IEM Cologne 2023 viewer’s guide

With the Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) Cologne 2023 play-in stage now complete, it is time for the main event to begin, featuring group and playoffs stages. Yes, this weekend and next weekend, CS:GO esports fans will be able to catch all the IEM Cologne 2023 action, and we can’t wait to see which one of the 16 teams claims the coveted trophy. Here’s what you need to know about this huge S-Tier event.

IEM Cologne 2023 details

IEM Cologne’s main event runs from 29 July to 6 August 2023. The group stages take place from 29 July to 1 August, while the playoffs take place next weekend, from 4 to 6 August 2023.

The eight teams who made it through the play-in stage will compete in the group stage with the other eight direct-invite teams. The event is held in Germany, Cologne, and the playoffs will be played in front of a huge crowd at the LANXESS Arena, dubbed the Cathedral of Counter-Strike! Teams are competing for their share of the $1 million prize pool, which is roughly R17.5 million at the current Dollar to Rand exchange rate. The winner also gets a direct invite to IEM Katowice 2024!

In the group stage, we will see the sixteen teams split into two double-elimination (GSL-style) groups, where all matches are best-of-three. The group winners advance to the semifinals of the playoffs, while the runners-up advance to the quarterfinals as the high seeds and the third-place finishers in each group advance to the quarterfinals as the low seeds. The remaining two five teams in each group are eliminated.

In the IEM Cologne 2023 playoffs, there’s a single-elimination bracket, with both the quarterfinals and the semifinals matches being best-of-three, while the grand final promises to be a best-of-five slugfest.

You can watch all the IEM Cologne play-in matches via the official ESL CS:GO Twitch and ESL CS:GO YouTube channels.

Header image via ESL.