With a publisher that has remained relatively uninvolved in its competitive scene,
Valve,
Counter-Strike’s tournament calendar has been largely shaped by third-party organizers. Among the most prominent are BLAST, PGL, and—most notably—the Electronic Sports League (ESL). Beyond the highly coveted Majors shared among these tournament operators, several other ESL-organized S-Tier events have become cornerstones of the competitive landscape, such as IEM Cologne and IEM Katowice. While winning one of these tournaments is already enough to etch a team’s name into the
Counter-Strike pantheon, ESL decided to raise the stakes even further.
In 2017, the organization introduced the “
Intel Grand Slam.” This accolade is awarded to teams that manage to win three ESL Pro Tour Masters tournaments and one Championship tournament (Katowice, Cologne, or ESL-operated CS Majors) within a span of ten consecutive events. The Intel Grand Slam is often regarded as the ultimate accolade in competitive
Counter-Strike—not only because it affirms a team’s dominance over a given period, but also because it grants the victorious organization a $1 million reward.
In a competitive ecosystem characterized by constant upheaval and shifting power dynamics, achieving this feat is exceptionally challenging. Over eight years, only five teams have succeeded:
Additionally, any team that prevents an opponent from completing the Grand Slam by defeating them in a final is awarded a $100,000 bounty, the "giant killer bonus". As of early 2025, the initiative has been renamed the ESL Grand Slam following Intel’s withdrawal as title sponsor, although the company remains affiliated with ESL. Teams are also allowed to swap players between tournaments, but a core of the same three players has to win four finals together to be eligible.
