What is the Intel Grand Slam?
Published: Aug 19, 2024
Among S-tier tournament victories and Major trophies, there is another precious prize in Counter-Strike Esports – the Intel Grand Slam.
The Intel Grand Slam is a $1.000.000 prize awarded by ESL to a team that wins four S-tier events held by ESL, within 10 tournaments (the first one being their first victory). At least one of the four tournament victories has to be in an ESL Championship event, so IEM Katowice, IEM Cologne, or an ESL-operated Major. As you can see all events are the premier events for CS2 betting.
Intel Grand Slam Rules
With such a big prize on the line, there’s bound to be a lot of rules regarding the competition to ensure its prestige and legitimacy. Here are some of the Intel Grand Slam rules:
- A core of the same three players has to win four finals together to be eligible for the Intel Grand Slam.
- A player who left his team and played for a different squad in an Intel Grand Slam event is not eligible for any of his former team’s winnings.
- A squad that beats the team in the Grand Final of their fourth potential victory toward the Intel Grand Slam receives the $100,000 “giant killer bonus”. The one exception to the rule is if two teams that are about to win the IGS meet in the Grand Final.
- An unlimited number of giant killer bonuses can be paid out in a single Intel Grand Slam Season.
History of the Intel Grand Slam
Four teams have managed to claim the Intel Grand Slam and the grand $1,000,000 prize along with it. The legendary four-time Major-winning Astralis roster was the first team to do so before Team Liquid completed the gauntlet in record time of just seven months.
The next victors were NAVI, who claimed the Intel Grand Slam partly through their wins in the infamous online era. The latest Intel Grand Slam champions are FaZe, largely due to their wonderful start to 2022, winning IEM Katowice, EPL S15, and IEM Cologne in quick succession.
Here’s the Intel Grand Slam winners list:
- Season 1 – Astralis (July 2017 – March 2018)
- Season 2 – Team Liquid (January 2019 – July 2019)
- Season 3 – NAVI (March 2020 – September 2021)
- Season 4 – FaZe Clan (February 2022 – March 2023)
