FaZe Clan defeated Cloud9 3-1 to win the ESL Pro League Season 17 held in Malta this weekend.

The Intel Grand Slam title for Counter Strick: Global Offensive tournament has secured the winners a total bonus payout of US $1 million.

FaZe dominated C9 during the grand final and gave a brilliant performance. They were seen to be keeping a ‘step ahead’ following the tough challenges they faced during their previous matches. The first-place prize was US $200,000 but with the Grand Slam bonus the team succeeded to walk away with an even greater win.

Grand Slam

Grand Slam is a promotion from ESL sponsor Intel. Any team that wins four out of 10 ESL events will take home a bonus payout of US $1 million. As FaZe Clan won IEM Katowice, IEM Cologne and the ESL Pro League during Season 15 this win takes them to four event wins and crowns them as Grand Slam champions.

Cloud9 walked away with just $90,000. Although the team did not lose any matches during the competition, they did not manage to beat FaZe Clan in the Grand Final. Grand Slam is a promotion from ESL sponsor Intel.

It’s highly likely that FaZe Clan will be the last Grand Slam winners in CS:GO, with the launch of Counter-Strike 2 coming this summer. Valve has announced that the competitive scene will switch over to the new game shortly after it launches. The ESL Pro League was also the first complete match featuring pro players in Counter-Strike 2. There were a few technical issues that need to be cleaned up before pro play can start properly on the new game.

ESL Championships in Malta

Malta has gained a reputation as a European esports hub and is host partner of the ESL Pro League Season XVII. During the six-week season Malta has endorsed the esports ecosystem and hosted 145 members of production teams, 225 players, 3685 crew nights and 2872 player nights. The country is reputed to be the “home of gaming excellence”.

Speaking with SiGMA News, Ivan Filletti CEO of Gaming Malta expressed his heartfelt congratulations to FaZe Clain. He described the grand finale was a very vibrant event with a crowd that cheered their favourite team during the five and a half hour event.

I am proud that Malta was the place where FaZe Clan could win the ESL Pro League Season 17 and achieve the historical Intel Grand Slam. It is clear that this achievement meant a great deal to the players, but also to the crowd in the ESL studio in St Julian’s, who had been energetically cheering for their favour team, round by round throughout the five and half hour grand final. I hope that whenever FaZe Clan think back on this fantastic achievement, they will also have fond memories of the country where it happened. Congratulations!” – Ivan Filletti – CEO Gaming Malta

Filletti added that he is very much looking forward to welcoming ESL Championships in Malta for Season 18.

FaZe Clan

At the group stage FaZe Clan lost to Team Vitality. In the bracket stage, FaZe Clan made it past Forze and NAVi with very close wins of 2-1. The winning team appeared strong but not unbeatable.

FaZe Clan is a professional esports and entertainment organization headquartered in Los Angeles. It was established in 2010. The team competes across multiple games including Call of Duty, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, PlayerUnkown’s Battlegrounds, Valorant and Ultimate. In 2020, FaZe Clan expanded into the Asian market and acquired Thai PUBG Mobile and FIFA Online roster. More recently, FaZe Clan obtained an investment of US $22.7 million from a private investor and became the first esports team to be featured on Sports Illustrated.

SiGMA News was speaking with Ivan Filletti, Chief Executive Officer of Gaming Malta.? ?

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