They become the first team and organization to claim the prestigious $1,000,000 award twice.
The team of apEX, ZywOo, ropz, flameZ and mezii become the first roster in history to win two ESL Grand Slams.
If we go back to IEM Melbourne 2025, Team Vitality were on the brink of fumbling their first crack at the ESL Grand Slam. Down 6-12 on the fifth map of Nuke against Falcons, it was a huge comeback to win in overtime and get those gold bars, with a heroic performance from ZywOo.
If we go back to today, it was almost a walk in the park for Vitality in comparison. They went 7-0 in maps in the playoffs, with the final map of the tournament being a 13-5 stomp on Dust2.
Vitality’s 2025 was historic, but their 2026 is on rails to be even better. They maintain a 17-map streak on Dust2, perhaps the best performing team on a single map.
Spirit had their chances, with two map points on Mirage and a 9-5 lead on Nuke. But their mistakes cost them, according to magixx, and Vitality capitalized.
[The main thing to improve] is staying focused during the matches. There were 5v3 situations which we lost because Vitality were feeling themselves.
Ropz becomes first to win three Grand Slams
With this victory, ropz becomes the first player in history to win three ESL/Intel Grand Slams. He won one with FaZe in 2022-2023, and two with Vitality in 2025-2026.
