Aussie fans, are you ready for the best CS2 in the world?
Aussie Counter-Strike fans will be treated to the best CS2 action as ESL heads Down Under in March for IEM Melbourne 2025. The Victorian capital was to play host to an IEM-level event way back in 2020 before COVID saw the tournament canceled.
Now, after nearly five years and several smaller ESL Challenger events, Melbourne's Rod Laver Arena opens its doors to 16 of the world's best teams. Who will leave Australia as champions?
Here's everything you need to know about IEM Melbourne 2025: Schedule, team list, standings, and how you can watch!
Table of contents
IEM Melbourne 2025 format and teams
IEM Melbourne sees top-flight CS2 return to Australia for the second time in three years after IEM Sydney kicked off a new era of Counter-Strike in 2023.
All teams received invites to IEM Melbourne via VRS rankings on Feb. 2. The 16 teams will be split into two groups of eight, where they'll play out a GSL double-elimination bracket. The two upper bracket teams will play for a spot in the semis with the loser landing in the quarters. The lower bracket winner will join them in the quarterfinal, meaning three teams per group progress to the finals.
The top six will enter Rod Laver Arena on March 25 and play a single-elimination best-of-three bracket, with the grand final a best-of-five. The champion will walk home $125,000 richer.
The home crowd will be represented by FlyQuest, with the Aussie squad landing an invite while Justin "jks" Savage flies the local flag on Team Liquid. Here are the teams attending IEM Melbourne:
Qualification | Team(s) |
|---|---|
| VRS Invites (as at Feb. 2) | Team Vitality Team Liquid paiN Gaming The MongolZ FlyQuest FaZe Clan Natus Vincere MOUZ Team Falcons Virtus.pro GamerLegion 3DMAX MIBR BIG |
| Replacements | SAW Complexity |
* April 11: Spirit has withdrawn from IEM Melbourne; replaced by Complexity.
IEM Melbourne 2025 schedule, results, and standings
Group Stage
All match times are in CEST (UTC+2).
Monday, April 21
- 3:15am: FaZe 2-0 paiN | MongolZ 1-2 Complexity
- 5:45am: MOUZ 2-1 BIG | 3DMAX 0-2 GamerLegion
- 8:15am: Vitality 2-0 FlyQuest | Liquid 2-1 VP
- 10:45am: Falcons 2-0 SAW | NaVi 2-1 MIBR
Tuesday, April 22
- 3:15am: MOUZ 2-0 GamerLegion | paiN 0-2 Complexity
- 5:45am: BIG 0-2 3DMAX | FaZe 0-2 MongolZ
- 8:15am: FlyQuest 2-0 VP | Vitality 2-0 Liquid
- 10:45am: Falcons 2-1 NaVi | SAW 1-2 MIBR
Wednesday, April 23
- 3:15am: FaZe 2-0 3DMAX | Complexity 0-2 GamerLegion
- Group A lower bracket. Loser is eliminated.
- 5:45am: FlyQuest 1-2 NAVI | Liquid 2-0 MIBR
- Group B lower bracket. Loser is eliminated.
- 8:15am: FaZe 0-2 GamerLegion
- Group A lower bracket final. Winner proceeds to quarterfinals, loser is eliminated.
- 8:15am: MOUZ 2-0 MongolZ
- Group A upper bracket final. Winner proceeds to semifinals, loser proceeds to quarterfinals.
- 10:45am: Vitality 2-0 Falcons
- Group B lower bracket final. Winner proceeds to quarterfinals, loser is eliminated.
- 10:45am: Liquid 2-1 NaVi
- Group B upper bracket final. Winner proceeds to semifinals, loser proceeds to quarterfinals.
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Playoffs
Friday, April 25
- 9am: GamerLegion 0-2 Falcons
- Quarterfinal.
- 12pm: MongolZ 2-1 Liquid
- Quarterfinal.
Saturday, April 26
- 9am: MOUZ vs. Falcons
- Semifinal.
- 12pm: Vitality vs. MongolZ
- Semifinal.
Sunday, April 27
- 8:30am: TBD vs. TBD
- Grand final (best-of-five).
Standings
Here is the full standings and prize money on offer at IEM Melbourne 2025:
Placement | Prize ($ USD) | Team(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | $125,000 | TBD |
| 2nd | $50,000 | TBD |
| 3rd-4th | $25,000 | TBD, TBD |
| 5th-6th | $12,500 | GamerLegion, Liquid |
| 7th-8th | $7,000 | FaZe, NaVi |
| 9th-12th | $5,000 | Complexity, MIBR, FlyQuest, 3DMAX |
| 13th-16th | $4,000 | paiN, BIG, Virtus.pro, SAW |
How to watch IEM Melbourne 2025: All streams
For those seeking broadcasts in other languages, head to the event's Liquipedia page for more. Tickets to attend the event live are now sold out: visit Ticketek for details.
For more CS2 esports coverage visit esports.gg.
