IEM Katowice 2021 is set to begin with its play-in stage on Feb. 16, 2021. The event features 24 teams and a $1,000,000 prize pool. The winners will also score a point towards winning the Intel Grand Slam title.
Read below for the full details of the tournament.
The Format
IEM Cup – Image Courtesy of ESL
IEM Katowice 2021 will have three stages: the Play-In, the Group Stage and the Playoffs.
The Play-In stage will be a double-elimination bracket. The opening matches will be in a best-of-one format, every match after that will be a best-of-three series. Eight winners from the Play-Ins will advance to the main portion of the tournament at the Group Stage.
There will be a total of 16 teams in the main tournament. These teams will be split into two groups of eight teams and play out another double-elimination bracket. The top three teams from each group will make it to the playoffs stage.The winners from two groups will advance straight to the Playoff Semifinals, the second and third-place teams will play in the Quarterfinals. Quarter and Semifinals will be in a best-of-three format, whereas the Grand Finals will be a best-of-five.
The Teams
IEM revealed the eight teams who received direct invites to the main tournament last year. The defending champions of the tournament are Na’Vi.
- Heroic
- Astralis
- Team Vitality
- Na’Vi
- G2 Esports
- FaZe Clan
- FURIA Esports
- Evil Geniuses
The remaining 16 teams which will compete in the Play-Ins are as follows:
- BIG
- Team Liquid
- Virtus.pro
- mousesports
- Fnatic
- OG
- Team Spirit
- Complexity
- Gambit Esports
- Ninjas In Pyjamas
- Cloud9
- Movistar Riders
- MIBR
- Team One
- Wisła Kraków
- Renegades
The Schedule
#IEM Katowice marks the first event following our new two-week schedule 📅
Play-in stage: Feb 16-17
Group Stage: Feb 18-21
Playoffs begin: Feb 26-28Let's break down the tournament format! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/cfjmvSqWo7
— Intel®ExtremeMasters (@IEM) February 2, 2021
The Play-In stage of the tournament will kick-off on Feb. 16 and finish the next day on Feb. 17.
The Group Stage will run from Feb. 18 to Feb. 21, for a total of four days.
The Playoffs will start after a five-day break on Feb. 26 with the Quarterfinals. The Semifinals will be played on Feb. 27 and the Grand Final will be the only game on the final day of the tournament, on Feb. 28.
You can follow this link to check out the full schedule along with the starting times for your local time zone.
Featured Image Courtesy of ESL
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