Intel Grand Slam – The thrilling quest for $1 Million

The Intel Grand Slam – arguably the second biggest accolade and honour in competitive Counter-Strike, after the iconic Major Championships. The massive prize and title live up to its name, as the Intel Grand Slam offers no more than $1.000.000 in prize winnings.

The prestigious prize was founded in 2017 by ESL and is awarded to any team that manages to win four S-tier events held by DreamHack and ESL in a span of ten tournaments.

Intel Grand Slam Season 1 – Astralis champion

The very first team to win the Intel Grand Slam was no other than the dominant Danes from Astralis. The big triumph came in 2018 as a result of an iconic and historic era by Astralis, where Nicolai ‘dev1ce’ Reedtz and company established an indestructible dynasty.

Astralis’ Intel Grand Slam victory was cemented through a stellar Grand Final win over their ever-lasting rivals from Liquid at ESL Pro League Season 8. A rivalry, that proved out to be a decisive and pivotal factor in the future race for an Intel Grand Slam.

Astralis | Intel Grand Slam Season 1

ESL Pro League Season 8 | $750.000

IEM Chicago | $250.000

ESL Pro League Season 7 | $750.000

DreamHack Masters Marseille | $250.000

Overall prize winning: $3.000.000

Intel Grand Slam Season 2 – Liquid champion

In the second season of Intel Grand Slam in 2019, the victors ended out being the North Americans from Liquid. The title and the massive $1 Million prize were a godsend for Liquid, as they suffered heavily during the before-mentioned Astralis era, where the NA side lost one big Grand Final after another to the previous Intel Grand Slam champions.

Nick ‘nitr0’ Canella and his troops managed to seal the Intel Grand Slam title after only five events, which were less than 150 days into the season, where Astralis on the other hand should use 15 events.

The impressive win marked a very impressive run by Liquid in 2019, where they steamrolled over every opponent in their way in a six-month period. However, they did not succeed in creating the same dynasty and era like Astralis, Fnatic or Ninjas in Pyjamas.

Liquid | Intel Grand Slam Season 2

ESL One: Cologne | $300.000

ESL Pro League Season 9 | $600.000

DreamHack Masters Dallas | $250.000

IEM Sydney | $250.000

Overall prize winning: $2.400.000

Liquid lifting the ESL One: Cologne trophy in 2019

Intel Grand Slam Season 3 – Natus Vincere champion

Natus Vincere or NAVI has been a significant and important factor in the Counter-Strike world since the very beginning. Their name “Natus Vincere” means “Born to win” in Latin - something they haven’t had any troubles to live up to in their long history.

In September 2021, NAVI was capable of taking home their biggest ever score when they secured the third edition of Intel Grand Slam. The Russian team, led by the powerful titan Aleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev, sealed the Intel Grand Slam Season 3 title by winning huge events like IEM Katowice and IEM Cologne. All four tournament wins + the IGS 1st prize ended up giving NAVI a massive $3.5 Million in total.

NAVI’s Intel Grand Slam title is the only, where two of the events was held online. DreamHack Masters Spring and ESL Pro League Season 14 was among many other events in that period not able to be carried out on LAN, owing to the Covid-19 crisis and its devastating consequences.

Natus Vincere | Intel Grand Slam Season 3

ESL Pro League Season 14 | $750.000

IEM Cologne | $1.000.000

DreamHack Masters Spring | $250.000

IEM Katowice | $500.000

Overall prize winning: $3.500.000

Natus Vincere - The latest Intel Grand Slam winner in CS:GO