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One of the most stacked IEMs to date is around the corner and players like MC, Grubby, ForGG, Rain, Polt, Dear, Innovation, Mana and others learn their opponents.
The tournament will be in the known IEM format: a double elimination bracket stage which will qualify four players into the next round, then a GSL-style group stage and, finally, a single elimination 8-man bracket. $10,000 are in line for the winner as well as 750 WCS points.
Compared to IEM Sao Paulo, IEM Cologne takes it up a notch in terms of high-profile names attending. Stage 1 has welcomed names like the legendary Protoss player MC, fan favorite TLO, renowned champions like HyuN, Leenock and Violet as well as more European household names such as Grubby, Socke and HasuObs. The winners of Stage 1 will move on to meet the Korean armada already waiting in the group stage and consisting of Rain, HerO, ForGG, Dear, Innovation, Polt and Jaedong, among others.