Season 10 of Intel Extreme Masters kicks off in Katowice this weekend (March 4th to 6th), bringing together some of the top esports teams from around the world. Here’s our show preview.
With an overall prize pool of more than $500,000, more than 1.6 million viewers set to tune in and a host of matches running across different games, there’s plenty for esports fans to sink their teeth into.
Tournaments this year include League of Legends, Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm, StarCraft II, Rainbow 6 and CSGO, which also includes a separate female-only CSGO tournament. The StarCraft and CSGO group stages have already kicked off, but the tournaments gets underway proper from Friday March 4th, when the arena opens to the public.
Looking at IEM from a UK perspective in particular, which UK-based sides will be in action?
Fnatic
London-based esports org Fnatic has two teams at IEM Katowice this year – its CSGO and League of Legends teams.
Of course, the org created one of the most famous League of Legends moments back in 2013 in Katowice – the xPeke backdoor (we love an excuse for posting this video again):
They face some stiff competition in group B in SKT, CLG and Qiao Gu this time around. In the other group there’s TSM, Origen, ESC Ever and Royal Never Give Up.
On the CSGO side, Fnatic won IEM last year, and will be looking for another strong performance this year. Their side, with its all-Swedish roster, has been impressive in recent months.
Fnatic also has a UK Heroes of the Storm player in Atheroangel, who will be taking part at IEM along with his Swedish teammates.
Team Dignitas
One of the UK’s most famous organisations will be taking part in the Heroes of the Storm competition at the event.
Two of their players are from the UK – Snitch and Bakery – and they will go up against Epsilon, mYinsanity and Natus Vincere in group A. Meanwhile, group B includes Team Liquid, Virtus Pro, Fnatic and Reason Gaming.
Dignitas originally formed its HotS team in early 2015.
Reason Gaming
As mentioned, Reason Gaming will also be taking part in the Heroes of the Storm tournament.
The UK org this week picked up the Pigs in Blankets team who will now be playing under the Reason brand.
The org was founded in the UK and changed ownership to Adam Heath in 2010. The Intel website displays them as a German side but that’s because their team captain is German.
Epsilon Esports
While Epsilon is another org that was technically founded in the UK, its Heroes of the Storm team at IEM 2016 is an all-Russian side.
Epsilon are also taking part in the Rainbow 6 Pro League at IEM.
Exertus Esports
Exertus will be participating in the all-female CSGO tournament. They are in group B with CLG Red, Team Acer and Elysium.
Group A features Team Karma, WRTP, Santos.Dexterity and Milennium.
Other stuff worth knowing
Intel has launched new gaming PCs and an esports diversity initiative, which it will be focusing on in more detail from the event.
There will also be British casters in attendance, including Paul “ReDeYe” Chaloner, who will be hosting the StarCraft II tournament, and Leigh “Deman” Smith, who will be sitting on the League of Legends desk.
Have we missed anyone? Let us know in the comments below or tweet us.
For the full list of teams and the schedule, check out the IEM website below.
Get the latest from IEM
- Check out the full schedule here
- Watch the IEM Twitch stream
- Follow Esports News UK and
baldyDom Sacco on Twitter – we’ll be reporting live from the show
Image source: IEM Flickr
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
