Later this month, the Counter-Strike elite goes down under when IEM Melbourne 2025 is set to kick off.

Top dogs such as Vitality, MOUZ and NAVI headline the $1 million tournament, which will be the first top-tier event in Australia since IEM Sydney back in 2023.

A key storyline at the event is Vitality’s opportunity to complete the ESL Grand Slam, should they go all the way in Melbourne. Another major point of interest is the expected debut of Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov for Falcons, following his blockbuster move from G2.

Here’s everything you need to know about the event.

Attending Teams

Sixteen teams will compete for the trophy at IEM Melbourne. The list includes a mix of favorites, rising contenders, and regional underdogs:

Format

IEM Melbourne will run from April 21–27 with a two-phase structure.

Group Stage (April 21st – 24th, 2025)

• Two GSL-style double-elimination groups
• Each group has eight teams
• All matches are Bo3
• The top three teams from each group advance to the playoffs:
  • Group winners → Semifinals
  • Group runners-up → Quarterfinals (High Seeds)
  • Group 3rd-place teams → Quarterfinals (Low Seeds)

Playoffs (April 25th – 27th, 2025)

• Single-elimination bracket
• Quarterfinals & Semifinals are Bo3
• Grand Final is Bo5

(Source: Liquipedia)

Opening-round schedule

Group A:

• MOUZ vs BIG
• 3DMAX vs GamerLegion
• FaZe vs paiN
• The MongolZ vs Complexity

Group B:

• Vitality vs FlyQuest
• Liquid vs Virtus.pro
• Falcons vs SAW
• Natus Vincere vs MIBR

Prize distribution

The tournament features a $1 million prize pool, split across placements and club shares:

1st – $285,000
2nd – $150,000
3-4th – $105,000
5-6th – $72,500
7-8th – $47,000
9-12th – $25,000
13-16th – $4,000

(Prize winnings and club share combined)

Bookmakers favorite

Here are the latest outright winner odds for IEM Melbourne 2025, as listed by BC.Game (April 14):

1. Vitality – 1.8
2. MOUZ – 3.0
3. Natus Vincere – 8.0
4. The MongolZ – 11.0
5. FaZe Clan – 14.0
6. Team Falcons – 16.0
7. Team Liquid – 19.0
8. Complexity – 25.0
9. Virtus.pro – 31.0
10. GamerLegion – 40.0
11. 3DMAX – 41.0
12. paiN Gaming – 51.0
13. SAW – 80.0
14. MIBR – 100.0
15. BIG – 150.0
16. FlyQuest – 251.0

How to watch

You can catch all the action from IEM Melbourne on the following streams:

ESL YouTube

ESL Twitch