Astralis only need to win the ESL Pro League Season 8 finals in Odense, Denmark to complete the Intel Grand Slam.  The Danish team has had arguably the most dominant year anyone has had in CSGO since Ninjas in Pyjamas.  They are not untouchable.  At IEM Chicago, they lost 2-0 to FaZe Clan in the group stage.  But when push comes to shove, they show an uncanny ability to deliver just when it matters.  They were nearly blown away in the semi final by Fnatic, only to defend six match points and win the game in overtime.

Overall, Astralis won over half of the events they competed in this year.  It's a staggering statistic since on all of 2016 and 2017 they won a total of four events.  What matters in terms of the Intel Grand Slam is that they won at DreamHack Masters Marseille, the ESL Pro League Season 7 finals and IEM Chicago.  And if they lift the ESL Pro League Season 8 trophy in Denmark on December 9th, they will be the first team in history to go home with the $1,000,000 bonus.

Follow the story unfolding in Odense starting December 4th.