One of the most iconic events in all of Esports, IEM Katowice has been on the Counter-Strike calendar since 2006. The 2023 competitive circuit kicked off at BLAST Spring, however since this is the tournament that really marks a new year of top-tier CS:GO getting underway. Join us at Gamelevate as we run through everything you need to know about IEM Katowice 2023 including all the dates, teams and full schedule for the event!
When Is IEM Katowice 2023?
This year’s IEM Katowice will begin with the play-in brackets that will run from 1st – 3rd February 2023.
The main IEM Katowice event gets underway with the group stage running from 4th – 7th February.
The Katowice playoffs begin on 10th February, and will conclude with the Grand Final on the 12th February.
What Is The Format Of IEM Katowice ’23?
As we mentioned above, this year’s edition of IEM Katowice will be broken up into three sections: the play-in, group stage and playoffs.
16 Teams will be arriving in Poland for the play-in, though only 8 will be able to join the 8 orgs already qualified for the main event. The winners of the tournament will bag $400,000 of the $1,000,000 prize pool for the event.
Check out the full IEM Katowice 2023 schedule and format:
- Play-In:
- Double-Elimination bracket
- Opening matches are Bo1
- All following matches are Bo3
- The top eight teams advanced to the Group Stage
- Double-Elimination bracket
- Group Stage:
- Two double-elimination format Groups
- Each group has eight teams
- All matches are Bo3
- The top three teams from each group advance to the Playoffs:
- Group stage winners advance to the Semifinals
- Group stage runners-up advance to the Quarterfinals as the High Seeds
- Group stage 3rd place teams advance to the Quarterfinals as the Low Seeds
- Two double-elimination format Groups
- Playoffs:
- Single-Elimination bracket
- The Quarterfinals & Semifinals are Bo3
- The Grand Final is Bo5
Where Is The Event?
The event will be hosted on LAN in Katowice, Poland. The playoffs will once again see fans packing the stands in the world-famous Spodek Arena. This 11,036-capacity stadium has hosted every offline edition of the event and remains one of the most popular venues for CS:GO tournaments.
What Maps Will Be Played At Katowice?
For any CS fans that have been out of the loop recently, the IEM Katowice map pool might look a bit different from what they have come to expect. Ancient and Vertigo are still finding their feet in the competitive meta, but this is also set to be the first Katowice to feature Anbuis, which replaced Dust II at the end of 2022. Check out the full map pool:
IEM Katowice 2023 Team List
Starting with the play-in teams, check out all the attendees for this year’s IEM Katowice 2023 event:
Play-In Teams
Ninjas in Pyjamas
Fnatic
Team Spirit
Complexity
Cloud9
FURIA
MIBR
Grayhound Gaming
IHC Esports
OG
ENCE
BIG
Sprout
paiN Gaming
Evil Geniuses
Permitta Esports
Directly Qualified Teams
FaZe Clan
Outsiders
Heroic
Team Vitality
Team Liquid
Natus Vincere
MOUZ
G2 Esports
