After the CS:GO majors earlier this year, there’s more to enjoy for competitive CS:GO. Accordingly, the upcoming IEM Cologne XVII next week looks to continue to entertain the community. Indeed, with so much on the line it’s essential to learn how to watch thanks to all the details discussed below!
Event Background
For those unaware, for the past few years, Intel has partnered with ESL to host the Intel Extreme Masters – a set of premier events and Majors for CS:GO. In addition to the epic venues and prize pools, the Intel Grand Slam also adds an incredible element.
Furthermore, teams who manage to earn enough wins in a single season will also take home an additional $1,000,000 while others can earn by playing spoiler.
Anyways, this event in particular brings the community to the historic venue of Cologne, in the heart of Germany. Competing offline, we have the best 24 teams in the world fighting for the $1,000,000 prize pool and a series of BLAST Premier Circuit Points too.
Running from 7th July to 17th July, find your competitors listed below according to their level of qualification:
Directly Qualified Teams
- FaZe Clan
- Natus Vincere
- Cloud9
- G2 Esports
- Ninjas in Pyjamas
- ENCE
- FURIA Esports
- Team Liquid
Play-In Teams
- Heroic
- Team Vitality
- Outsiders
- GODSENT
- Complexity Gaming
- MIBR
- ORDER
- TYLOO
- BIG
- Astralis
- Team Spirit
- Imperial Esports
- Movistar Riders
- paiN Gaming
- MOUZ
- Sprout
Time to dive into the format!
Format
Specifically, the format is similar to the Majors which have happened in the past – splitting up the competition into a Play-Ins stage and a Main Event stage.
With the Play-Ins kicking off on July 5th and spanning until 6th, the double elimination bracket will feature the 16 teams competing to earn the 8 remaining spots. Considering that all opening matches are BO1, find them listed below:
- Heroic vs Sprout
- MOUZ vs paiN Gaming
- Team Spirit vs Complexity
- GODSENT vs Astralis
- BIG vs ORDER
- Outsiders vs Imperial Esports
- MIBR vs Movistar Riders
- TYLOO vs Team Vitality
Following the opening matches, every game will be a BO3 and once again, only the top 8 will progress to to the Group Stage.
Once at the Group Stage, they’ll join the remaining teams who already qualified to this point. Running from July 7th to 10th, the two GSL double elimination format groups will have 8 teams each.
So far, the Groups have the following teams waiting:
- A – Natus Vincere, Ninjas in Pyjamas, ENCE, G2 Esports
- B – FaZe Clan, Team Liquid, Cloud9, FURIA Esports
Seeding into the Playoffs from the Group Stage, once all the BO3 matches are complete, will be as follows:
- Winners of each Group – Semifinals
- Runners-Up of each Group – Quarterfinal High Seeds
- 3rd of each Group – Quarterfinal Low Seeds
Meanwhile, any team below third will not progress.
Finally, the Playoffs will take place between 15h and 17th July, with an exciting and deadly single elimination bracket. Here all matches in the Quarterfinals and Semifinals will be BO3 while the Grand Final will be an epic BO5 match.
Schedule for IEM Cologne XVII
With regards to schedule we highly recommend visiting the official event page here for an updated schedule with times in your very own region.
Watch the IEM Cologne XVII on esportsguide
You can also watch the IEM Cologne XVII live stream via our very own website. Providing an extensive list of the biggest esports together with streams for each esports match live today or upcoming matches.
Predictions
Coming off of the last Major, PGL Major Antwerp 2022, it’s clear that two teams are favoured for this event.
Specifically, everyone is silently hoping for another incredible competition between FaZe and NaVi as both hope to take home another Major. However, considering how competitive the scene is, who knows what could happen?
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