NAVI enter Intel Grand Slam race

Natus Vincere is the newest team pursuing the Intel Grand Slam title and its $1,000,000 prize in Season 5 after winning ESL Pro League Season 20. The European squad joins a field of competitors populated by  Mouz , FaZe,  Spirit , G2, and  Vitality .

The Intel Grand Slam was last reset after ESL Pro League Season 17, when FaZe were crowned champions after getting their four necessary victories. The ongoing fifth season started at the following event, IEM Rio 2023, and the event in Brazil will be the last eligible IGS tournament this year before the winter break.

It's imperative for  Mouz  to win in Rio if they want to keep their chances alive as they only have two tries left to get two wins and have not won an ESL Pro Tour Championship (IEM Cologne or IEM Katowice) or an ESL-operated Major, which is a requirement to win the IGS season.

FaZe are on the same boat as  Mouz , except they have three chances left, while  Spirit  have four chances left but only one notch — albeit from their victory at IEM Katowice, an EPT Championship tournament.

Spirit  will be the only team out of the six current contenders missing at the last eligible IGS tournament of the year when IEM Rio kicks off on October 7.

The most recent crop of teams to join the race with one win to their name are G2,  Vitality , and now Natus Vincere, with seven, eight, and nine tries to tally the four wins, respectively. Of the three,  Vitality  are arguably in the best position despite having one less chance than Natus Vincere as their victory in Cologne gives them the valuable EPT Championship notch.

The IGS standings are:

  Mouz  (2 wins / No EPTC win / 2 chances)
 FaZe (2 wins / No / 3 chances)
  Spirit  (1 win / Yes / 4 chances)
 G2 (1 win / No / 7 chances)
  Vitality  (1 win / Yes / 8 chances)
 Natus Vincere (1 win / No / 9 chances)

The next eligible event is:

IEM Rio 2024 — October 7-13