The victory of Team Vitality at IEM Katowice 2025 became a landmark event in the fight for the prestigious Intel Grand Slam. Thanks to the triumph at this tournament, the team won its second title in this season of the ESL Pro Tour series, joining NAVI and FaZe, who also have two trophies in this competition.

Contenders for the title

Vitality has already won the IEM Cologne 2024 and is now on par with the other two season leaders - NAVI and FaZe. According to the Intel Grand Slam rules, to win the race, a team must win four ESL Pro Tour titles, of which at least one must be a Tier 1 championship (for example, IEM Katowice, IEM Cologne, or Major).

This season, the fight for the title is also ongoing for such teams as Team Spirit and MOUZ, who have won one tournament so far.

Vitality's chances

Dan “apEX” Madesclair's team has two more ESL Pro Tour titles to win. Vitality has six attempts to reach this goal, taking into account the upcoming tournaments of the series. The next chance for all teams is the ESL Pro League Season 21, which will be a crucial stage for the continuation of the race.

Intel Grand Slam: season structure

Intel Grand Slam is a competition in which teams compete for four titles in ten tournaments of the ESL Pro Tour series. The prize pool of $1,000,000 adds even more tension to the competition, as only one team can become the winner this season.

Prospects for other teams

FaZe has only one chance to win the title, while NAVI has seven more opportunities. For Spirit and MOUZ, the fight for the Intel Grand Slam is not over yet, but they need to achieve stable results in the upcoming tournaments to remain among the contenders.

The next tournaments promise to be no less intense, as the race for the Intel Grand Slam title enters the home stretch.