Heading into IEM Rio, the ESL decided to put a bounty on Team Vitality's head in an effort to encourage rival organisations to beat them and knock them out of the tournament. This bounty started at $10,000 but as the event progressed and Team Vitality continued to dispatch opponents, the value increased exponentially until it hit a peak of $100,000 for the grand final, meaning should Team Spirit win, it'd take home $125,000 in regular prize money plus an additional $100K from the bounty. It's because of this that Team Spirit's loss likely stings worse than ever...
Team Vitality could not be stopped in the end and made short work of Team Spirit by winning the IEM Rio final in a convincing 3-0 fashion. This result has seen the team continue its spree of dominance and set it up as the one to beat again heading into BLAST Rivals Spring 2026, IEM Atlanta, and IEM Cologne in June.
Were you surprised by this result at all?
