The Intel Extreme Masters Katowice 2024 will start on January 31 and run till February 11 in Katowice, Poland.

Organised by ESL, IEM Katowice 2024 will be the first marquee international tournament of the Counter-Strike 2 eSports season. 

The playoffs of the upcoming Polish Counter-Strike 2 tournament will be held at the Spodek Arena in Katowice.

G2 Esports won the previous edition of the IEM Katowice in 2023.

IEM Katowice 2024 format

The IEM Katowice 2024 will be staged in three phases - Play-In, Group Stage and Playoffs.

As many as 16 teams have directly qualified for the Play-In and will face-off in a double-elimination bracket. 

Opening matches in Play-In stage will be played in best-of-one while the remaining matches will be held in a best-of-three series.

The top eight teams will advance to the Group Stage.

The Group Stage will feature a total of 16 teams including eight qualified teams and as many as teams from Play-In Stage. These teams will be divided into two double-elimination groups.

All group matches will be played in a best-of-three series. 

The top three teams from each group will progress to the playoffs.

The Group Stages winners will advance to the Semifinals, the runners-up are seeded into the Upper Bracket, and third-placed teams are seeded into the Lower Bracket.

Six teams will compete in the playoffs in a single-elimination bracket. The quarterfinals and semifinals will be staged in a best-of-three matches while the Grand Final will be a best-of-five series.

IEM Katowice 2024 teams

Here are the teams that will participate in IEM Katowice 2024.

Play-In teams

  • Rebels Gaming (Mistrzostwa Polski)
  • Cloud9 (ESL World Ranking EU)
  • Virtus.pro (ESL World Ranking EU)
  • Heroic (ESL World Ranking EU)
  • FURIA Esports (ESL World Ranking SA)
  • M80 (ESL World Ranking SA)
  • Rooster (ESL World Ranking OCE)
  • The MongolZ (ESL World Ranking AS)
  • BIG (ESL World Ranking)
  • GamerLegion (ESL World Ranking)
  • Apeks (ESL World Ranking)
  • Astralis (ESL World Ranking)
  • Eternal Fire (ESL World Ranking)
  • BetBoom Team (ESL World Ranking)
  • ENCE (ESL World Ranking)
  • Team Spirit (ESL World Ranking)

Directly Qualified teams

  • G2 Esports (IEM Cologne 2023)
  • MOUZ (ESL Pro League Season 18)
  • FaZe Clan (IEM Sydney 2023)
  • Team Vitality (ESL World Ranking)
  • Complexity Gaming (ESL World Ranking)
  • Natus Vincere (ESL World Ranking)
  • Monte (ESL World Ranking)
  • Team Falcons (ESL World Ranking)

IEM Katowice 2024 schedule and dates

All timings are in India Standard Time (IST)

Play-In 

Wednesday, January 31

Eternal Fire vs BetBoom Team - 8:00 PM

Heroic vs. Astralis - 8:00 PM

Cloud9 vs Rebels Gaming - 9:00 PM

ENCE vs BIG - 9:00 PM

M80 vs GamerLegion - 10:00 PM

Team Spirit vs Apeks - 10:00 PM

Rooster vs Virtus.pro - 11:00 PM

FURIA Esports vs The MongolZ - 11:00 PM

Group Stage

Saturday, February 3

FaZe Clan vs TBD - 6:00 PM

Team Falcons vs TBD - 6:00 PM

Natus Vincere vs. TBD - 9:00 PM

Complexity Gaming vs TBD - 9:00 PM

Sunday, February 4

Team Vitality vs TBD - 12:00 AM

G2 Esports vs TBD - 12:00 AM

Monte vs TBD - 6:00 PM

MOUZ vs TBD - 6:00 PM

IEM Katowice 2024 prize pool

The IEM Katowice 2024 has a total prize pool of a whopping $1 million USD. The winner will receive a cash prize of $400,000 USD and will also qualify for IEM Cologne 2024 and BLAST Premier World Final.

Where to watch IEM Katowice 2024 live?

Live streaming of the IEM Katowice 2024 will be available on ESL Counter Strike’s YouTube and Twitch channels.

Photo credit: Alamy