Team Vitality have officially made history at IEM Rio 2026. With their grand final victory over Team Spirit on April 19, the French organisation became the first team to win two ESL Grand Slams since the competition was introduced in 2017.
The win at the Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro completed Vitality’s second four-title Grand Slam run. It also earned them the $1 million bonus prize that comes with the achievement.
How the Second Grand Slam Was Built
The ESL Grand Slam rewards any team that wins four ESL Pro Tour Masters or Championship events within a span of 10 consecutive eligible tournaments. At least one of those wins must come at a Championship-tier event such as IEM Cologne or IEM Kraków.
Vitality’s second Grand Slam run was built on four victories. It started with IEM Dallas 2025 and ESL Pro League Season 22, both taken in the back half of last year. IEM Kraków 2026 in February added the Championship-tier title needed for the Slam. IEM Rio 2026 closed it out.
That tracks to almost exactly one year after their first Grand Slam, which was completed at IEM Melbourne in April 2025. Their first run included wins at IEM Cologne 2024, IEM Katowice 2025, ESL Pro League Season 21, and IEM Melbourne 2025.
A Record No Other Team Has Matched
Six teams have won the ESL Grand Slam since 2017. Until April 19, 2026, none had done it twice. Vitality’s back-to-back Slam achievement is a first in Counter-Strike esports history.
The run is especially notable because every team that has reached Grand Slam qualification point has gone on to complete it. ESL tried to break the streak before IEM Rio by offering a $100,000 “Giant Killer Bonus” to any team that could beat Vitality in the grand final and deny the second Slam. Team Spirit were the team that carried that bounty into the final. They could not cash it in.
The current Vitality roster is made up of Dan “apEX” Madesclaire, Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut, Robin “ropz” Kool, William “mezii” Merriman, and Shahar “flameZ” Shushan. ZywOo made history earlier this year by becoming the first player to win four HLTV Player of the Year awards.
Ropz Sets His Own Record
The Grand Slam also rewrote an individual record. Robin “ropz” Kool is now the only player in Counter-Strike history with three Grand Slam titles.
He earned his first Slam with FaZe Clan in 2023. His second came with Vitality in April 2025. The IEM Rio 2026 win gave him the third. Ropz joined Vitality on a free transfer in January 2025, replacing Lotan “Spinx” Giladi. Full details of that move were covered in our earlier report on the ropz signing.
Ropz has been central to Vitality’s lurking structure under head coach Rémy “XTQZZZ” Quoniam. He formed a trio with ZywOo and flameZ that has been widely credited as the difference-maker in the team’s last 12 months of dominance.
The 2026 Streak So Far
IEM Rio was Vitality’s fourth consecutive tournament win in 2026. The streak started with IEM Kraków 2026 in February, continued through PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026, and carried into BLAST Open Rotterdam later in March.
Vitality skipped ESL Pro League Season 23 to focus on Rio. The team also skipped PGL Bucharest in early April. Captain apEX said in post-Rotterdam interviews that the team’s only goal was to wrap up the Grand Slam as quickly as possible.
Before IEM Rio, Vitality had won 22 consecutive maps at Big Events. That streak was second only to the 34-map run set by Ninjas in Pyjamas in the CS:GO era. Team Falcons broke the run with a group-stage win over Vitality in Rio. Vitality responded by winning every playoff series that mattered.
The Grand Final Against Team Spirit
Spirit reached the final through the lower bracket. They came out of a tough semi-final against Team Falcons, where they shut the series down in two maps.
Vitality arrived at the final off a 2-0 quarter-final win over NAVI, which repeated their Rotterdam final result. They followed that with a 2-0 semi-final win over the home crowd favourite FURIA.
The final was the fifth head-to-head Vitality had played against Spirit in recent months. Vitality had won all five. The trophy lift in Rio made it six in a row.
What the $1 Million Bonus Means
The $1 million Grand Slam prize pool is separate from the $1 million IEM Rio 2026 prize pool. Vitality take both home after this run.
Across the 2026 calendar so far, Vitality have now added four trophies and a Grand Slam bonus to their cabinet. Their total 2026 winnings already sit well ahead of any other organisation.
More context on the full CS2 tournament calendar and the upcoming IEM Cologne 2026 Major is available on the official ESL Pro Tour website. The next big event on the circuit is BLAST Rivals Spring 2026, which runs from April 29 to May 3.
What Comes Next
The IEM Cologne 2026 Major is the next and biggest test for Vitality. It runs from June 2 to June 21, 2026. A Major title would turn this 2026 campaign into one of the most complete single-year runs in CS history.
For now, Vitality hold a record no team had ever touched. One Grand Slam was the ceiling for nearly a decade. Vitality have doubled it in 12 months.
