Everything you need to know about IEM Katowice 2021

IEM Katowice 2021 is on the horizon, as the tournament is set to get started on February 16. Let’s talk about what you need to know.

IEM Katowice 2021 will start on February 16 and run until February 28, giving you almost two weeks of CS:GO action. The list of participants consists of those who received direct invites, while others qualified through other tournaments or their place in the ESL World Ranking.

Format and notable matches

IEM Katowice will start out with a play-in stage to determine which teams move on to the group stage using a double elimination format. In total, 8 out of the 16 teams will move on. These matches will be played from February 16 to February 17 and already feature some interesting matches, such as a Team Liquid versus MIBR rematch and OG taking on Fnatic.

The 21 year old Swede 🇸🇪 @Jackinhocs tests his hand in the CS:GO Play-In Stage of #IEM Katowice 2021 within @FNATIC!

👀👀 All eyes are on the young gun, how did you think FNATIC will fare? pic.twitter.com/qT1WCitIFH

— Intel®ExtremeMasters (@IEM) February 15, 2021

After the play-in stage, qualified teams will be dealt into two groups. There they’ll find the 8 teams that received direct qualification, bringing the total to 16 again. Group A features Astralis, Evil Geniuses, G2 Esports and Heroic, while group B includes Vitality, FaZe, FURIA and Natus Vincere. These matches will play out from February 18 to February 21, with six teams moving on to the playoffs.

Also read: Looking ahead to IEM Katowice 2021

Out of these six, the two teams who finished on top of their groups will directly move on to the semifinal. The playoffs play out in a single elimination format and will start on February 26, with the Grand Final scheduled for February 28.

What’s there to win?

Teams will be competing for a huge prize pool of 1.000.000 dollar, with each team at least receiving $2.500. The winner will take home $400.000, while second place and third place take home $180.000 and $80.000 respectively. Aside from earning money based on their placement, teams are also competing for ESL Pro Tour and BLAST Premier points, which help teams qualify for more tournaments.

🔥 The CS:GO duo of 🇧🇦 @G2NiKo and 🇫🇷 @G2kennyS have both come close to winning an #IEM Katowice.#IEM Katowice 2021 will be the first time the pair unite under the @G2esports banner and compete for the crown 👑

Who believes? #G2ARMY #ESLProTour pic.twitter.com/4oWzpkWDOU

— Intel®ExtremeMasters (@IEM) February 12, 2021

Where to watch?

IEM Katowice will feature three different streams in total, with a primary, secondary and tertiary stream. These are available and feature commentary in English and Russian. You can find the primary stream here.

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Image Credit: ESL/IEM (Twitter)