Vitality: The Ultimate Villains of CS2. Two Grand Slams in a Row. An Undeniable Era That Still Doesn't Get the Respect It Deserves

On April 19, 2026, at the arena in Rio de Janeiro, Vitality accomplished what was once considered nearly impossible. They convincingly defeated Spirit 3:0 in the IEM Rio 2026 Grand Final and became the first team in history to win two ESL Grand Slams back-to-back. This isn’t just a trophy streak. This is a reign of dominance that has lasted over a year and a half — and no one knows how much longer it will continue. Let’s break down this journey in detail and once again appreciate just how unique this achievement truly is.

What Is the Grand Slam?

The ESL Grand Slam (formerly the Intel Grand Slam) is one of the most prestigious and demanding accomplishments in professional Counter-Strike. The series was launched by ESL in 2017 to reward teams for extraordinary consistency and dominance. To win a Grand Slam, a team must be the first to win four major Tier-1 ESL tournaments within a single season. Later, a rule was added requiring that at least one of those four events be either IEM Cologne or IEM Katowice (rebranded as IEM Krakow starting in 2026). The winner receives a $1,000,000 bonus in the form of gold bars. Over the entire history of the series, only a handful of organizations have managed to achieve it: Astralis, Liquid, NaVi, FaZe, and Vitality.

Vitality have now become the first organization to win two Grand Slams in a row. This isn’t just another achievement – it’s concrete proof that the team is rewriting the history of world-class CS.

First Grand Slam (2024–2025): From a Single Trophy to Recognition

IEM Cologne 2024

Grand Final vs. NAVI – 3:1

2024 was a tough year for Vitality. The team spent a long time searching for stability, and IEM Cologne turned out to be their first — and only — major trophy of the entire year. The final against NAVI was a genuine thriller — 117 rounds of pure tension filled with clutches and comebacks. Vitality won Nuke (16:14), dropped Dust2 (10:13), snatched Mirage in overtime (22:20), and closed out the series on Inferno (13:9). For captain apEX, this was an especially emotional moment: the legendary IEM Cologne trophy had finally been conquered after years of trying. It was also the last title with Spinx on the roster — as we know, the lineup was soon overhauled. The victory gave Vitality the confidence that the foundation for something greater was already in place, but that they were still missing one key piece to make the elite machine run at full capacity.

IEM Katowice 2025

Grand Final vs. Spirit – 3:0

In early 2025, ropz joined the team — a transfer that immediately sent shockwaves through the global community, as Vitality picked up the decorated Estonian without paying FaZe a single cent. Nobody expected much from Vitality at their first major tournament with the new player. And sure enough, they lost in the quarterfinals of the very first BLAST Bounty and generated little hype. At the second event — IEM Katowice — Vitality looked considerably stronger, but Spirit entered the final as heavy favorites: fresh off a Major victory, a BLAST Bounty triumph, and just one step away from a fourth consecutive trophy. However, Vitality took the stage and simply gave the Dragons no chance. A clean 3:0 (Dust2 13-6, Nuke 13-5, Mirage 13-11). Spirit couldn’t put up a fight on a single map.

For apEX, this trophy was the last item on his bucket list — he had now completed the full set of Cologne, Katowice, and a Major. All that remained was the Grand Slam. Could he have imagined back then that this wasn’t just the final milestone of his career, but the beginning of an incredible new chapter?

ESL Pro League Season 21

Grand Final vs. MOUZ – 3:0

By all accounts, after Katowice, Vitality were laser-focused on the Grand Slam, with two victories already in the bank. While other teams were competing in PGL events, the Bees were training and fine-tuning their recently assembled supercar. At ESL Pro League S21, they felt virtually no resistance and dismantled MOUZ in the Grand Final (where former teammate Spinx was already playing, having won PGL Cluj-Napoca 2025 with his new side). It was after this comfortable victory that the community first began to genuinely fear Vitality — the team wasn’t just showing strength, it was demonstrating total dominance.

IEM Melbourne 2025

Grand Final vs. Falcons – 3:2

The most difficult and dramatic moment of the entire first Grand Slam run. Vitality needed just one more tournament win and desperately wanted to seal it on the first attempt. Falcons had no intention of watching Vitality’s dominance go unchallenged — the team, who had already won a couple of BLAST events by that point, signed m0NESY. The reunited duo of NiKo and m0NESY looked absolutely terrifying, and the new roster immediately reached the Grand Final. The match was wildly entertaining and went all the way to a decider — no more easy 3:0s! In the final map, Vitality found themselves down 7:12 — a collapse seemed imminent. But Vitality dug deep: they clawed back the deficit and closed out the series 3:2. That victory secured the first Grand Slam in the organization’s history, and ropz became only the second player after Twistzz to earn a second gold bar. Yet even after Australia, many continued to doubt them, convinced that Falcons would stop them soon enough.

