IEM Katowice 2023 - Everything You Need to Know

Today we go back to the Esports Capital of the world as Intel Extreme Masters Katowice 2023 kicks off.

For those not in the know, IEM is the longest running global pro gaming tour in the world. This tiny little mining town in Poland has captivated the hearts of all CSGO fanatics because of the prestige and historic importance it holds in the scene.

Although not a Valve-sanctioned Major event, IEM Katowice is still regarded highly by players and fans alike, as one of the most prestigious events that one could win in Counter Strike. It is also one of the events that allows a team to qualify for the Intel Grand Slam.

An ensemble of 24 teams will grace the Spodek Arena to be crowned the Intel Extreme Masters Champions of Katowice. Some of these teams are chosen from the winners of previous tournaments, some through regional qualifiers, and others through their ESL World Rankings.

Here, we will go through the teams, and also the tournament format.

Direct Qualification:

Eight teams will directly qualify to the groups stages, based on their previous wins in ESL and IEM tournaments, and also based on their ESL World Rankings. These 8 teams are:

1. Faze Clan (IEM Cologne 2022)
2. Team Vitality (ESL Pro League Season 16)
3. Outsiders (IEM Rio Major 2022)
4. Heroic (ESL World Rank 1)
5. Team Liquid (ESL World Rank 2)
6. Natus Vincere (ESL World Rank 7)
7. G2 Esports (ESL World Rank 5)
8. MOUZ (ESL World Rank 8)

Play-in Teams:

Sixteen teams will have to fight through a play-in stage to make it to the group stages. 14 of these teams are selected based on their ESL World Rankings, and 2 teams qualify via tournaments. These teams are:

1. NIP
2. Team Spirit
3. Cloud9
4. Complexity Gaming
5. FURIA Esports
6. MIBR
7. IHC Esports
8. Grayhound Gaming
9. OG
10. ENCE
11. BIG
12. Sprout
13. paiN Gaming
14. Evil Geniuses
15. Fnatic (Elisa Masters Espoo 2022)
16. Permitta Esports (Mistrzostwa Polski)

Tournament Format:

Play-in Stage:

The 16 teams mentioned above will play through a play-in stage, to advance to the group stages. This play-in stage will follow a double-elimination style bracket, where the losers of each round get one more chance to fight in the lower brackets. All opening matches will be BO1, and all following matches will be BO3.

4 teams will qualify from the Upper Bracket, and 4 from the Lower Bracket.

Group Stage:

Including the 8 directly qualified teams, and the 8 teams from the play-in, there will be 16 teams competing in the group stages. The groups are divided into an upper bracket, and a lower bracket, with the winners of the upper bracket going straight to the semi-finals.

Playoffs:

The rest of the qualified teams will play through the quarter finals, and meet the winners of the group stage upper brackets in the Semi Finals.

IEM Katowice kicks off on 1st Feb at 11:00 am CET, with Ence taking on paiN Gaming.