CS:GO Tournament Preview – IEM XVI Cologne

When you say Cologne, you automatically say not just CS:GO, but esports. And that’s because Cologne is the city where a lot of great esports sagas began. From famous CS:GO tournaments to the first edition of The International (Dota 2). So for a lot of esports enthusiasts, Cologne holds a special place in their hearts. In particular, IEM Cologne is a name that every CS:GO player is familiar with.

IEM XVI Cologne Details

Intel Extreme Masters XVI Cologne is scheduled to take place between July 6^th – 18^th. As the name suggests, the tournament’s location will be Cologne, Germany. Relative to what has happened in CS:GO over the last 18 months, this will be a huge event: $1 million in prizes, 24 teams, almost 2 weeks of competition, live venue.

Participants

IEM XVI Cologne brings together the greatest teams in the world. 16 of these teams will start the competition in the Play-In Stage while the other 8 only in the Group Stage.

Directly Qualified Teams

• Gambit Esports
• Natus Vincere
• Heroic
• pro
• Astralis
• G2 Esports
• FURIA Esports
• Team Liquid

Play-In Teams

• Team Spirit
• Complexity Gaming
• Ninjas in Pyjamas
• Evil Geniuses
• Team One
• MIBR
• Renegades
• ViCi Gaming
• BIG
• mousesports
• Team Vitality
• FaZe Clan
• Bad News Bears
• OG
• Team LDLC
• Sprout

Competitive Format

The competitive format of IEM XVI Cologne is made up of three stages.

Play-In Stage

This stage involves 16 teams and only 8 of them advance to the Group Stage. All of these teams start in the Upper Bracket, which has 2 rounds. The teams that win both rounds proceed to the Group Stage. The ones that lose the first round go to the Lower Bracket Round 1. The ones that lose the second round go to the Lower Bracket Round 2. The winners of the second round of the Lower Bracket proceed to the Group Stage.

During the Play-In Stage, the opening matches are Bo1. The rest of them are Bo3. This stage takes place in the first two competitive days, between July 6^th – 7^th.

Group Stage

The Group Stage of Intel Extreme Masters XVI Cologne takes place between July 8^th – 11^th, so right after the Play-In Stage. All of its matches are Bo3. The 16 teams are divided into two groups of eight. Each group is played using the double-elimination format. The winners of the groups advance to the Semifinals. The finalists advance to the Quarterfinals. The third 3^rd place teams also advance to the Quarterfinals.

Playoffs

The Playoffs of IEM XVI Cologne is a single-bracket tournament. The Grand Final is Bo5. The remaining matches are Bo3. This stage takes place between July 16^th – 18^th, so during the weekend.

Seeding

The seeding for the Play-In Stage is already known and the matches of the Upper Bracket Round 1 are the following:

• NiP – LDLC
• Bad News Bears – mousesports
• Spirit – MIBR
• Renegades – Vitality
• OG – Team One
• Sprout – BIG
• Evil Geniuses – FaZe Clan
• Complexity – ViCi Gaming

Prizes

IEM XVI Cologne offers $1 million in prizes. The money will be divided among the 24 teams in the following way:

• 1^st place: $400,000
• 2^nd place: $180,000
• 3^rd – 4^th place: $80,000
• 5^th – 6^th place: $40,000
• 7^th – 8^th place: $24,000
• 9^th – 12^th place: $16,000
• 13^th – 16^th place: $10,000
• 17^th – 20^th place: $4,500
• 21^st – 24^th place: $2,500

 

Photo credit: IEM|Helena-Kristiansson