ESL confirms Grand Slam will continue after Season 5, Intel no longer part of initiative

The tournament organizer told HLTV that the Grand Slam was not included in its recent partnership renewal with Intel.

ESL will continue to operate its Grand Slam past the current season despite Intel no longer being a part of the initiative, the tournament organizer confirmed in a statement to HLTV.

"Seven years ago, Intel helped us start the Grand Slam," ESL said. "Now, beginning with ESL Pro League Season 21, it will continue as the ESL Grand Slam.

"Should the running fifth season conclude, we will continue to operate the ESL Grand Slam."

The update comes 11 days after the conclusion of ESL Pro League Season 21, where graphics shown on stream and subsequently posted on social media referred to the $1,000,000 race as the "ESL Grand Slam" instead of the "Intel Grand Slam" name used since its creation in June 2017.

The silent name change prompted HLTV and Dust2.us to reach out for clarification on Intel's involvement and whether the Grand Slam would continue past Season 5. However, ESL's initial statement failed to provide suitable answers to either inquiry.

ESL and Intel announced a "multi-year renewal of their long-standing partnership" ahead of IEM Katowice in February, with the accompanying press release still referring to the race as the "$1 million Intel Grand Slam V."

Graphics at IEM Katowice also kept the old name scheme, but ESL has since updated numerous references, including on their website, to remove Intel's branding from the current season.

"The partnership renewal with Intel was announced ahead of Intel Extreme Masters Katowice (before the renewal came into effect)," ESL's second statement clarified.

"While it does not include this specific initiative in our Counter-Strike portfolio, we’re thankful for Intel’s continued long-term commitment to us and to Counter-Strike overall."

ESL did not clarify the reason why Intel is not a part of the initiative after the renewal. Among the possible reasons are the American manufacturer scaling back its advertising budget amidst declining stock value (down 46% in the last 12 months and 55% over five years) and the increase in competition with more tournament organizers entering the Counter-Strike circuit.

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