ESL has confirmed that next year's first event in the ESL Pro Tour Masters – IEM Katowice 2021 tournament — will be held without spectators due to restrictions related to the spread of coronavirus infection. The start of the competition is scheduled for February 16. At the same time, the organizers expect that they will be able to hold the event in a LAN format, gathering all the teams in one location, the name of which has not yet been disclosed. ESL representatives note that the organization is considering the possibility of returning to an online format, “if the coronavirus remains a significant threat to the safety of players and staff.”
Last year, the IEM Katowice tournament became the first CS:GO event to be affected by the spread of coronavirus: then the playoff matches were held in the arena without spectators. During the year, ESL has already tried several times to return to the LAN format, but due to the difficult epidemic situation, this was never possible – both ESL One Cologne and IEM Global Challenge were eventually moved online.
IEM Katowice 2021 will feature 24 teams competing for a prize pool of $1,000,000. The initial stage is scheduled for February 16-17, the group stage will take place from 18 to 21, and the final will take place on February 28.
