Let’s learn more about IEM Sydney, the first really big tournament on CS2. Click to learn more about the tournament and see what to expect from players.
CS2 is finally here, and we will have the chance to watch the best teams in the world. IEM Sydney 2023 is the first big tournament on Valve’s newest game, and it will be amazing to watch. Starting on October 16, the tournament will be in an offline format in Australia’s biggest city. Unsurprisingly, Counter-Strike 2 fans want to know more information about it, which is why this article will share more details about everything.
IEM Sydney 2023 Overview – General Information and Format
The first thing we want to talk about in this IEM Sydney CS2 overview article is related to general information about the event. There will be a total of 16 teams that will play over the course of a week in Sydney. The tournament comes with a prize pool of $250,000 and, even more importantly, a ticket for IEM Katowice 2024. That said, only the winner of IEM Sydney 2023 will have access to it.
Like other IEM tournaments, this one is organized by ESL, and it has tons of sponsors. The list consists of Intel, DHL, Monster Energy, and several other big companies. Those who obtained IEM Sydney 2023 tickets can watch the best CS2 teams in the world live at the Aware Super Theatre.
In terms of the format, we will have a Group Stage and Playoffs. The Group Stage will consist of double-elimination format groups with 8 teams each. All opening matches are in Bo1, whereas the following ones will be in Bo3.
Once the action at IEM Sydney’s Groups is over, the winner goes to the Semifinal, the runner-up takes the High Seed Quarterfinals, and the 3rd-team will go to the Quarterfinals as the Low Seeds.
Once it’s time for the Playoffs, we will see a classic single-elimination bracket. All matches are in a Bo3 format, so the best CS2 teams at IEM Sydney 2023 will have the chance to bounce back if they lose the first map.
Participants
Besides the fact that this will be the first big Counter-Strike 2 tournament of 2023, the next reason why this event is so important is because of the IEM Sydney 2023 teams. As expected, the world’s best have made it to the tournament, so we can expect epic matches. Speaking of teams, let’s see which CS2 clubs will be a part of the tournament.
ESL Partner Team
Like in other CS tournaments organized by ESL, there will be a total of six partner teams. These include:
- G2 Esports
- MOUZ
- FaZe Clan
- ENCE
- Team Vitality
- Natus Vincere
Considering the most recent tournaments and the results, it’s safe to say that MOUZ is the big favorite out of these. Dorian “xertioN” Berman and the rest won the ESL Pro League Season 18 just a couple of days ago, and the squid will try to do the same at IEM Sydney 2023.
Speaking of teams that deserve more attention, Natus Vincere is another name that fans love watching. The legendary s1mple and his crew will try to show they are better than the rest by winning the first big CS2 tournament. The club recently lost the final match against MOUZ at EPL S18, but the match was close. Consequently, we can expect Na’Vi to dominate in This tournament.
Of course, we can’t share any information about the IEM Sydney 2023 favorites and not mention Vitality. The latter has been really good in 2023 and won a total of 3 big events. The most recent one is Gamers8 2023 in Riyadh, where the team defeated ENCE in the final.
Since we’ve already mentioned them, ENCE will be another team that fans will be eager to watch. After winning the IEM Dallas 2023, ENCE reached the finals of two consecutive tournaments. Sadly, the team was unable to defeat Vitality and G2 and is yet to win another big competition.
G2 Esports and FaZe Clan are also going to be interesting to follow because it’s been a while since we’ve seen them dominate. Actually, this is not entirely true because G2 defeated ENCE at IEM Cologne 2023 to win the trophy. However, FaZe Clan’s last big victory was in March when the team lifted the trophy at the ESL Pro League Season 17. Therefore, it needs to step up its game if it wants to be one of the best CS2 teams in the world.
Other teams
Besides the squads mentioned earlier, IEM Sydney 2023 will also consist of the following teams:
- Cloud9
- GamerLegion
- Fnatic
- Greyhound Gaming
- Apeks
- Monte
- BetBoom Team
- Lynn Vision Gaming
- VERTEX Esports Club
- Complexity Gaming
Conclusion
We already have access to the IEM Sydney 2023 schedule, so we can expect to see a lot of epic matches. Group A will kick off with games like Team Vitality vs BetBoom Team, whereas Group B will give us access to Could9 vs Fnatic and Greyhound vs G2 Esports. Don’t forget to follow us for more information about IEM Sydney and CS2.
