Vitality picked up their sixth consecutive tournament win on Sunday after they beat MOUZ 3-0 in the Grand Finals of IEM Dallas, extending their win streak to 30 matches.
IEM Dallas was not the cleanest we had seen from Vitality as they limped over the line against The Mongolz in the group stages and Falcons in the semi-finals. Therefore, with an aura of vulnerability clouding Vitaity, MOUZ had a prime opportunity on the third time of asking to conquer their demons.
It was unmistakable that there was fragility on Dust2. Vitality were leading 8-5 in the second half after winning the second pistol round and were primed to shut down the force buy to extend their lead further. This was, however, thwarted after Jimi “Jimpphat” Salo scored himself a 1v5, setting in motion a six-round win streak. But in the final stages of the map, MOUZ became sloppy and fell apart at the seams. Vitality resurged as they strung together five rounds of their own to win map one.
Even though Vitality were not playing on their A game, the freak of nature that is Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut was here to play and wanted his sixth MVP award of 2025, posting a disgusting 1.60 HLTV rating on map one. On the other hand, Ádám “torzsi” Torzsás, who came into the Grand Finals as the favourite for the MVP award with his 1.43 HLTV, dropped off with only a 0.71 rating on the desert map.
This set the tone for the rest of the series as Vitality picked up a 10-2 CT half on the second map of Mirage with ZywOo posting a 2.22 HLTV rating. After Mirage was eventually closed out, Vitality just set their eyes on Inferno, a map they had played 18 times in 2025 losing just once – to Falcons at the beginning of May.
Holding a similar course, Vitality were always in charge of the decider and were able to fend off possible comeback potentials with ease. Ultimately, Vitality walked over the finish line against MOUZ in Dallas and picked up their 6th event win in a row and extended their match win streak to 30, halfway to NIP’s elusive 60-win streak.
ZywOo secured that sixth MVP prize of the year after he rose to the occasion with an astounding 1.52 HLTV rating in the Grand Finals. His main competitor torzsi went down with a whimper, posting a 0.86 rating despite his strong form heading into the grand final. This meant that in the race for the MVP award, ZywOo , who came into the finals with a 1.19 rating, was boosted up to a 1.27 rating, while torzsi dropped from a 1.43 rating to a 1.26 rating.
A win at IEM Dallas, amusingly enough, starts Vitality’s ESL Grand Slam Season 6 journey as they win the first of four events needed. After winning the ESL Grand Slam Season 5 at IEM Melbourne, there is a chance that Vitality can win a second Grand Slam in the second half of the year. If they were to do so, Vitality after the player break would need to win IEM Cologne, ESL Pro League Season 22 and IEM Chengdu. This would be the first time ever that a team has won two Grand Slams consecutively, and two in the same year.
With a two-week break till the third stage of the BLAST.tv Austin Major Vitality head back to Europe for not only some well-deserved rest, but a final push for the eternal glory. Vitality players have continuously remarked that this period of dominance means nothing without the crown jewel, a Major win. Therefore, all eyes are on Vitality as they are not only looking to extend their match and tournament win streak, but also etch themselves into the annals of time as one of the best teams in Counter-Strike history.
Not only would a major win be the keystone of their seasons, but Mezii could become both the first UK player to play in a Major final, and to win a Counter-Strike Major. Calling this a historic moment for UK CS would be an understatement if William “mezii” Merriman were able to win in Austin.
Viatlity lifting the IEM Dallas trophy | Credit: Luc-Bouchon & ESL
