With StarLadder announcing that the Budapest Major Grand Final will be a Bo5 instead of the usual Bo3 we’ve had at Majors, we decided to gather the best Bo5 grand final matches of 2025.
Every single other S-tier tournament has been played with a Bo5 grand final, which has given us some absolutely insane reverse sweeps, tight matches and crazy endings.
The change from Bo3 to Bo5 in the final of the Major probably comes after Counter-Strike changed MR15 to MR12, meaning we in general see less rounds played.
The five best finals of 2025
5. BLAST Open London – Vitality vs G2
The BLAST Open London final was chaos in the best way possible. G2, with their freshly formed roster, had stumbled through their first few events. Then suddenly, everything clicked. They went on a fairytale run through Spirit, FaZe, and FURIA, before meeting Vitality in the grand final.
It started with fireworks: G2 crushed Vitality 13-3 on Dust2, the French squad’s own pick. But Vitality hit back hard, taking Mirage (13-6) and Overpass (13-6) to flip the series.
With their backs against the wall, G2 refused to fold. On Inferno, they fought off series point and stormed through overtime to take it 16-12, forcing a deciding fifth map on Train.
And that’s where they sealed it. G2 dismantled Vitality 13-6 to claim their first trophy since late 2024. Pley.gg was in London to cover the event and you can see an interview with SunPayus after they won the event here.
- Dust2 – 13-3 for G2
- Mirage – 13-6 for Vitality
- Overpass – 13-6 for Vitality
- Inferno – 16-12 for G2
- Train – 13-6 for G2
4. FISSURE Playground 2 – The MongolZ vs FURIA
This was Counter-Strike chaos in its purest form. No sweeps, no domination, just nonstop map trading between two fearless teams.
Across the first four maps, not a single one was won by the team that picked it. The MongolZ chose Mirage, only for FURIA to edge it 16-13. FURIA’s pick of Inferno backfired, as The MongolZ struck back.
The same pattern continued: Nuke (MongolZ’s pick) went to FURIA 16-12, and Overpass (FURIA’s pick) went to The MongolZ 13-9.
That left Dust2 as the decider, neither teams pick and a fitting battleground. FURIA kept their composure and finally broke the back-and-forth, closing it out 13-5 to lift the FISSURE Playground 2 trophy. The trophy was the new FURIA rosters first event win as a 5-man core.
- Mirage – 16-13 for FURIA
- Inferno – 13-11 for The MongolZ
- Nuke – 13-12 for FURIA
- Overpass – 13-9 for The MongolZ
- Dust2 – 13-5 for FURIA
3. PGL Masters Bucharest – Aurora vs Legacy
Bucharest delivered a nail-biter, and it came with a milestone. Aurora lifted the trophy in a five-map slugfest against Legacy, a breakthrough moment that marked the first title for four of the five Aurora players, with woxic the lone exception.
Aurora set the tone on their Dust2 pick, closing a scrappy opener 13-11. Legacy tried to fight back on Mirage, but Aurora sealed it 13-8 to go up 2-0.
The Brazilians refused to fold. Train turned into a classic, trading haymakers into overtime before Legacy edged it 19-17. Momentum swung further on Inferno, where Legacy pushed the series to a decider with a 13-8 win.
With Legacy coming in to the final map of Nuke having almost completed the reverse sweep, it looked tough for Aurora. But the Turkish side did not falter under the pressure as they closed out a hard fought fifth map to lift their first ever trophy as an organization.
- Mirage – 13-11 for Aurora
- Inferno – 13-8 for Aurora
- Nuke – 19-17 for Legacy
- Overpass – 13-8 for Legacy
- Dust2 – 13-11 for Aurora
2. Thunderpick World Championships – FURIA vs NAVI
This series was the perfect advert for Bo5 finals. NAVI raced to a 2-0 lead, but FURIA didn’t give up. The Brazilian organization stormed back to win three in a row for their second trophy of the season.
NaVi looked untouchable early. They owned their Mirage pick 13-6, then silenced FURIA on Inferno 13-9. At 0-2 down, FURIA something special to stay in the series. FalleN found that on Nuke, with his surprisingly good rifling to keep the series alive and take the map 13-8.
From there it snowballed. Dust2 turned into a highlight reel as FURIA’s dominated closing it 13-5 to force a decider. On Train, FURIA slammed the door with a near-perfect game, overwhelming NaVi and finishing it 13-1.
It was not the tensest finale once the comeback started, yet the reverse sweep was electric.
- Mirage – 13-6 NaVi
- Inferno – 13-9 NaVi
- Nuke – 13-8 FURIA
- Dust2 – 13-5 FURIA
- Train – 13-1 FURIA
Honourable mention: CS Asia Championships – 3DMAX vs Legacy
A gritty back-and-forth final that rewarded patience and depth. Legacy fell behind early on 3DMAX’s, but steadied the ship and closed strong in five. The opener on Nuke went the Brazilian way 13-6. 3DMAX struck back on Dust2 13-11, then rolled that momentum into Inferno 13-5 to take a 2-1 series lead.
From there Legacy tightened their play. Train swung on a handful of late-round plays, and Legacy won some key clutches to win 13-10 and force a decider. On Ancient, Legacy’s were a level higher, and they closed it 13-6 to lift the trophy.
Not the flashiest final of the year, but i picked it, as i thought it was a great final when watching and very nice to see two lower-ranked teams duke it out for a trophy.
- Nuke – 13-6 Legacy
- Dust2 – 13-11 3DMAX
- Inferno – 13-5 3DMAX
- Train – 13-10 Legacy
- Ancient – 13-6 Legacy
1. IEM Melbourne – Falcons vs Vitality
Melbourne gave us pure theatre and a final which was worthy of being a major. Vitality blitzed the opener on Inferno, winning 13-2 on their own pick, but Falcons hit back immediately, stealing Dust2 in overtime 16-12 to level the series.
Vitality steadied on Train, closing 13-9 with cleaner mid rounds to move ahead 2-1. Falcons refused to fade, turning Mirage into a brawl and clutching the late rounds 13-10 to force a decider.
Everything came down to Nuke, and it became a marathon. The teams traded rounds and clutches then traded overtime halves until Vitality finally broke through 22-20. A five-map classic with overtimes, a statement win for Vitality, and a reminder that Bo5 rewards teams with great map pool depth.
- Inferno – 13-2 Vitality
- Dust2 – 16-12 Falcons
- Train – 13-9 Vitality
- Mirage – 13-10 Falcons
- Nuke – 22-20 Vitality
