Spirit forfeit their $420K from ESL's Annual Club Incentive

ESL just posted the updated rankings for their Annual Club Incentive and announced that Spirit has forfeited their share. Spirit skipped three ESL Pro Tour events- IEM Melbourne, IEM Dallas and most recently- IEM Atlanta, triggering the Ecosystem Agreement's forfeit clause.

Spirit were tied for the top spot with around $420,000 USD to their name following IEM Rio 2026 but their exit from the initiative has also removed their share from the ACI, meaning which it will not be reabsorbed and redistributed in the programme to other teams. ESL have also mentioned that Spirit's attendance and forfeits for the rest of the year will count towards their Annual Club Incentive standing in 2027.

With Spirit out of the way, NAVI hold the top spot in ESL's Annual Club Incentive with 43 viewership points and $452,715 USD. At IEM Atlanta, four teams secured twelve viewership points each but BC.Game topped the charts when the average concurrent viewers were taken into consideration. Up next is the IEM Cologne 2026 Major which begins today and the Annual Club Incentive will receive an update once Stages 1, 2 and 3 are concluded.

Here's how the Annual Club Incentive stands as of 1st June 2026:

https://x.com/ESLCS/status/2061388964813050210?s=20

Spirit forfeit their $420K from ESL's Annual Club Incentive

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