Vitality take commanding lead in Intel Grand Slam race

apEX's troops require just one more win in their next five tournaments.

The ESL Pro League S21 trophy put Vitality within touching distance of the IGS

Vitality have moved to the front of the race for the Intel Grand Slam Season 5 after lifting the ESL Pro League S21 trophy.

The Swedish event was their third victory at an IGS-eligible tournament following their title-winning campaigns at IEM Cologne 2024 and IEM Katowice earlier this year.

The trophy puts Vitality as the sole team on three victories, with Natus Vincere being the only squad to have more than one.

Mathieu "⁠ZywOo⁠" Herbaut and company also have the required EPT Championship tournament victory (Katowice, Cologne, or ESL-operated Major), which means they could clinch the IGS at IEM Melbourne in April.

At the same time, the EPL S21 grand final result puts MOUZ in a near-impossible situation, as they would need to win the next three events to win the Grand Slam.

The IGS standings, with EPT Championship events bolded, are:

Vitality (IEM Cologne, IEM Katowice, EPL S21) - 5 chances
Natus Vincere (EPL S20, IEM Rio) - 6 chances
MOUZ (EPL S19) - 3 chances

Vitality can secure the Intel Grand Slam and the $1,000,000 prize with a victory at the following events:

IEM Melbourne 2025 — April 21-27
IEM Dallas 2025 — May 19-25
IEM Cologne 2025 — July 26-August 3
ESL Pro League Season 22 — September 27-October 12
IEM Chengdu 2025 — November 3-9

Mathieu 'ZywOo' Herbaut Age: 24 Team: Vitality Rating 1.0: 1.27 Maps played: 1406 KPR: 0.84 DPR: 0.60 Natus Vincere #3 Aleksi 'Aleksib' VirolainenMihai 'iM' IvanValeriy 'b1t' VakhovskiyJustinas 'jL' LekaviciusIhor 'w0nderful' Zhdanov Andrey 'B1ad3' Gorodenskiy MOUZ #8 Ludvig 'Brollan' BrolinÁdám 'torzsi' TorzsásLotan 'Spinx' GiladiJimi 'Jimpphat' SaloDorian 'xertioN' Berman Dennis 'sycrone' Nielsen Vitality #2 Dan 'apEX' MadesclaireRobin 'ropz' KoolMathieu 'ZywOo' HerbautShahar 'flameZ' ShushanWilliam 'mezii' Merriman Rémy 'XTQZZZ' Quoniam