Tournament Background
The city of Katowice and the Spodek Arena have both been essential in the history and success of the Intel Extreme Masters since it first hosted the League of Legends event in 2013. In 2014, it hosted its first CSGO Major in what was the game’s only second ever Major tournament, and now it has become one of the highlights of the year in the esports and CS:GO tournament calendar for the IEM Katowice 2020 csgo.
On March 1st, we’ll find out which of the teams will take the crown as the 11th CS:GO IEM champion. Last year, the tournament set audience records all across the world with the Astralis squad eventually coming out as winners. Astralis also became the first team to win the $1,000,000 Grand Slam which also set the record of the biggest payout in CS:GO tournament history.
Astralis return again this year along with 15 more of the world’s best teams and so we have yet another edge-of-the-seat tournament on our hands. It kicks off on 24th February and we’ve got all the details below.
How the Teams Qualify
A total of 16 teams are now preparing for IEM Katowice 2020 csgo . Ten of these were invited and the remaining six teams fought their way to the main event at the Spodek Arena in Katowice via four worldwide qualifiers. The European qualifier offered up three places and there was one place each from North America, Asia, and Australia/New Zealand.
Each of the four worldwide qualifiers ran two individual Open qualifiers. Two teams from each one advanced through to the Closed qualifier which then consisted of the four open qualifier winners and four invited teams. The winning team from each of North America, Asia, and Australia/New Zealand qualifiers secured their place along with three teams from Europe.
The remaining ten qualifying teams were made up of three teams who had previously won a Road to Katowice Pro Tour tournament, as well as seven other top-ranked teams who gained access to the live tournament via a special invite.
IEM Katowice 2020 CS:GO Tournament Format
The iem katowice 2020 csgo tournament consists of two group stages which are followed by the playoffs and the grand final on the 1st March. All matches are Bo3 (best of 3) apart from the final with a Bo5 format. There is also the huge prize pool of $500,000 to be won that will be split between all 16 teams.
Group Stages
- Two double-elimination groups consist of eight teams each.
- Teams are seeded based on the ESL CS:GO World Rankings.
- All matches are based on a Bo3 format
- The top three teams from each group advance
- Group winners advance to the semi-finals
- Group runners-up advance to the quarters as high seeds
- Group third-placed teams advance to the quarters as low seeds
Playoffs
- Single elimination system
- Quarters and Semi-Finals are based on a Bo3 format
- Grand Final is based on a Bo5 format
Prize Pool
- 1st: $250,000
- 2nd: $100,000
- 3rd -4th: $40,000
- 5th-6th: $15,000
- 7th-8th: $7,000
- 9th-12th: $4,000
- 13th-16th: $2,500
List of Teams
Astralis – Winner of IEM Beijing-Haidian 2019
Fnatic – Winner of Dreamhack Malmö 2019
mousesports – Winner of ESL Pro League Odense 2019
Team Liquid – Invitation
Virtus.pro – Invitation
Vitality – Invitation
100 Thieves – Invitation
Evil Geniuses – Invitation
Natus Vincere – Invitation
Ninjas in Pyjamas – Invitation
TYLOO – Asian Qualifier
Cloud9 – North American Qualifier
FaZe Clan – European Qualifier
G2 Esports – European Qualifier
MAD Lions – European Qualifier
Renegades – Oceanic Qualifier
Schedule list
Monday
February 24th
- 12:00 Pm – Group A UB Ro8 #1 + #2
- 15:30 Pm – Group A UB Ro8 #3 + #4
- 19:00 Pm – Group B UB Ro8 #1 + #2
Tuesday
February 25th
- 12:00 Pm – Group B UB Ro8 #3 + #4
- 15:30 Pm – Group A UB Ro4 #1
- 15:30 Pm – Group A LB Ro4a #1
- 19:00 Pm – Group A UB Ro4 #1
- 19:00 Pm – Group A LB Ro4a #1
Wednesday
February 26th
- 12:00 Pm – Group B LB Ro4a #1 + #2
- 15:30 Pm – Group B UB Ro4 #1
- 15:30 Pm – Group A LB Ro4b #1
- 19:00 Pm – Group B UB RO4 #2
- 19:00 Pm – Group A LB RO4b #2
Thursday
February 27th
- 12:00 Pm – Group B LB Ro4b #1 + #2
- 15:30 Pm – Group A LB Final
- 15:30 Pm – Group A UB Final
- 19:00 Pm – Group B LB Final
- 19:00 Pm – Group B UB Final
Friday
February 28th
- 15:00 Quarter Finals #2
- 18:55 Quarter Finals #1
Saturday
February 29th
- 15:00 Semi Finals #2
- 18:55 Semi Finals #1
Sunday
February 30th
- 17:00 CS:GO Final*
* CS:GO Final Could be slightly delayed due to SC2 Grand Final
Streaming Platforms
The latest IEM Katowice stream news is that they plan to run two matches simultaneously during the group stages via A and B streams. All broadcasting will then be directed through stream A for the playoffs and final.
Some of the recent CS:GO tournament qualifiers have been made available via Twitch.tv. They will also be showing live streams throughout the event at the Spodek Arena in Katowice, so you can keep up to date on all the action as it happens in the iem katowice 2020 stream.
Watch the IEM Katowice 2020 stream on esportsguide.com
One of the best sites for watching the tournament. The perfect guide for users that are new or already into esports. Providing an extensive list of the biggest esports together with streams for each esports match live today or upcoming matches.
Predictions
Current champions Astralis will be the team to beat at IEM Katowice 2020 with the bookies backing the Danes as clear favourites. The end-of-year run in 2019 saw them win three out of four LAN finals and although they recently fell out of the BLAST Premier Group, they still remain a dangerous team fully capable of winning their second title on the bounce.
Considering all CSGO ranks and recent performances coming into the tournament, we think that it’s also worth looking into FaZe and mousesports as possible winners. One prediction that is being tipped by various sites is for mousesports to continue their run of form and at least make it to the final. Whoever makes it out as the eventual winner will need to produce a string of top performances as this year’s line-up is one of the strongest yet.