Intel extreme masters

Intel Extreme Masters is one of the biggest and longest-running esports gaming championships in the world. It started back in 2007 as a product by ESL, formerly known as Electronic Sports League.

The Intel Extreme Master started as a smaller tournament, but over time, the owners expanded it to cover much of the world, and it’s today one of the most notable events in the world of esports. Even though the owner is ESL, Intel is the main sponsor of this event, which is why the name of the event is Intel Extreme Masters.

However, there’s a lot to these series of tournaments you should know, especially if you are a fan of Starcraft II, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and esports betting. With that in mind, let’s take a look at all you need to know about this exciting event.

Intel extreme masters Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

One of the most significant and most notable parts of the IEM is the Counter-Strike tournament. Ever since the tournament’s inception, all IEM events held competitions in CS:GO, except Season VII, which only featured events in League of Legends and Starcraft II.

IEM csgo Katowice 2019 was the 14th Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Major Championship, in which 24 teams participated in organized games. The main prize was $1 million, and the Astralis team from Denmark won it.

There’s another Intel Extreme Masters in 2020, where you can watch some of the best Counter-Strike: Global Offensive teams battle it out for the main prize and the 1st place at the championship. Moreover, you can place your bets on these matches, as you would on any other esports betting event or match.

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Intel Extreme Masters Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Prize Pool

As usual, players and their teams don’t actually participate in the IEM CS: GO tournament, so they may win the 1st place and gain the admiration that comes with it. That’s just one of the two main goals here. The other one is the total prize pool of $500,000. Here’s how it’s divided among the teams according to the final ranking they achieve at the event.:

  • 1st place — $250,000
  • 2nd place — $100,000
  • 3rd-4th place — $40,000
  • 5th-6th place — $15,000
  • 7th-8th place — $7,000
  • 9th-12th place — $4,000
  • 13th-16th place — $2,500

Intel Extreme Masters Tournament

The Intel Extreme Masters tournament has existed for 14 years, and the format of the whole event has pretty much remained the same. The main thing that has changed several times is the scope of the event and the games in which the teams compete.

As we’ve stated, at the moment, the two games that are played are Counter-Strike and Starcraft II. Over the years, teams have competed in many other games, including Warcraft III, World of Warcraft, Quake Live, DotA, League of Legends, Hearthstone, Overwatch, and PlayUnknown’s Battleground. All in all, a massive tournament that covers most of the games in the world of esports.

Where Is IEM Located?

The location of Intel Extreme Masters is not a single place, but several of them. That’s due to the overarching format of the tournament, which we already discussed. However, several qualifying events all lead to the grand finale, and that finale is always held in a single place, usually Katowice. The last IEM championship, or the Intel Extreme Masters Season XIII, was held in Katowice, Poland, in 2019.

Season XIV of the IEM world championship will also be held there. Still, many other IEM tournaments were held in other parts of the world, as Intel Extreme Masters have covered the world as a whole and hosted participants from Europe, Asia, and North America.

Top Teams at Intel Extreme Masters

Plenty of teams have competed in the IEM tournaments, but only a few have proved that they are truly the best of the best. It’s also useful for you to know which are the top teams that keep returning to the IEM event, as that will enable you to place better bets if you’re into esports betting. Let’s take a look at some of the best teams in these tournaments.

In Counter-Strike, the top teams are Astralis, ENCE eSports, MIBR, Fnatic, SK Gaming, Ninjas in Pyjamas, and Team EnVyUs.

In Starcraft II, the top players are soO, Stats, Neeb, Solar, Stats, Dark, herO, Rogue, Scarlett, and TY.

In Dota 2, the top teams are Team Secret, Gambit Esports, Fnatic, and Ninjas in Pyjamas.