
The only team you could realistically expect to challenge Vitality at this event based on recent form is MOUZ. They were one map away from beating Team Vitality at ESL Pro League Season 21, but it was ultimately the star power that separated the two teams. Given the fact that MOUZ have consistently been in Grand Finals throughout 2025, you can’t count out there IEM Melbourne chances, even if they have to go in second place.
It will be fascinating to see how Falcons perform at IEM Melbourne 2025. It will be m0NESY’s debut for the Saudi Arabian outfit, marking his swift reunion with NiKo after their G2 stint together. Those two together are a force that gives them a chance at literally any CS2 tournament (see IEM Dallas 2024’s GStew run), and so it’s difficult to put them any lower than third, given the general inconsistency in the scene right now.
These are our full CS2 power rankings for the teams attending IEM Melbourne 2025. What do you reckon?
- Team Vitality
- MOUZ
- Falcons
- The MongolZ
- NAVI
- FaZe Clan
- Team Liquid
- 3DMAX
- Virtus.pro
- Complexity
- GamerLegion
- paiN Gaming
- MIBR
- SAW
- BIG
- FlyQuest
Credit: Helena Kristiansson | ESL
IEM Melbourne 2025 Underdogs
Underdogs – we all love them, right? Cheering for the unlikely overperformers of each event can provide a rush like no other, so it’s no surprise that fans always want to find out who the underdogs are for each CS2 tournament.
Our first underdog to watch out for at IEM Melbourne 2025 is Complexity. A Semi-Final finish at PGL Bucharest 2025 felt like a massive achievement for this current lineup, especially given how they struggled to start 2025. Coming in as late replacements for Spirit, Complexity now have a unique chance to show that their Bucharest run wasn’t just a fluke, but rather a sign of genuine quality that they can maintain over the next few months. Watch this space.
Liquid‘s debut with new IGL siuhy was a bit of a horror show in Bucharest, with the team bombing out 0:3 without winning a single map. Yet, it’s siuhy. He’s just got a knack for making doubters into believers, and I reckon he’ll come into IEM Melbourne 2025 with a lot more to show than last time out. I’ll be keeping an eye out for them as one of my big underdogs.
Credit: Sebastian Pandelache | PGL