Photo: liquipedia.net
One of the brightest events of the esports calendar will start next week! Intel Extreme Masters Season XV — the legendary World’s CS:GO Championship — kicks off on February 16 and will last till February 28. Although since the year 2014, this CS:GO tournament was traditionally held in the LAN format, this time, it will run online in Katowice, in a specially equipped studio, without spectators.
Format
The event will include three stages: the play-in, the group stage, and the playoffs. At the first stage, the 16 teams-participants will play according to the Double-Elimination system with best-of-1 opening and best-of-3 following matches. The eight best teams will move to the next stage to join in with the other eight squads determined by the Road to Katowice rating. They will be split into two groups to play best-of-3 matches according to the GSL format. The three strongest contestants from each group will make it into the playoffs. The playoffs will feature a Single-Elimination tournament consisting of quarterfinals, semifinals, and the grand final. The future triumphant will get $400,000 and 1800 Pro Tour points, the runner-up will take home $180,000 and gain 1400 Pro Tour points. The total prize pool will amount to $1,000,000.
Participants
Over the year, CS:GO teams from all over the world were combating for scoring the rating points. And only the 24 best ones have managed to get into the IEM Katowice competition. Thus, according to the Road to Katowice and regional ESL ratings, 15 participants of the play-in stage were chosen, they are:
Photo: liquipedia.net
Another contestant was determined by EPEC Winter 2020 — Movistar Riders.
The top eight CS:GO squads were directly qualified for the group stage based on the Road to Katowice rating.
Photo: liquipedia.net
What to expect?
The organizers promise that winning at IEM Katowice will be as challenging as ever and that it will be the best competition it can be. We’ll see the best of the best in CS:GO, but who will manage to win this stern battle? As of now, we can name at least several favorites. Danish Astralis, the world’s top team according to the ESL ranking, and French Vitality, the squad No. 2 in the world’s rating, will come to prove their unmatched advantage over the rest. CIS’s NAVI is, no doubt, on the list of potential champions too. This CS:GO squad has won BLAST Premier Global Finals 2020 just recently. Moreover, NAVI is a last-year IEM Katowice champion and ready to hold on to its trophy in 2021!
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