Vitality wins second consecutive ESL Grand Slam

Victory at IEM Rio 2026 became Vitality’s fourth title in the ESL Grand Slam race, allowing team to secure Season 6 of the prestigious award. Members of the squad received $1,000,000 in gold bars as a prize.

To win ESL Grand Slam, teams must claim four ESL Pro Tour titles within a span of ten consecutive events, including at least one elite Championship-tier event (IEM Katowice, IEM Cologne, or an ESL-operated Major). Vitality’s winning events were IEM Dallas 2025, ESL Pro League Season 22, IEM Krakow 2025, and IEM Rio 2026.

Notably, even if team had failed at the Rio de Janeiro event, it would have still had four more chances to secure the $1,000,000 prize. At the start of IEM Rio 2026, Team Spirit, FURIA, and NAVI were also in contention for ESL Grand Slam Season 6, each with one title.

Winners of the first five ESL Grand Slam seasons are Astralis, Liquid, NAVI, FaZe, and Vitality – they claimed their titles in 2018, 2019, 2021, 2023, and 2025 respectively. Thus, Vitality has become the first team in Counter-Strike history to win Grand Slam twice.