IEM Katowice is one of the most prestigious events on the CS:GO pro calendar. In this guide, we will explain what the event is, which teams are participating in the 2023 tournament, the route to the grand final, and who the favourites might be.
What is IEM Katowice?
IEM Katowice is one of the most prestigious Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournaments of the year. The tournament has become a staple event on the calendar and takes place in Katowice, Poland (hence the name), after the Major was held there in 2014 and 2015. For the 2023 iteration, the play-ins will be happening on February 1-3, and the main event will be happening from February 4-12.
The event will be held in the legendary Spodek Arena. The total prize pool is $1,000,000 with the first-placed team taking home $400,000.
Which teams will be at IEM Katowice 2023?
Sixteen teams will start at the play-in stage. Most of these teams have qualified through regional ESL Rankings.
There are also eight teams that have qualified straight away to the main event, most of them based on their ESL ranking, but also for winning the IEM Rio Major 2022 (Outsiders), IEM Cologne 2022 (FaZe Clan), and ESL Pro League Season 16 (Team Vitality).
What is the route to the IEM Katowice grand final?
The tournament starts off with the play-in stage, which has a double-elimination bracket format. The teams facing each other here start off with Bo1 (best of one) matches. All the following matches are Bo3 (best of three). From this stage, the top eight teams will proceed through to the main event, while the bottom eight will be eliminated from the tournament.
In the main event, there will be two double-elimination format (GSL) groups. Each group will contain eight teams and all matches will be Bo3. From each group, the top three will advance to the playoffs – the group winners will go straight to the semi-finals; the team in second will advance to the quarter-finals as the high seeds; and the team in third will advance as low seeds to the quarter-finals.
The playoffs are formatted as a single-elimination bracket and both the quarter-finals and semi-finals will be Bo3. This all leads to the grand final where a Bo5 (best of five) match will determine the winner of IEM Katowice 2023!
Who will win IEM Katowice 2023?
At the time of writing, the favourites to win are last year’s winners FaZe Clan (4.850*), followed by current HLTV world number ones Heroic (5.850*). Following these two teams are NAVI (6.750*) and G2 (6.750*). All four teams have directly qualified for the main event.
From the play-in teams, the ones that are most favoured to win IEM Katowice 2023 are Cloud9 (8.000*) and FURIA (9.000*).
It’s hard to tell who really has the biggest chance of winning the tournament at this point in time; however, BLAST Premier Spring Groups is about to take place and that will show us how each team is currently performing.
* Odds are subject to change
How do you bet on the IEM Katowice 2023?
Betting on esports is easy; however, beginners might need a guide to navigate the various methods available for making a bet. To help, we’ve prepared a handy guide for those looking to place a bet during IEM Katowice 2023.
Pinnacle offers a number of markets for CS:GO enthusiasts to bet on during IEM Katowice 2023. The most popular market for esports bettors is the Money Line market, which is a bet on the winner of a particular match. Futures markets are also on offer if bettors want to bet on the team that will win IEM Katowice 2023.
If you’re an eagle-eyed bettor, be sure to stay updated on our IEM Katowice 2023 odds page. Pinnacle will offer the best CS:GO odds and a wide variety of different markets, both pre-match and in-play.
