The Esports World Cup 2025 kicks off with a thrilling clash between MOUZ and Virtus.pro. The “mice” enter the match as favorites after reaching the IEM Cologne grand final and showing consistent results at top tournaments, while VP will be looking to break their streak of unstable performances and upset a strong opponent right from the opening game.
Current Form of the Teams
Virtus.pro
The “bears” come into the Esports World Cup 2025 with shaky results. Over the past three months, they have played 30 maps and won only 13. In July, VP competed at IEM Cologne 2025, finishing 9–12th, and later showed a similar result at BLAST Bounty Season 2 (5–8th place). In their last five matches, Virtus.pro managed to beat FaZe and MIBR but fell to Spirit, HEROIC, and GamerLegion, underlining their struggles against top-tier opposition.
MOUZ
The “mice” are in much better shape. Over the past three months, they played 52 maps and won 32. Their most impressive run came at IEM Cologne 2025, where they reached the grand final but lost to Spirit. At BLAST Bounty Season 2, they finished 3–4th. In their last five matches, MOUZ defeated Astralis, B8, and OG, but lost twice to Spirit — once again highlighting their difficulties against that particular opponent.
Map Pool
In a bo3 series, the veto and pick process will likely unfold as follows:
- First ban: Virtus.pro will remove Nuke, while MOUZ will likely ban Ancient, their consistent perma-ban.
- First pick: VP could go for Overpass (60% win rate and one of their most comfortable maps), while MOUZ are expected to pick Inferno (78% win rate and a very strong result).
- Second ban: Virtus.pro will try to dodge Dust2, given MOUZ’s 80% win rate there. In response, MOUZ are likely to remove Train, where VP might find an unexpected advantage.
- Decider: The remaining map will be Mirage — a battleground where both teams feel relatively comfortable, but MOUZ have the better stats and overall consistency.
Head-to-Head
In the past six months, MOUZ and Virtus.pro have faced each other twice. At PGL Cluj-Napoca 2025, MOUZ came out on top 2–1. However, at BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025, VP managed to take revenge in a bo1 clash. This shows that both teams know how to beat each other, setting the stage for another close battle in Saudi Arabia.
Match Prediction
Considering the overall form of both squads, MOUZ enter this matchup as clear favorites. They’ve been consistent on the big stage and can impose their playstyle on strong maps, especially Inferno and Dust2. Virtus.pro, while dangerous on Overpass and boasting solid numbers on Inferno, look less convincing over a longer series.
The expected outcome is a 2–1 victory for MOUZ, with VP able to contest their own map pick but ultimately falling short against the deeper and more stable map pool of the “mice.”
