The inaugural Intel Grand Slam – a monumental initiative used to award the most dominant team in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive – has come to a close.
RFRSH Entertainment-owned team Astralis, made up of entirely Danish players, is the first team to claim the Intel Grand Slam title and prize winnings.
Announced on June 12th, 2017, Intel and ESL revealed the initiative at E3 as a way to raise the stakes of the competitive circuit in CS:GO and rewarding the first team to display a certain level of dominance.
John Bonini, Vice President and General Manager of VR, Gaming and Esports Group at Intel discussed the victory: “Congratulations to Astralis, who have thrilled the world with a dominant run to become the first team to complete the Intel Grand Slam. The Intel Grand Slam is the toughest win in all of CS:GO, and we look forward to many more triumphs in the future.”
To win the Intel Grand Slam and claim the $1,000,000 (£789,610), a team had to win four championships at ESL and DreamHack Masters tournaments within 10 events. The four victories for Astralis were at DreamHack Masters Marseille, CS:GO Pro League Season 7 finals in Dallas, IEM Chicago, and the CS:GO Pro League Season 8 finals in Odense.
Michal Blicharz, Vice President of Pro Gaming at ESL added: “Completing the Intel Grand Slam is one of the most difficult feats in all of esports because of how insanely competitive CS:GO is. What Astralis have done is nothing short of historic. This was truly the era of Astralis.”
The Intel Grand Slam has now reset, starting all over again at the next CS:GO Major: IEM Katowice. This event starts in February 2019, giving teams a small break after a busy year of competition.
Esports Insider says: If there was any doubt that Astralis was the team to beat in CS:GO throughout the year, then this key achievement has cemented it. The Intel Grand Slam displays a great commitment to esports from both ESL and Intel, and it’s exciting to see it return for a second iteration.