ESL reveals IEM Chengdu 2025 invited teams

ESL FACEIT Group has announced the 16 teams that have accepted invitations to compete at the upcoming Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) Chengdu 2025 event.

The invited teams heading to China were determined by August’s Valve Regional Standings (VRS), which were topped by French esports organisation Team Vitality.

Defending champions FaZe Clan are among the invited teams competing at the final ESL-operated Counter-Strike 2 event of 2025. Notably, all 16 teams are within the top 20 of the global standings, which were published on August 4th.

Out of the teams accepting invites, Aurora Gaming and GamerLegion are the only teams from the top 20 that have declined an invitation.

Team Vitality, Team Spirit, Team Falcons, MOUZ, and The MongolZ have accepted invitations as they look to add another Tier 1 event victory to their names before focus shifts to the 2026 season.

Norwegian organisation HEROIC, ranked 18th in the August VRS, is the lowest-ranked team to accept an invitation to IEM Chengdu, one of the final events to take place before attention turns to the StarLadder Budapest Major which will round off the 2025 season.

2025 is the second time IEM has taken place in Chengdu, after the inaugural edition took place in April 2024. FaZe Clan defeated MOUZ in the Grand Final, securing $100,000 (~£74,201) in prize money.

IEM Chengdu 2025 is set to be one of the most competitive CS2 events of the year, with several notable teams looking to build momentum ahead of the Major.

The full team list for the event is as follows:

Alongside VRS points, teams will compete for a share of a $300,000 (~£222,557) prize pool and progression in the ESL Grand Slam, a million-dollar prize awarded to the team that wins four events organised by the tournament operator.