The best Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) teams in the world, and thousands of fans, will descend on the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, dubbed the “home of North American CS,” to watch IEM Dallas 2025. The tournament is one of the highlights of the DreamHack Dallas mega event, promising thrilling matches, incredible production, and headshots galore on the server.
We’ve created an in-depth guide to IEM Dallas 2025 to prepare you for the event, including the tournament schedule, format, prize pool distribution, teams competing, and our expert betting predictions.
IEM Dallas 2025 Schedule & Format
IEM Dallas 2025 takes place in Dallas, Texas, from May 19 to 25. It promises six days of nonstop, top-tier CS2 esports across two stages of competition—the Group Stage and the Playoffs Stage.
All 16 teams will first compete in the Group Stage (May 19 to 22). Teams are split into two groups of eight, featuring a double-elimination (GSL-style) format. All matches in the Group Stage are best-of-three. The top three teams from each group advance to the Playoffs, and the rest are eliminated. Winners advance to the Semifinals, while 2nd-place finishers claim High Seed spots in the Quarterfinals, and 3rd-place teams earn Low Seed spots in the Quarterfinals.
The IEM Dallas 2025 Playoffs Stage (May 23 to 25) will be held in front of a massive crowd at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center. Teams will compete in a single-elimination bracket based on their placement in the Group Stage. The Quarterfinals and Semifinals matches are best-of-three, and the Grand Final is a best-of-five slugfest.
For precise IEM Dallas 2025 matchup details and start times in your region, visit our comprehensive, up-to-date CS2 betting section!
Prize Pool Distribution
Check out how much money each team can make at IEM Dallas 2025 in the table below.
| Place | Prize Money | Club Reward |
| 1st | $125,000 | $160,000 |
| 2nd | $50,000 | $100,000 |
| 3rd-4th | $25,000 | $80,000 |
| 5th/6th | $12,500 | $60,000 |
| 7th/8th | $7,000 | $40,000 |
| 9th-12th | $5,000 | $20,000 |
| 13th-16th | $4,000 | – |
| Totals | $1,000,000 | |
How To Watch IEM Dallas 2025
Can’t make it to Texas? No problem! At Thunderpick, we provide fans with a fantastic viewing experience, and esports betting opportunities. Head to our CS2 betting section to check out all the available options.
When an IEM Dallas match begins, navigate to the “Live” tab. Select any game you want to watch. You’ll notice an official live stream and our bet slip will appear, allowing you to place in-play wagers.
Alternatively, you can stream the event live on ESL’s Twitch and YouTube channels.
Teams Competing In IEM Dallas 2025
There are 16 teams competing at IEM Dallas 2025, with eight earning invites based on their Valve Regional Standings (VRS) in Europe, North America, Asia, and South America.
Invites for IEM Dallas 2025 were based on the VRS rankings on Feb. 25. Another eight teams earned spots via the event’s regional qualifiers. Here are all 16 teams competing at IEM Dallas 2025, sorted into their respective groups.
Group A Teams:
- G2 Esports
- Team Vitality
- Legacy
- Lynn Vision
- FURIA Esports
- The MongolZ
- 3DMAX
- GamerLegion
Group B Teams:
- FaZe Clan
- Aurora Gaming
- MOUZ
- Team Liquid
- Team Falcons
- BCG
- HEROIC
- NRG
As you can see, IEM Dallas is absolutely stacked with the best in the business, with the only notable top 10 world ranking exclusions from the list being NAVI and Team Spirit.
Our Predictions For IEM Dallas 2025
To make our IEM Dallas 2025 predictions, we considered various factors, including team and player form, stats, recent matchup histories, roster changes, and global rankings. We dove into all the latest information, factoring in recent tournament results, including but not limited to IEM Melbourne, BLAST Rivals Season 1, PGL Bucharest, EPL S21, and PGL Astana.
Important note: Our analysis should not be seen as betting advice to act upon. Past performances do not guarantee future results. Always gamble responsibly.
Team Vitality
Team Vitality is currently the frontrunner to win IEM Dallas 2025, and dare we say, any other event they enter. Ranked 1st in the world by HLTV and Valve, the squad is on a historic winning streak (25 consecutive matches), picking up their fifth consecutive trophy at BLAST Rivals Season 1.
Estonian superstar ropz is in stellar form, only overshadowed by ZywOo, who recently earned his 25th MVP title (18th MVP at the most significant events) and topped the all-time leaderboard. Vitality is as close to unstoppable as a CS2 squad can get.
Team Vitality roster:
- Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut
- Robin “ropz” Kool
- Shahar “flameZ” Shushan
- William “mezii” Merriman
- Dan “apEX” Madesclaire (IGL)
- Rémy “XTQZZZ” Quoniam (Coach)
Team Falcons
The only team with a realistic shot at stopping Vitality’s win streak is Team Falcons. With NiKo and m0NESY reunited, the squad has immense firepower. Will the star-studded roster and Major Championship-winning coach zonic be enough to see them lift the IEM Dallas 2025 trophy? It’s possible!
They recently had close Grand Final matches against Vitality, losing 2-3 at IEM Melbourne 2025 and BLAST Rivals 2025 Season 1 in best-of-five slugfests.
Team Falcons roster:
- Nikola “NiKo” Kovač
- Emil “Magisk” Reif
- René “TeSeS” Madsen
- Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov
- Damjan “kyxsan” Stoilkovski (IGL)
- Danny “zonic” Sørensen (Coach)
FaZe Clan
It’s no secret that FaZe Clan is in a slump, having failed to secure a trophy this year. However, the squad has seen some success, earning a 3rd place finish at PGL Bucharest. FaZe Clan is ranked 9th on HLTV and 8th on the VRS leaderboards.
An X-factor makes us think that karrigan can lead his team to a podium finish. On May 5, FaZe Clan announced that they benched Latvian AWPer Helvijs “broky” Saukants. In his place for IEM Dallas and the BLAST.tv Austin Major is s1mple, on loan from NAVI.
Many consider the Ukrainian superstar as the GOAT in Counter-Strike. If s1mple can find his legendary impact on the server, he coul propel FaZe Clan to new heights. Consider FaZe Clan making it to a podium finish as our bold prediction for IEM Dallas 2025.
FaZe Clan roster:
- Håvard “rain” Nygaard
- David “frozen” Čerňanský
- Jonathan “EliGE” Jablonowski
- Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyljev (Loan)
- Finn “karrigan” Andersen (IGL)
- Filip “NEO” Kubski (Coach)
Team Liquid
Team Liquid is ranked 11th on HLTV’s World Rankings and 12th on the VRS global leaderboards. According to Valve, the squad is ranked 1st in the Americas. We expect fans to shout “let’s go Liquid, let’s go!” at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center if Liquid makes it to the Playoffs Stage.
If young AWPer ultimate is on form and Canadian IGL Twistzz makes solid calls on the server, we may see Liquid make a deep run in Dallas. While the team making it to a top-four finish isn’t unreasonable, there are safer predictions, such as MOUZ (ranked 3rd globally), The MongolZ, or Turkish powerhouse Aurora Gaming.
Team Liquid roster:
- Keith “NAF” Markovic
- Roland “ultimate” Tomkowiak
- Guy “NertZ” Iluz
- Kamil “siuhy” Szkaradek (Loan)
- Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken (IGL)
- DeMars DeRover (Coach)
We’re Ready For IEM Dallas 2025
Will North American squads, Team Liquid and NRG, rise to the occasion, powered by the roaring crowd, or will favorites Team Vitality extend their historic winning streak further? Could Team Falcons soar past the competition, and will s1mple’s return to top-tier CS propel FaZe Clan to the top of the pack? We can’t wait to find out!
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