The annual competition will see top teams from across the globe compete in the first LAN of the year.
With less than 12 hours to go, IEM Katowice will be the first big event in the CS:GO calendar for this year. The first of the three planned IEM events this year, Katowice opens the floodgate for the big events that are scheduled for 2022. 24 teams will be competing for ESL Pro Tour and BLAST Premier points, as well as a slice of the $1,000,000 prize money.
The tournament will be played in three segments – the Play-in and Group Stage will be played in a studio, while the Playoffs will be played at Spodek Katowice, a multipurpose arena complex where the Intel Extreme Masters VII – Katowice was held.
Teams
The teams that will be playing at the tournament are:
Directly Qualified
- Natus Vincere
- Gambit Esports
- G2 Esports
- Team Vitality
- Heroic
- Virtus.pro
- FURIA Esports
- Team Liquid
Play-in
- Ninjas in Pyjamas
- Astralis
- FaZe Clan
- GODSENT
- MIBR
- Renegades
- BIG
- Entropiq
- OG
- CPH Flames
- Fnatic
- ENCE
- MOUZ
- Sprout (replacing TYLOO)
- Movistar Riders (replacing Complexity)
- Wisla Krakow
Mechanics
There will be three stages for the tournament – Play-in, Group Stage and Playoffs.
Play-in
- Dates: 15 & 16 February
- Double Elimination Bracket
- Opening matches are Bo1
- All other matches are Bo3
- Top Eight advances to Group Stage
Group Stage
- Dates: 17 – 12 February
- Two double-elimination format (GSL) groups of eight teams each
- All matches are Bo3
- The top three teams from each group advance to Playoffs
- Winners will advance to the Semifinals
- 2nd place teams will be in the Quarterfinals as High Seeds
- 3rd place teams will be in the Quarterfinals as Low Seeds
Playoffs
- Single Elimination bracket
- Quarterfinals and Semifinals will be played as Bo3
- Grand Final will be played as Bo5
Where to catch the action
There will be multiple streams available for fans to catch the matches, in English, Russian and Vietnamese.
