The favorites dominated the decider in their semi-final debut with zweih, after two contested maps.
Team Spirit got the better of Natus Vincere (NAVI) to make the grand final of IEM Cologne 2025, where they await their opponent.
Going into this semi-final matchup, pitting the #2 and #5 teams against each other, Spirit chose to remove Inferno, while NAVI got rid of Dust2. Inferno was NAVI’s most picked map of the tournament, and had to opt for Mirage instead here.
It started off with NAVI domination, as makazze racked up opening kills to secure a lop-sided 7-1 T-side start for NAVI, and the young academy player came down on Spirit with a 4k in Round 8 to win a 2v3.
Spirit had no player close to makazze’s output, and lost several advantaged situations, including a round with a 180-degree-flick from iM to take out zweih on balcony in Round 7.
Donk decides to win Mirage
Despite having a slow start on Mirage, from Round 9, donk went on a 19-3 K/D run to help Spirit get a 12-9 lead in what was a dominant game from NAVI.
Donk’s saved Spirit in Round 16, getting an ace clutch, including a 2v3 win on 10 HP.
Thanks to a 3k from w0nderful, NAVI had a chance to take the map to overtime. In the 24th and last round, they fell at the final hurdle as sh1ro closed it out with a clutch AWP 3k.
Despite makazze’s high-impact start and 7 opening kills, donk finished the series with a server-high 1.50 rating.
NAVI went onto Spirit’s map pick of Nuke with a solid start, getting up to 10-2 on the opening defensive side. W0nderful top-fragged with the AWP, picking up 13 kills, while donk managed only 6 for Spirit’s T-side.
Tides turn against NAVI
It was not a straightforward win for the Ukrainian organization, as the game got all the way to a 12-9 score from 12-2, including a 1v1 clutch from sh1ro to extend play.
In the end, it was a makazze 4k with the AWP in a 2v4 situation to close the second map. At this point, makazze had only managed 8 kills across Nuke.
Ancient was a non-starter for NAVI, as Spirit rolled on their T-side. They went up 10-0 on the scoreboard before NAVI responded with a round.
The scoreboard proved too difficult for NAVI to surmount, as they fell 13-6 overall despite an attempt at a comeback powered by a 1v1 clutch from b1t.
Donk, once again, was the standout for Spirit on Ancient, taking them to the grand final of IEM Cologne 2025, where he is the highest-rated player at the moment.
Match Statistics
Team Spirit vs Natus Vincere – | IEM Cologne 2025 Semi-final 1
13-11 (Mirage) – donk | 1.50 rating
9-13 (Inferno) – b1t | 1.32 rating
13-6 (Ancient) – donk | 1.60 rating
