UK CS2 star "mezii" wins IEM Melbourne 2025 with Team Vitality
1 May 2025
From April 21st to April 27th, the Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) Melbourne 2025 took place in, as the name of the event indicates, the city of Melbourne, on the Australian south coast. The title and the $ 125.000 cash prize that comes with it ended up being a prey for French organisation Team Vitality. Their impressive victory, which has confirmed the team’s status as one of the very best Counter-Strike 2 rosters in the world, also has a British touch, thanks to William “mezii” Merriman. The world-class in-game leader and rifler has been a part of Team Vitality since November 2023, and has once again confirmed his reputation as one of the best in the world. A fantastic achievement for him, for his team and for esports in the UK as a whole.
IEM Melbourne 2025
Team Vitality started IEM Melbourne 2025 as the favourites and they did not disappoint. They were placed in Group A, together with strong sides like Virtus-pro and Team Liquid, but none of them proved much of a match for the French side as they progressed through the Upper Bracket Quarterfinals, Semifinals and Final without losing a single match to qualify for the Playoffs. Team Vitality was the only team to make it through the Group stage without a single scratch.
That only proved to be the start though, as the Semifinal was won without losing a single match as well. Team Vitality qualified directly for the Semifinal battle with Team MongolZ from Mongolia, who they dispatched off quite easily: 13-3 on Mirage followed by 13-3 on Nuke. What followed was a Grand Final between the French team and Saudi Arabian organisation Team Falcons. This ended up being a nailbiter, with Falcons fighting themselves back in the contest twice, before a deciding fifth match was won by Team Vitality (20-22 on Nuke).
“This is a historic moment for Team Vitality as we become the fifth club in history to win the ESL Grand Slam”, said Fabien “Neo” Davide, President and co-founder at Team Vitality, in reaction to his organisation’s victory, “We are now part of a legendary club that has left its mark on the history of the game. After more than six hours of play, I’m proud of the mentality and the incredible display from this team. To see them achieve such greatness makes me feel so proud.”
What is the ESL Grand Slam?
Their victory in Melbourne also made Team Vitality only the fifth team in Counter-Strike history to complete an ESL Grand Slam. That means winning three ESL Pro Tour Masters tournaments and one Championship tournament (Katowice, Cologne or ESL-operated CS Majors) inside a span of ten consecutive events. By doing so, UK player “mezii” became the first UK player to clinch this incredible achievement. Or as “mezii” himself wrote on his own X account after his team’s impressive victory:
“Wtf just happened! ESL GRAND SLAM SECURED! IEM MELBOURNE CHAMPIONS!”