Second Grand Slam (2025–2026): Everyone Expected a Slump — It Never Came

IEM Dallas 2025

Grand Final vs. MOUZ – 3:0

After Melbourne, experts and fans were nearly unanimous in predicting an inevitable decline — the main goal had been achieved, and now it was time to focus on the Major. Vitality talked only about the Major too, but even amid the roar of the crowd in Dallas, they went ahead and claimed yet another trophy. The very first tournament of the new Grand Slam season kicked off with the defending champions winning it. The dominance continued and by the time the Major arrived, Vitality had racked up an unbeaten streak of 39 victories.

ESL Pro League Season 22

Grand Final vs. Falcons – 3:0

This tournament was an important psychological test. After winning the BLAST Austin Major, Vitality went nearly three months without a major title, despite consistently reaching semifinals and Grand Finals. Over the summer, Spirit strengthened their roster with zweih, FURIA began putting up impressive results with an experimental lineup, and Falcons brought in one of the brightest young talents in modern CS. Teams stopped thinking about how to improve themselves and started thinking about how to beat Vitality. The pressure clearly took its toll, and Vitality began to slip. The win at EPL S22 helped them rediscover the taste of victory, but it didn’t feel like it extended the era — and some started writing them off as a result.

IEM Krakow 2026 (formerly Katowice)

Grand Final vs. FURIA – 3:1

Despite a shaky second half of the season, 2025 still ended on Vitality’s terms — with a Major victory in Budapest. Fittingly, the start of 2026 mirrored the previous year almost exactly: a loss at BLAST Bounty followed by a Grand Final appearance at a tier-S event in Poland. This time, however, they came in as the defending champions, with FURIA waiting in the final — a team that had claimed a couple of major trophies the year prior. With this victory, Vitality formally opened the IEM Krakow champions board and secured their third win within the sixth Grand Slam season. The team was marching confidently toward a historic double.

IEM Rio 2026

Grand Final vs. Spirit – 3:0

Unlike the previous year, after their Krakow victory Vitality chose not to lock in on the Grand Slam — they traveled to Cluj-Napoca, which they had skipped the year before, and most surprisingly, they sat out ESL Pro League S23, a tournament where they could have been collecting gold bars. Vitality put all their chips on Rio. In Brazil, things didn’t start cleanly: a shaky run against G2 and a group stage loss to Falcons forced them to begin from the quarterfinals. In the semifinal against FURIA, they were playing against virtually the entire arena — the Brazilian fans were ferociously behind their team, and the atmosphere was electric. apEX was once again greeted with boos from the stands as he walked out on stage, but the Frenchman has long since stopped caring. They made it to the Grand Final and delivered a classic performance: a dominant 3:0 over Spirit. The fourth title of 2026 and the second consecutive Grand Slam — officially in the books.

Why Vitality Are Almost Unbeatable Right Now

Vitality’s greatest weapon today is unshakeable self-belief. They can begin a map at 0:6 and almost always find the strength to come back. They can drop a critical round — but they don’t tilt; they correct it in the very next one. The team has no obvious weaknesses. Most impressive of all is the clarity of their role distribution. Vitality remains arguably the only top team in the world where every single position is filled by a player operating in their natural role. Every task is precisely defined, drilled to muscle memory, and executed at the highest possible level.

While other teams experiment, shuffle roles, try to force-build firepower, or spend months on integration and adaptation, Vitality have long been ready. They’ve pulled ahead by a distance that is currently very hard to even imagine closing. The Vitality era is no longer a prediction or a fan’s dream. It’s an established reality. And by all indications, it is far from over. Up next for Vitality is IEM Atlanta 2026, where most of the top teams won’t be present and their chances of lifting another trophy are enormous — followed by IEM Cologne Major. If both of those trophies end up on apEX’s shelf, a third consecutive Grand Slam season will start to look more than just possible.

Vitality: The Ultimate Villains of CS2. Two Grand Slams in a Row. An Undeniable Era That Still Doesn’t Get the Respect It Deserves

What Is the Grand Slam?