MOUZ has won Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) Beijing 2026, sweeping The MongolZ 3-0 in the Grand Final on November 8th to claim its first IEM title in CS:GO or Counter-Strike 2 (CS2).
The European organisation confirmed the win on X (formerly Twitter), noting it was "our first IEM trophy after not dropping a single map in this tournament." MOUZ took Mirage 13-5, Dust2 13-6 and Inferno 13-4 to close out the series. Dorian 'xertioN' Berman was named the event's DHL MVP.
According to a release from ESL FACEIT Group (EFG), the win is MOUZ's first ESL Pro Tour (EPT) title since ESL Pro League (EPL) Season 19 in 2024. It came a month after the team fell short in the EPL Season 24 Grand Final. MOUZ took the largest share of the $1.25m prize pool and its first point in the race for the $1m ESL Grand Slam VII.
How MOUZ got there
MOUZ went through the group stage without a loss and earned a direct semifinal spot, where it beat BB Team 2-0. The MongolZ reached its first IEM Grand Final after upsetting FURIA 2-1 in the groups and then beating Natus Vincere (NAVI) 2-0 in the semifinals. NAVI finished third after beating BB Team in the third-place decider.
FaZe Clan, Team Falcons and local favourite TYLOO were all knocked out before the playoffs. FURIA's quarterfinal loss to BB Team was, according to the release, expected to be Gabriel 'FalleN' Toledo's final IEM appearance as a professional player.
IEM's return to Beijing
The event was IEM's first in Beijing since 2019. According to the release, 59,000 fans attended across six live days at the Bloomage Biotech·Biohyalux ECM arena, making it the largest standalone IEM event in Asia so far. Online viewership peaked at 720,903, a figure EFG credits to Esports Charts.
The EPT continues with Intel Extreme Masters Kraków from January 27th to February 7th 2027, where 24 teams will play for another $1.25m prize pool and the next Grand Slam point. The MVP award carried the name of logistics firm DHL, which used the Beijing event to launch its esports recruiting drive in China.
