CS:GO IEM Rio Major viewer’s guide

The IEM Rio Major 2022 is one of the biggest CS:GO esports events of the year, and it kicks off on Monday, 31 October 2022. It is an exciting time for fans across the globe, as this is the first time a Major will take place in South America. Teams are already preparing for this massive event in Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro. Here’s everything you need to know about the IEM Rio Major 2022, so you don’t miss out.

IEM Rio Major 2022 details

The IEM Rio Major 2022 will be played across three weekends, bringing CS:GO esports fans a lot of top-tier action. Teams are competing for their share of the $1,250,000 prize pool. At the current Dollar to Rand exchange rate, that’s roughly R22.5 million. The winner also gets invited to IEM Katowice 2023 and the BLAST Premier World Final.

There are a total of three stages to the IEM Rio Major 2022. Check out an explanation of the stages for those who don’t know how CS:GO Majors work and the schedule.

Challenger Stage format (31 October  to 3 November):

• 16 Team Swiss System Format.
• Elimination and Advancement matches are Bo3.
• All other matches are Bo1.
• The top 8 Teams proceed to The Legends Stage.
• The bottom 8 Teams are eliminated.

Legends stage format (5 to 8 November):

• 16 Team Swiss System Format.
• Elimination and Advancement matches are Bo3.
• All other matches are Bo1.
• The top 8 Teams proceed to Champions Stage.
• The bottom 8 Teams are eliminated.

The Champions Stage format (10 to 13 November):

The top eight teams from the Legends stage will compete in a single-elimination bracket. Seeding will be done using the final rankings from the Legends Stage. In this stage, all matches are best-of-three.

Check out the teams and their statuses for the IEM Rio Major 2022 below.

Legends teams:

• Na’Vi
• NIP
• FaZe Clan
• ENCE
• Heroic
• Sprout
• Team Liquid
• Team Spirit

Challengers teams:

• Cloud9
• Team Vitality
• OG
• Evil Geniuses
• 9z Team
• MOUZ
• BIG
• Bad News Eagles

Contenders teams:

• 00 Nation
• FURIA Esports
• Team GamerLegion
• Outsiders
• IHC Esports
• Imperial Esports
• Grayhound Gaming
• Fnatic

Can Na’Vi win back-to-back Majors despite replacing their IGL earlier this year and the war in Ukraine? We will have to wait and see. You can catch all the IEM Rio Major 2022 matches by tuning into the official ESL CS:GO Twitch channel.

Header image via Valve/ESL.