Staff Vitality have secured the ESL Grand Slam and cemented themselves as the very best Counter-Strike 2 crew on the planet proper now, following their newest victory at Intel Excessive Masters (IEM) Melbourne.
This marks their twenty first straight win of the 12 months, including to a dominant run that features titles at IEM Katowice 2025, ESL Professional League Season 21, and BLAST Open Spring 2025.
By profitable their fourth ESL match in lower than a 12 months, the membership has gained legendary standing, turning into the fifth crew within the recreation to win the ESL Grand Slam (after FaZe, NAVI, Staff Liquid, and Astralis). To have a good time this historic second for the membership, Staff Vitality is partnering with the model DearBBall to launch a capsule assortment of unique merchandise.
The crew not solely secured the IEM Melbourne title but additionally gained the celebrated ESL Grand Slam, a monumental achievement for the organisation.
The ESL Grand Slam awards $1m to the primary roster that wins 4 top-tier ESL occasions throughout a window of 10 consecutive occasions.
THE HIVE MAKES HISTORY: TEAM VITALITY REIGNS SUPREME AS BRIT KING MEZII SHINES
Getting into the match because the top-ranked CS2 crew on the planet, Staff Vitality as soon as once more proved its distinctive expertise. The roster, together with captain Dan “apEX” Madesclaire, Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut, Shahar “flameZ” Shushan, William “mezii” Merriman, and Robin “ropz” Kool, demonstrated synergy and world-class expertise all through the match, concluding in a decisive victory within the Grand Finals towards Staff Falcons.
The crew not solely secured the IEM Melbourne title however in fact additionally gained the celebrated ESL Grand Slam, a monumental achievement for the organisation.
UK star mezii goes from power to power, and has been recognised for his achievements in UK esports.
Wtf simply occurred🤯
ESL GRAND SLAM SECURED🏆
IEM MELBOURNE CHAMPIONS🏆#VForVictory
— MEZII’ (@kingmezii) April 27, 2025
🇬🇧 UK CS HAS WON A F*CKING GRAND SLAM!!!!!
👑@kingmezii pic.twitter.com/eevVB1I5sk
— 🇬🇧 UKCSGO (@ukcsgo) April 27, 2025
BREAKING:
After profitable $125,000 within the ESL Grand Slam, William “mezii” Merriman cements his place because the richest man in Birmingham. pic.twitter.com/dLPHmoPaTl
— index (@indexCS) April 27, 2025
Within the Semi-Finals at IEM Melbourne, Staff Vitality delivered a prime efficiency towards Staff MongolZ, setting the tone for an electrical Grand Remaining efficiency towards Staff Falcons.
After a 3-2 win within the Grand Remaining, which included a triple-overtime decider on the ultimate map, Nuke, Mathieu ‘ZywOo’ Herbaut was named match MVP because of a sequence of spectacular performances and a decisive presence all through the match.
TEAM VITALITY AT THE TOP OF THEIR GAME ON COUNTER–STRIKE 2
The membership’s dominance in CS2, highlighted by an ESL Grand Slam victory and a rare 21-game profitable streak, confirms their standing as a prime facet.
This triumph additionally represents a career-defining second for a number of gamers, beginning with captain Dan “apEX” Madesclaire, who captures the ultimate main title lacking from his storied document (including the Grand Slam to his two Majors, Katowice, and Cologne victories). Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut continues his ascent, solidifying his place as probably the most adorned participant in CS historical past with a twenty fourth MVP title earned throughout this match. Collectively, apEX and ZywOo grow to be the primary two French gamers ever to win an ESL Grand Slam, a historic achievement for these two icons of the Parisian membership.
Fabien “Neo” Devide, President and co-founder of Staff Vitality, stated: “It is a historic second for Staff Vitality as we grow to be the fifth membership in historical past to win the ESL Grand Slam. We at the moment are a part of a legendary membership that has left its mark on the historical past of the sport. After greater than six hours of play, I’m happy with the mentality and the unimaginable show from this crew. To see them obtain such greatness makes me really feel so proud.”
CELEBRATING IN STYLE: A CAPSULE COLLECTION WITH DEARBBALL TO CELEBRATE THE EVENT
To have a good time their Grand Slam victory, Staff Vitality and basketball model DearBBall are launching an unique capsule assortment. This limited-edition drop pays tribute to the 5 gamers on the roster, highlighting their distinctive personalities, strengths, and existence.
For every participant, the gathering contains a devoted hoodie, sweatshirt, and t-shirt, obtainable in black or white, each bit accompanied by a personalised description. A historic collaboration and vital for followers – obtainable in restricted portions!
The gathering is accessible now on the official DearBBall web site
Dom is an award-winning author and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Yr 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth College with a 2:1 diploma in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller within the late ’80s, he has written for a variety of publications together with GamesTM, Nintendo Official Journal, trade publication MCV and others. He labored as head of content material for the British Esports Federation up till February 2021, when he stepped again to work full-time on Esports Information UK and supply esports consultancy and freelance companies. Be aware: Dom nonetheless produces the British Esports e-newsletter on a contract foundation, so our protection of British Esports is at all times stored easy – normally simply overlaying the occasional press launch – due to this battle of curiosity.
