NAVI vs. Spirit Rematch Headlines IEM Katowice Semi-Finals

From 32 teams, reduced to four. IEM Katowice 2025 is nearing its conclusion, with the champions now determined to be between one of Team Spirit, NAVI, The MongolZ, and  Team Vitality. Tomorrow will see two matches play out between these teams in the IEM Katowice Semi-Finals, and I’ve got some thoughts about them. Let’s take a look at these games, one by one, to judge who will secure their spot in the Katowice Grand Final!

Team Spirit vs. NAVI

I’m going to kick my IEM Katowice Semi-Finals preview off with the game most would consider to be the main event. Maybe not the first game on the schedule, but the first in our hearts. The prevailing narrative about this one is that it’s a rematch of the Group B placement decider match, where NAVI finally broke their duck against Team Spirit in a thrilling 2:1 contest. You could see the weight lifted from the NAVI players after that, which should be their main source of inspiration coming into this Spodek Semis showdown.

But Spirit have donk, and he’s in great form. The players around him are looking solid, too, coming off the back of dominating Virtus.pro in the IEM Katowice Quarters. That has always been the win condition for Spirit – if you can simply give donk just enough help, you’re pretty much guaranteed to win any best-of-three series. Meanwhile, NAVI’s rifling core of b1t, iM, and jL are all among the event’s best-performing players, which is what makes this such a mouthwatering contest.

Overall, I’m giving the edge to Spirit. Like most matches between these two, I expect it to be a back-and-forth affair filled with high-quality CS, but there’s an aura about Spirit. And no, “aura” is not a quantifiable way to judge the actual quality of a Counter-Strike team, but it’s often the unmeasurables that make the difference, especially on the big stage in front of a crowd of thousands.

My prediction: Team Spirit 2:1 NAVI

The MongolZ vs. Team Vitality

Before Team Spirit and NAVI take to the server in their contest, we first have the fortune to watch The MongolZ vs. Team Vitality, which I don’t think will be as one-sided a contest as most would assume. On paper, I reckon most assume we’ll see a Team Vitality stomp here. I just don’t see it that way (mostly).

The MongolZ are truly warmed up now. After taking down Eternal Fire in a real grudge match, there’s no doubt they’ve got the firepower to take down all the top CS2 teams in the world at IEM Katowice 2025. AWPer 910 has been absolutely farming this event so far, while IGL bLitz has been putting up world-class numbers, too. You could say the same about ZywOo and flameZ on the other side of the aisle, too, with mezii also seeing a step up in his individual level. My point is that man-for-man, both teams have players who right now are capable of taking over the server.

This is another match I think will be separated by fine margins. Some might have their eyes on a Team Vitality clean sweep, but I believe The MongolZ will snatch a map. Ultimately, it’s ZywOo I expect to be the difference when all is said and done. If he can’t affect proceedings here, on Counter-Strike’s biggest stage, is it time to put ZywOo on fraud watch?

My prediction: The MongolZ 1:2 Team Vitality