Intel Extreme Masters makes its grand return to beautiful Sydney, Australia with the first international LAN tournament of Counter-Strike 2. The tournament will be held from October 16 – 22 with the final three days of play being held in front of a live audience at the Aware Super Theatre. Tune in to IEM Sydney 2023 and witness the crowning of the first CS2 champion.

IEM Sydney 2023 will have 16 of the best teams in the world face off for a grand prize pool of $250,000 USD and a guaranteed spot at IEM Katowice 2024 in January of next year.

Teams Attending IEM Sydney 2023

Through ESL Partner Teams

  • ENCE
  • FaZe Clan
  • G2 Esports
  • MOUZ
  • Natus Vincere
  • Team Vitality

Through ESL World Rankings

  • Cloud9
  • GamerLegion
  • Fnatic
  • Monte

Through Regional Qualifiers

  • Apeks
  • Complexity Gaming
  • BetBoom Team
  • Lynn Vision Gaming
  • VERTEX Esports Club

Through Invitation

  • Grayhound.Rivalry

IEM Sydney 2024 could be especiall crucial for Vitality, ENCE, G2, and MOUZ as this tournament could break the four-way tie between these four teams in their race for the fifth Intel Grand Slam.

Tournament Format

Group Stage

The Group Stage starting on the 16th of October will be in a double-elimination bracket. Opening matches are played in a best-of-one with all following matches set as best-of-three. The winners of each group will advance straight to the Semifinals, runner-ups for each group stage will advance to the Quarterfinals as the high seed meanwhile the team qualified through the lower bracket will make it to the Quarterfinals as the lower seed.

Playoffs

The playoffs will be played in a single elimination format with every match including the Grand Final being a best-of-three match. The playoffs will be played live at the Aware Super Theatre from October 20 to 22.

Showmatch

The Showmatch for IEM Sydney 2024 has also been finalized with Chad ‘SPUNJ’ Burchill and Henry ‘HenryG’ Greer continuing their iconic rivalry for The Caches IV. Team Australia will go head to head against Team UK on October 22 as a lead-in for the Grand Final.

Talent

The official roster of broadcast talent for the event has also been released.

Desk Host

  • Tres “stunna” Saranthus
  • Freya “Freya” Spiers

Stage Host

  • Mitch “Conky” Concanen

Analyst

  • Janko “YNk” Paunović
  • Sudhen “Bleh” Wahengbam
  • Aleksandar “kassad” Trifunović

Sideline Reporter

  • Anastasija “Heccu” Tolmačeva

Caster

  • Alex “Machine” Richardson
  • Chad “SPUNJ” Burchill
  • James Bardolph
  • Alex “Hawka” Hawkins
  • Mitch “Conky” Concanen
  • Jordan “Elfishguy” Mays
  • Mitchell “pilski” Pilipowski
  • Geordie “Mac” McAleer
  • James “jimNeso” Cowan

For those of us who can't come out to witness the first LAN of CS2 in person, fans can still tune in to the official ESL YouTube and Twitch channels to watch the matches live. The matches will also be available on demand on the official ESL YouTube channel.

That is everything you need to know about  Intel Extreme Masters Sydney 2023. Stick with us here at ClutchPoints for more on IEM Sydney and for more news and updates on all things gaming, stick with ClutchPoints Gaming.