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The tournament, which is the second edition of the Intel Extreme Masters Chengdu under the current format (this format began in 2019, when ESL and DreamHack merged their tournaments under one ranking system — the ESL Pro Tour; since then, IEM events all function as Masters events within this circuit), runs from November 3, 2025, to November 9, 2025, in Chengdu, the capital city of the Chinese province of Sichuan.

The Intel Extreme Masters Chengdu 2025 is organized by the Electronic Sports League (ESL), a German eSports organizer and production company that produces video game competitions worldwide.

Where Will the Intel Extreme Masters Chengdu 2025 Be Held?

The venue that will host the matches of the IEM Chengdu 2025 is the
Chengdu Financial City Performing Arts Center. So, this is an offline/LAN event, held indoors. Sixteen of the world’s best teams will take part in the event.

The total prize pool is US$1 million. The breakdown is as follows (division between team “club reward” and player share is noted):

Besides prize money, teams fight for the Intel Grand Slam (IGS), the crown jewel of the ESL’s Counter-Strike circuit. It rewards the first team to win four Tier-1 ESL-organized events (Masters or Championship tier) within a single “season” of 10 consecutive tournaments. A US$1 million bonus on top of regular prize winnings is at stake.

Which Teams Will Take Part in the Intel Extreme Masters Chengdu 2025?

Team Vitality

1

apEX

2

ZywOo

3

Spinx

4

mezii

5

ropz

Team Vitality

Team Spirit

1

chopper

2

donk

3

sh1ro

4

zweih

5

tN1R

Team Spirit

FURIA Esports

1

yuurih

2

KSCERATO

3

FalleN

4

molodoy

5

YEKINDAR

FURIA Esports

paiN Gaming

1

biguzera

2

nqz

3

snow

4

dav1deuS

5

dgt

paiN Gaming

The MongolZ

1

bLitz

2

Techno4K

3

910

4

mzinho

5

controlez

The MongolZ

TYLOO

1

JamYoung

2

Moseyuh

3

Mercury

4

Jee

5

Attacker

TYLOO

MOUZ

1

torzsi

2

xertioN

3

Jimpphat

4

Brollan

5

Spinx

MOUZ

Natus Vincere

1

b1t

2

Aleksib

3

iM

4

w0nderful

5

makazze

Natus Vincere

Team Falcons

1

NiKo

2

TeSeS

3

kyxsan

4

m0NESY

5

kyousuke

Team Falcons

FaZe Clan

1

broky

2

karrigan

3

frozen

4

jcobbb

5

Twistzz

FaZe Clan

Astralis

1

dev1ce

2

Staehr

3

jabbi

4

HooXi

5

Magisk

Astralis

G2 Esports

1

huNter-

2

malbsMd

3

HeavyGod

4

SunPayus

5

matys

G2 Esports

3DMAX

1

Lucky

2

Ex3rcice

3

Maka

4

Graviti

5

bodyy

3DMAX

Lynn Vision Gaming

1

westmelon

2

z4kr

3

EmiliaQAQ

4

Starry

5

C4LLM3SU3

Lynn Vision Gaming

Virtus.pro

1

FL1T

2

fame

3

Perfecto

4

tO0RO

5

b1st

Virtus.pro

HEROIC

1

LNZ

2

yxngstxr

3

xfl0ud

4

nilo

5

Alkaren

HEROIC

Load more

• Team Vitality (Europe)
• Team Spirit (Europe)
• FURIA (Americas)
• paiN Gaming (Americas)
• The MongolZ (Asia)
• TYLOO (Asia)
• MOUZ (global)
• Natus Vincere (global)
• Team Falcons (global)
• FaZe Clan (global)
• Astralis (global)
• G2 Esports (global)
• 3DMAX (global)
• Lynn Vision (global)
• Virtus.pro (global)
• HEROIC (global)

Some notes on that invitation process:

• Two teams that had been eligible (Aurora Gaming and GamerLegion) declined their invite, and so Virtus.pro and HEROIC were invited in their place as the next eligible teams in the VRS list.
• Teams must maintain a majority of their roster (from the time of VRS invite) through to the tournament in order to remain eligible.

Features of the Intel Extreme Masters Chengdu 2025

The tournament is organized in two main phases (stages): Group Stage and Playoffs.

• Group Stage — November 3 to November 6, 2025 (the early days of the event)
• Playoffs — November 7 to November 9, 2025

Here’s how matches are structured and how teams progress/eliminate:

Group Stage (GSL Groups)

• It uses a double-elimination format (i.e., teams get a second chance after one loss) within groups.
• All matches are Best-of-3 (Bo3).
• The group winners directly advance to the Playoff Semifinals.
• The teams finishing second and third in each group move to the Quarterfinals (i.e., they still have a path forward): second-placed as High Seeds and third-placed as Low Seeds.

Playoffs

• The Playoff stage is Single-Elimination (i.e., lose and you’re out) for the Quarterfinals and Semifinals.
• Quarterfinals & Semifinals are Best-of-3 (Bo3) matches.
• The Grand Final is Best-of-5 (Bo5).
• There is also a Third Place Match, played as Bo3.

Who’ll Win the Intel Extreme Masters Chengdu 2025?

While nobody can predict with certainty, these teams are often seen as contenders or favorites going into the IEM Chengdu 2025:

• Vitality — they’ve been extremely dominant in 2025, winning multiple LAN events and holding the Grand Slam right now.
• FaZe — past IEM Chengdu 2024 champions.
• MOUZ — strong roster, frequently in top brackets.
• Spirit — solid team, especially in European region circuits.
• NAVI — always a dark horse, depending on form.
• FURIA — strong in the Americas, can cause upsets.

These are teams people expect to go deep, but upsets are common, especially in LAN events.

Many international sportsbooks and eSports-focused betting sites (e.g., Betway Esports, Pinnacle, Unikrn, GG.Bet, etc.), which are always betting CS2 sites, too, offer markets on tournament outcomes: match winners, map winners, handicaps, total rounds, and outrights (who wins the tournament). Some bookmakers also offer odds for map handicaps, total maps over/under, or correct score.

The IEM Chengdu is a new location (first in 2024 in the modern era). The inaugural event reached a peak of ~366,460 concurrent viewers at one point. It became “the most popular Counter-Strike event held in China” by some metrics. The tournament’s success in 2024 likely influenced its inclusion as a recurring IEM Masters location.

The tournament will be broadcast on the usual channels for IEM/ESL Pro Tour events:

• ESL’s official channels — Twitch and YouTube.
• Local/regional broadcast partners, likely in China (e.g., platforms like Bilibili, Huya, Douyu, etc.)
• Multilingual streams (English, Russian, Portuguese, etc.) via ESL’s esports streaming network.
• On the ESL/IEM websites, via embed or links to streams.

Pros and Cons of the Intel Extreme Masters Chengdu 2025 Favorites

Below is a sum-up of the strengths and weaknesses of the main favorites entering the Intel Extreme Masters Chengdu 2025. It evaluates their roster quality, recent form, tactical depth, and historical consistency.