Vitality has secured the Intel Grand Slam, stunningly winning IEM Melbourne after a 5-map thriller against Falcons, who pushed them to the limit. The undisputed best team in the world in Team Vitality, will be picking up their third trophy of the year with ZywOo leading the charge as the tournament MVP.
VETO
- Vitality removed Ancient
- Falcons removed Anubis
- Vitality picked Inferno
- Falcons picked Dust2
- Vitality picked Train
- Falcons picked Mirage
- Nuke was left over
Map 1: Inferno; Pick: Vitality; Winner: Vitality
Starting strong on the offence, Vitality steamrolled through the Falcons’ defence. Not only did the Falcons get outclassed tactically, but Vitality were sharp with their aim, which NiKo and co. could not keep up with. Managed two rounds on the defence, Vitality closed the game without losing a single round on their defence. Closing the map with a 13-2 scoreline ZywOo started the finals with a hot hand.
Map 2: Dust 2; Pick: Falcons; Winner: Falcons
The Falcons started their pick on a poor note but soon hit back, as they had m0NESY firing on all cylinders on the offensive. Edging out a narrow 7-5 lead, the Falcons failed to close the game in regulation, as Vitality pushed the game to OT. The Falcons were flawless in OT, which led to them levelling the series by winning the map with a 16-12 scoreline. Kyxsan was the player with the most impact, dropping 23 kills while calling a great game for the Falcons.
Map 3: Train; Pick: Vitality; Winner: Vitality
It was a solid defence from the Falcons to kick off the series, but Vitality managed to edge it close, winning 5 rounds on their offence. While the Falcons looked better on their defence, their offence largely fumbled, winning only two rounds, leading Vitality to effortlessly close the game with a 13-9 scoreline. ZywOo was the driving force behind a solid Vitality defence, dropping 24 kills to snatch back the lead.
Map 4: Mirage; Pick: Falcons; Winner: Falcons
Winning the pistol round, the Falcons went on to go 5-0 up before Vitality managed to recover the series, as the Falcons managed only one more round to level the scoreline. Switching sides with a 6-6 scoreline, Vitality converted 3 rounds off the back of the pistol win, but Falcons managed to put together a series of rounds to outlast Vitality in an epic second half with a 13-10 scoreline. m0NESY by far was ahead of everyone in the server, dropping 23 kills at 1.64 IR.
Map 5: Nuke; Pick: Decider; Winner: Vitality
Starting on the defence, the Falcons were near invincible as individual mistakes between rounds netted Vitality a 3 to their name before switching sides. Falcons were largely dominant on the defence as they changed sides with a massive 9-3 lead. Losing the pistol round, the Falcons got back on the board with the first gun round and continued to build momentum. It took a heroic effort and a last-second fake from Kyxan to put the Falcons on the tournament point. Vitality managed to put together a stunning comeback to push the game to OT, and both teams traded rounds till the third overtime, where they went flawless on the offence to win the series.
Valiant effort from Falcons who had little time to practice leading up to the tournament with the addition of m0nesy. They managed to do what no team had done yet that is to push Vitality to the absolute extreme, which would let them leave the tournament with their heads held high.