Here’s the first official details for the next IEM Katowice event
ESL revealed all the first and major details about the upcoming IEM Katowice event, which seems to be following a new direction.
ESL have revealed the slot distribution and qualifying format for IEM Katowice, which will have 16 teams in attendance from February 27-March 4.
For the first time, an IEM stop will feature 16 teams instead of 12, with ESL deciding to standardize their tournament formats and schedules across projects including IEM, ESL Pro League, and ESL One for 2018.
Half of the spots at the $500,000 IEM Katowice, taking place at the brink of February and March, will be decided via direct invites, while the rest will go to top teams in qualifiers held in four regions – Europe (four spots), North America (two spots), Asia (one spot), and Oceania (one spot).
Each of the qualifiers will feature a two-stage process; two open qualifiers and a closed qualifier with a varying amount of teams based on the region.
A single-elimination, best-of-one bracket will be used for all of the open qualifiers (with the last stage in a best-of-three series), while the closed part will be played in a double-elimination, best-of-three format.
Here is the full schedule and a rundown of the slot distribution of the qualifiers for IEM Katowice:
