{"id":1842,"date":"2026-04-15T08:03:24","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T08:03:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/poland\/1842\/"},"modified":"2026-04-15T08:03:24","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T08:03:24","slug":"v-for-victory-team-vitality-wins-iem-krakow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/poland\/1842\/","title":{"rendered":"V for Victory: Team Vitality Wins IEM Krak\u00f3w"},"content":{"rendered":"

It could have been the fast and the FURIA, as the Brazilian team, renowned for their driving, aggressive play entered the Intel Extreme Masters Counter-Strike 2 final atop the global rankings, with over $USD 2.5 million in prize money across CS2 tournaments. France\u2019s Team Vitality are no underdogs, however; crowned 2025 Esports Team of the Year, their tournament haul stands at over $USD 8 million. On 8 February, the Tauron arena in Krak\u00f3w, Poland, hosted this clash of titans in front of 22,000 fans, and after five intense hours of play, Team Vitality emerged as champions, with Mathieu \u201c\u2060ZywOo\u2060\u201d Herbaut as IEM 2026 MVP.<\/p>\n

This tournament didn\u2019t disappoint! Krak\u00f3w 2026 hit a new IEM high for a non-major, with 1.47 million peak views, and 40 million hours watched. As usual, fans on the ground flocked to the Intel booth to play exclusive previews and legendary franchises. A shout-out to our amazing partners who brought the goods to IEM Krak\u00f3w, and kept the crowds buzzing between arena battles.<\/p>\n

Level the field with Battlefield 6<\/p>\n

Developer Battlefield Studios and publisher EA brought the big guns, and the big tanks, the heavy artillery, the fighter jets\u2026 Battlefield 6 is not only the best-selling shooter of 2025, it\u2019s also the eighteenth release in the Battlefield series. Attendees could take a break from white-knuckle CS2 action to relax with some all-out war in this single- or multi-player military action first-person shooter. You can do it at home.<\/p>\n

Buy Battlefield 6 on Steam<\/a><\/p>\n

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Catch the Everwind<\/p>\n

Everybody loves a sneak preview, and IEM Krakow hosted a few. Bohemia Interactive lifted the veil (should that be sail?) on their extraordinary flying island\/ship adventure. Everwind is soon to be released in Early Access, and IEM attendees were able to sample life in the clouds where they pilot their ship, gather resources, craft, loot, and fight, while uncovering the game\u2019s backstory. You too can reach for the skies; as Bohemia says, \u201cEverwind is something we want to make not for the players, but with the players.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wishlist Everwind on Steam<\/a><\/p>\n

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\u00a0<\/p>\n

Take the wheel with F1 25<\/p>\n

The racing sims setups were a big draw at the booth, so may we suggest the official video game of the 2025 FIA Formula One World Championship? F1 25 from developer Codemasters and publisher EA Sports features all the drivers and tracks from the real-life races, as well as the option to create your own driver, and position yourself in the middle of racing history. Get on the grid at Steam.<\/p>\n

Buy F1 25 on Steam<\/a><\/p>\n

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\u00a0Beast in the Booth\u2014Dying Light: The Beast<\/p>\n

\u00a0Heart rate still not high enough? Techland amped up the adrenaline with the latest episode in the Dying Light series. Gamers plunge into a first-person survival horror adventure, where the true horror is the monster within. Kyle Crane has endured 13 years of torture, and is out for revenge, but the zombie DNA that gives him strength and speed also threatens to overwhelm his humanity. Will he make it through the night? Find out for yourself.<\/p>\n

Buy Dying Light: The Beast on Steam<\/a><\/p>\n

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\u00a0Into the Light\u2014Clair Obscur: Expedition 33<\/p>\n

\u00a0Obscure is the last word we can use to describe Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, after 2025\u2019s haul of awards\u2014including game of the year at The Game Awards, Best Storytelling at the Golden Joystick Awards, and Best Narrative at the TIGA awards. It\u2019s time for you to experience this groundbreaking turn-based RPG adventure in which a luminous fantasy world turns deadly.<\/p>\n

Buy Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 on Steam<\/a><\/p>\n

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\u00a0The Unrivaled Marvel Rivals<\/p>\n

\u00a0What better game to bring to a tournament packed with rival fans than one stuffed with enough heroes and villains to suit all tastes? And there\u2019s no need to miss out on the thrill of pitting favourites against one another now that IEM Krak\u00f3w is over. Published by NetEase Games in collaboration with Marvel Games, Marvel Rivals is free to play online. If your favourite character isn\u2019t on the bench yet, fear not: each seasonal update brings new superheroes to the battlefield.<\/p>\n

Play Marvel Rivals on Steam Deck<\/a><\/p>\n

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\u00a0Early Bird Special\u2014Cooking Simulator 2: Better Together<\/p>\n

Lucky visitors to IEM Krak\u00f3w were served a sneak preview of the sequel to the smash hit Cooking Simulator. Developers Big Cheese Studio take their winning recipe and add choice new ingredients: the former single-player-only game now has a co-op option, so if you\u2019re struggling to get dinner on the table by yourself, you can call in reinforcements. Then again, if you\u2019d rather just let off steam, why not try the \u201ccreative chaos\u201d option, and see how many different ways you can set your kitchen on fire?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Wishlist Cooking Simulator 2: Better Together on Steam<\/a><\/p>\n

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\u00a0Back to Life: Valor Mortis<\/p>\n

Local developers One More Level, the creators of Ghostrunner, chilled attendees to the marrow with a preview of this first-person action soulslike. The Krakow-based devs didn\u2019t travel far, but the game takes you back to an alternative Napoleonic Europe, where ceaseless war has unleashed a supernatural plague. You play as a soldier risen from the dead, whose veins now run with the corrupting power of the plague.<\/p>\n

Wishlist Valor Mortis on Steam<\/a><\/p>\n

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\u00a0Heroes Rise: SunderBound<\/p>\n

A final look ahead to close our look back at IEM Krak\u00f3w. This 2026 release is a two-player co-op, top-down shooter with roguelite progression and a raggedly stylish dieselpunk aesthetic. Whether you\u2019re side by side IRL in a couch co-op, paired up remotely online, or playing solo with an AI running-mate, victory depends utterly on teamwork. You are stranded in a broken underground dystopia, and the only way to reach the outside world is to climb out shooting, floor by floor. But the higher you go, the harder it is to stay alive\u2026<\/p>\n

Wishlist SunderBound on Steam<\/a><\/p>\n

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\u00a0<\/p>\n

That\u2019s it from us, for now. Next up in 2026, IEM Rio. See you in the Marvelous City, or here at Intel Gaming Access.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It could have been the fast and the FURIA, as the Brazilian team, renowned for their driving, aggressive…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1843,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[825,1631,1632,1633,56,1634,1635],"class_list":{"0":"post-1842","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-krakow","8":"tag-esports","9":"tag-iem","10":"tag-intel-extreme-masters","11":"tag-intel-xess","12":"tag-krakow","13":"tag-pc-gaming","14":"tag-xess"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/poland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1842","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/poland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/poland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/poland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/poland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1842"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/poland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1842\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/poland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1843"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/poland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1842"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/poland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1842"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/poland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1842"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}