CS:GO IEM Katowice 2021: Schedule, teams, format, prize pool, and how to watch

It's that time of the year again, IEM Katowice 2021 is just around the corner, one of the biggest and longest-standing esports festivals.

And one of the biggest esports tournament in Katowice is CS:GO Intel Extreme Masters World Championship.

Unfortunately, this year's IEM World Championship won't be held in legendary Spodek Arena, due to COVID-19 and measures taken to prevent the spread of the virus.

Instead of a LAN event, the Season XV finals will be held online.

While that's unfortunate and nothing can replace the atmosphere with the live crowd, we have no doubt that we will watch some outstanding games and see many legendary plays by top-tier players.

With that in mind, let's take a look at everything you need to know about the event.

CS:GO IEM Katowice Season XV schedule

(Picture: ESL)

IEM Katowice 2021 World Championship will be held from 16th February to 28th February.

The exact schedule of all stages is yet to be announced.

CS:GO IEM Katowice Season XV format

Play-In:

• 16 Teams
• Double-Elimination bracket
• Opening matches are Bo1
• All other matches Bo3
• The top 8 teams will progress to the main event (the Group Stage)

Group Stage

• 16 teams
• 2 groups with 8 teams
• Double-elimination format groups(GSL)
• All matches are Bo3
• Winner of each group will advance to the semifinals
• Teams that end up second in groups advance to the quarterfinals as the High Seeds
• 3rd place teams from groups advance to the quarterfinals as the low seeds

Playoffs

• Single-Elimination bracket
• Quarterfinals & Semifinals are Bo3 matches
• The Grand Final will be Bo5

CS:GO IEM Katowice 2021 teams

In total, 24 teams will compete at CS:GO IEM Katowice 2021.

Eight of the best teams have secured their spot at the main event, while additional 16 teams will go through play-in to try to earn their spot for the group stage.

Play-in teams:

(Picture: ESL)

• Complexity Gaming
• Team Liquid
• Fnatic
• NiP
• Team Liquid
• Team One
• MIBR
• Renegades
• BIG
• mouseesports
• Virtus.pro
• Gambit Esports
• Cloud9
• Team Spirt
• Movistar Riders
• WisÅ‚a Kraków

Teams directly qualified for the main event:

(Picture: ESL)

• Heroic
• Team Vitality
• Astralis
• Natus Vincere
• G2 Esports
• FaZe Clan
• FURIA Esports
• Evil Geniuses

CS:GO IEM Katowice 2021 prize pool

The tournament boasts a whopping $1,000,000 USD prize pool and ESL Pro Tour points.

The prize money will be split as follows:

CS:GO IEM Katowice 2021 stream: How to watch

CS:GO IEM Katowice 2021 will be broadcasted live on the official ESL CS:GO channel, as well as on the official ESL CS YouTube channel.

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