The first half of 2025 belonged entirely to Vitality, and in the second half, only FURIA managed to challenge that dominance, denying them two trophies and putting rare stains on an otherwise undefeated run.

Heading into the IEM Kraków 2026 grand final, the question was simple: could FURIA do it again and start the year by toppling the reigning champions?

The series kicked off on Mirage, where captain apEX took matters into his own hands, with a string of high-impact rounds that set the tone early. flameZ said ‘hey, I can do that too’ and joined the party with a couple of highlights of his own, sealing a dominant 9-3 CT half.

After the switch, FURIA finally came alive. yuurih and YEKINDAR sparked resistance, and as the Brazilian side looked more and more confident, Vitality began to sweat. Despite a quiet map up to that point, molodoy delivered when it mattered most, pulling off a sick clutch that pushed FURIA to complete the comeback from 2-9 down.

The boringness of Saveferno almost put us to sleep in the second map, but we were able to fight the urge to see Vitality once again start strong. YEKINDAR’s confidence was not enough to turn it around, as he didn’t account for flameZ and ZywOo stepping up in the clutch, with Vitality closing the half 7-5.

There was little drama from then on. Vitality’s defense held firm, and a blazing hot wOo powered them to a comfortable 13-8 win, finishing the map with a ridiculous 27-10 scoreline.

On the final map of Overpass, ZywOo kept his supernova form, opening the pistol round with a 4K. It looked like the series might end quickly, but FURIA fought back and tied the half.

They carried that momentum into the early rounds of their T-side, but once the buy rounds began, Vitality slammed the door on the comeback. flameZ turned up the heat, and ZywOo delivered back-to-back 4Ks to seal FURIA’s fate.

They had us in the first map, not gonna lie.

If there’s ony guy Vitality should thank, it’s ZywOo. Whether you think we should’ve been named the best player of the year or not, one thing is undeniable: he is truly one of a kind. He finished the event with a 1.59 rating across 12 maps, including a 1.66 rating in the grand-final - his best arena performance ever. Simply unbelievable.

In 2025, Vitality lost BLAST Bounty and then went on to win everything, starting with Katowice. In 2026, they lost BLAST Bounty again and followed it up with the Kraków title.

Ready for round two?

Final standings:

1st 🇪🇺 Vitality – €400.000
2nd 🇧🇷 FURIA – €180.000
3rd 🇷🇺 Spirit – €100.000
4th 🇪🇺 MOUZ – €60.000
5-6th 🇪🇺 G2 – €40.000
5-6th 🇹🇷 Aurora – €40.000
7-8th 🇪🇺 Falcons – €24.000
7-8th 🇩🇰 Astralis – €24.000