Team Vitality storm to the IEM Rio 2026 title over Team Spirit

Team Vitality defended their Intel Extreme Masters Rio crown on Sunday with a commanding 3-0 victory over Team Spirit in the grand final, adding yet another major trophy to an already dominant run in 2026.

The French powerhouse have now won four straight top-tier events this season, after previously lifting trophies at IEM Krakow, PGL Cluj-Napoca, and BLAST Open Spring, further cementing their place as the team to beat in Counter-Strike 2.

https://x.com/IEM/status/2045958491018510532

Vitality’s latest title in Rio carried extra weight. Not only did it extend their remarkable streak, it also secured the organisation a second ESL Grand Slam VI title, making them the first Counter-Strike 2 team to achieve that milestone.

The road to the trophy was not completely flawless. Vitality suffered a loss to Team Falcons in the final Group A match, which snapped their 18-game winning streak, but they responded exactly how elite teams do, sweeping FURIA 2-0 in the semifinals before finishing the job against Spirit on championship Sunday.

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  Fast Payouts

Even though the final ended in a clean 3-0, Team Spirit were far from pushovers. On Mirage, Spirit raced out to a 5-1 lead and later moved ahead 11-8, only for Vitality to claw their way back, force overtime, and steal the opener 16-13.

The second map, Nuke, followed a similar pattern. Spirit once again looked in control early and built an 8-4 advantage on the CT side, but after the switch they completely lost their grip on the game. Vitality punished every mistake and closed the map 13-10.

Dust2 was the least dramatic of the three maps. Vitality finally got the better start, took an 8-4 lead into halftime, and never really gave Spirit a way back into the series, cruising to a 13-5 win to wrap up the title in style.

This win only reinforces what the scene already knows: Team Vitality are the clear No.1 team in Counter-Strike right now. They have the depth, the form, and the consistency that no other roster has been able to match over the last few months.

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  The bookies' bookie

There is not much time for celebration, though, with the focus already shifting to BLAST Rivals Spring, which is scheduled to begin on April 29. Markets are already up on the best CS2 betting sites, and unsurprisingly Vitality sit clear at the top as -163.93 favourites. Natus Vincere follow at +650, with FURIA at +700.

Mark Prezelj

Esports Betting Analyst

Mark Prezelj is a Slovenian esports betting analyst with over 3,500 articles at EsportBet and the founder of Lines64.com — someone who has been reading odds longer than most readers have been watching esports.

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