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Intel Extreme Masters returns to Australia for the first time in four years, with IEM Sydney 2023 taking place from October 16th to 22nd 2023.
The first ever live international tournament to be played on CS2 will take place at the Aware Super Theatre, with the last three days of the competition being held in front of a live audience, with six top teams doing battle.
Overall, IEM Sydney 2023 will see 16 Counter-Strike teams compete for a total prize pool of $250,000, as they aim to secure Intel Grand Slam V and a spot in the Group Stage of IEM Katowice 2024, the first ESL Pro Tour Championship event next year.
The Caches IV Showmatch at IEM Sydney 2023
Powered by Intel and Acer, The Caches is a fan-favourite showmatch that will be making its return to IEM Sydney 2023 for a fourth time.
As a lead-in to the IEM Sydney Grand Final, Team Australia will battle it out against Team UK at 4.30pm local time on Sunday, October 22nd.
A press release stated that ‘Chad ‘SPUNJ’ Burchill and Henry ‘HenryG’ Greer returning to the stage and continuing their epic rivalry’.
However, HenryG tweeted the following:
Esports News UK understands HenryG will be at the event.
Some in the community said HenryG’s tweets are bait, and that he will emerge for The Caches as usual:
EchoFractions said on the CS subreddit: “There is a 99% chance that this is bait and Henry will show up during the showmatch as a “surprise” appearance. Bonus points if a fan accidentally catches Henry and SPUNJ getting a coffee together or something before the event starts.”
At IEM Sydney in 2017, UK caster HenryG was thrown into a giant pie to the British national anthem.
Update: Chad “SPUNJ” Burchill, Joshua “INS” Potter, Christopher “dexter” Nong, Justin “jks” Savage, Declan “Vexite” Portelli, Chris “GoMeZ” Orfanellis (Coach) represented Team Australia, while Alex “Hawka” Hawkins, Guy “NertZ” Iluz, Sebastian “volt” Maloș, Vladislav “nafany” Gorshkov and Henry “HenryG” Greer lined up in the British corner for Team UK. See the outcome of The Caches IV Showmatch at IEM Sydney 2023 here.
IEM Sydney 2023 Teams
- Ence (ESL Partner Team)
- FaZe Clan (ESL Partner Team)
- G2 Esports (ESL Partner Team)
- Mouz (ESL Partner Team)
- Natus Vincere (ESL Partner Team)
- Team Vitality (ESL Partner Team)
- Cloud9 (ESL World Ranking)
- Fnatic (ESL World Ranking)
- GamerLegion (ESL World Ranking)
- Monte (ESL World Ranking)
- Grayhound.Rivalry (Local Hero Invite)
- Apeks (European Qualifier)
- BetBoom Team (European Qualifier)
- Complexity Gaming (North American Qualifier)
- Lynn Vision Gaming (Asian Qualifier)
- Vertex Esports Club (Oceanic Qualifier)
IEM Sydney 2023 Broadcast Talent
- Tres “stunna” Saranthus (Desk Host)
- Freya “Freya” Spiers (Desk Host)
- Janko “YNk” Paunović (Analyst)
- Sudhen “Bleh” Wahengbam (Analyst)
- Aleksandar “kassad” Trifunović (Analyst)
- Anastasija “Heccu” Tolmačeva (Sideline Reporter)
- Alex “Machine” Richardson (Caster)
- Chad “SPUNJ” Burchill (Caster)
- James Bardolph (Caster)
- Alex “Hawka” Hawkins (Caster)
- Mitch “Conky” Concanen (Stage Host)
- Jordan “Elfishguy” Mays (Caster)
- Mitchell “pilski” Pilipowski (Caster)
- Geordie “Mac” McAleer (Caster)
- James “jimNeso” Cowan (Caster)
The IEM Sydney Fantasy League on ENDX
UK-based fantasy esports trading game ENDX has launched a free-to-enter IEM Sydney Fantasy League, with E$225 up for grabs from October 20th to 22nd.
ENDX is a relatively new fantasy trading game where esports fans aged 18+ can buy, sell and collect virtual in-game ‘shares’ from their favourite Counter-Strike esports players.
Read more about the IEM Sydney Fantasy League from ENDX and enter here!
Schedule and Format for IEM Sydney 2023
Group Stage (October 16 – 18)
The Group Stage will be a double-elimination bracket. Opening matches will be best-of-one, while matches after this will be best-of-three.
Six of the 16 teams will advance to the playoffs. Group stage winners advance to the semi-finals, while runner-ups reach the quarter-finals as high seeds, and third-place teams as low seeds.
Playoffs (October 20 – 22):
A single-elimination format, where the quarter-finals, semi-finals and grand final will all be best-of-three.
IEM Sydney 2023 Prize Pool and Breakdown
| TOTAL | $250,000 |
| 1st | $100,000 |
| 2nd | $42,000 |
| 3rd-4th | $20,000 |
| 5th-6th | $10,000 |
| 7th – 8th | $6,000 |
| 9th – 12th | $5,000 |
| 13th-16th | $4,000 |
IEM Sydney 2023 will be broadcast on the ESL Counter-Strike Twitch and YouTube channels.
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.
