What is the Pick’em Challenge?

It is Pick’em Challenge time again. The IEM Katowice Major for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is right around the corner. Every time there is a CS:GO Major event Valve gives us an opportunity to get some awards. When a CS:GO Major comes around, new stickers are added to the game. These stickers vary in price and can be use in the Pick’em Challenge. You then use these stickers in a bracket as you try your best to predict the winners of each matchup.

However, this year the challenge is going with a totally different approach. In order to participate in the Pick’em Challenge, you must purchase a $10 dollar ticket to have access to it. The ticket does not include stickers, but you receive a IEM Katowice Coin to display on your profile. Along with this coin, you get a professional team graffiti of your choice.

How Does it Work?

IEM Katowice Pick’em Challenge

The Pick’em Challenge is all based on predictions. If you predict a specific team to win, and they win you earn points. It is a three stage process. The first stage is the Challenger stage. In this group, you are given 16 teams to pick from but not all teams will advance. You must pick one team that will go 3-0 and one team that will fall 0-3. The bottom seven squares are the other teams that you believe will advance. If you manage to get five of these picks correct, you will earn points for this stage.

The Challenger stage is followed by the Group Stage and the Playoff Stage but you wont have access to those Pick’ems just yet. You will only be able to set your predictions for these stages when the matches are set.

What Prize do I Win?

The best part about the Pick’em Challenge is the prize you receive at the end. You receive this prize even if you earned zero points during the challenge. It does not matter if you got all your picks wrong, everyone wins in the end. After the IEM Katowice Major is over and a winner has been crowned you will get a new item in your CS:GO inventory.

Courtesy of DBLTAP

The item you get is a trophy that you are able to display on your profile in game. The trophy in the past had three variations. However, this year it is different. Instead of the typical bronze, silver, and gold trophies, Valve decided to add a fourth tier. If you manage to reach the maximum amount of points during the Pick’em Challenge you will receive a diamond trophy. Although it might seem small these trophies mean a lot to die hard CS:GO fans. It is impressive if someone manages to get a gold trophy, let alone a diamond one.

For fellow CS:GO fans that are looking forward to participating in the IEM Katowice Pick’em Challenge – let’s hope that we can all manage to win big from this exciting event!

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