Four participants of the IEM Katowice 2021 tournament have been announced – the first competition of the ESL Masters Championship series, which will take place next year. Two places went to the teams FURIA and Evil Geniuses, who took the top positions in the Road to Katowice ranking. Liquid and Chaos have yet to compete for a spot on the main roster, as they were among the sixteen teams competing for eight spots in the tournament during the latest qualifying round. The remaining participants in the main draw and qualifications will be determined later based on the results of the Road to Katowice rankings, as well as through special invitations. In addition, one place will go to the winner of the ESL European Championship Winter 2020.
IEM Katowice 2021 will be held from February 16 to 28, and the total prize fund of the tournament will be $1 million. This will be the first event in the ESL Pro Tour series that will take place according to the new schedule. A less dense schedule will allow teams to better prepare for decisive matches, and the organizers – concentrate on creating a coherent story that will be interesting to the audience.
It is expected that qualifying and the group stage will take place at the new European ESL Pro Tour studio, which will open in early 2021. It will be equipped in full compliance with new safety requirements related to Covid-19. It remains unclear how the playoff matches will be held and whether it will be possible to gather teams at the Spodek stadium, as happened before.
