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The world's first-ever professional CS2 LAN event will be underway on October 16, 2023, as 16 prominent Counter-Strike 2 teams convene in Sydney, Australia, to compete for the Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) Sydney 2023. Since CS2's official release on September 27, 2023, the top CS:GO teams have slowly been transitioning to the new title.
With a venerated tournament series like IEM being around the corner, fans can get a taste of tier-1 CS2 just weeks after the game's release.
If you're curious to know everything about IEM Sydney 2023, this article has you covered. Read on to learn about the tournament's format, schedule, participating teams, livestream links, and more details.
Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) IEM Sydney 2023: Format, teams, venue, and prize pool
Format
The 16 participating CS2 teams will be split into two groups of eight teams as they compete in the IEM Sydney 2023 Group Stage. Teams will then participate in a double-elimination bracket to determine the top three teams of each group. Winners of both groups will advance straight to the semifinals. The CS2 teams that finish second and third in their groups will head to the quarterfinals, with the former entering as high seeds and the latter as low seeds.
The IEM Sydney 2023 Playoffs will feature a single-elimination bracket comprising the top six CS2 teams from the Group Stage. The Grand Final, scheduled for October 22, 2023, will ultimately declare the winner of this majestic event.
The opening matches of the Group Stage will be held as Bo1s (best-of-one), while the matches that follow will be Bo3s (best-of-three). All matches of the Playoffs will be conducted as Bo3s.
Teams
The invited teams competing in IEM Sydney 2023 include six ESL partner teams, four teams based on the ESL World Rankings, and one local invited team. The remaining five slots were filled by the best CS2 teams from the regional qualifiers - two from Europe and one each from North America, Asia, and Oceania.
Here are the 16 Counter-Strike 2 teams that will compete at IEM Sydney 2023:
Group A
- Team Vitality
- BetBoom Team
- FaZe Clan
- GamerLegion
- Natus Vincere
- Apeks
- VERTEX ESC
- MOUZ
Group B
- ENCE
- Lynn Vision
- Cloud9
- fnatic
- Monte
- Complexity
- Grayhound
- G2 Esports
Venue
All matches of IEM Sydney 2023, including the Group Stage and Playoffs, will be held at Aware Super Theatre in Sydney, Australia.
Prize pool
IEM Sydney 2023 will see a prize pool of $250,000. The tournament's winning team is slated to receive $100,000 and a direct entry to IEM Katowice 2024. The complete breakdown of the prize pool can be seen below:
Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) IEM Sydney 2023: Playoffs schedule and live results
Day 4 - October 20, 2023 (Friday)
- BetBoom vs. Complexity (0-2): Anubis (6-13); Ancient (11-13)
- ENCE vs. FaZe (0-2): Nuke (5-13); Anubis (0-13)
Day 5 - October 21, 2023 (Saturday)
- G2 vs. Complexity (0-2): Anubis (8-13); Ancient (3-13)
- MOUZ vs. FaZe (0-2): Nuke (4-13); Vertigo (9-13)
Day 6 - October 22, 2023 (Sunday)
- Complexity vs FaZe (1-2): Overpass (13-11); Nuke (10-13); Ancient (16-19)
Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) IEM Sydney 2023: Group Stage schedule and live results
Note: Results will be updated after each matchday
The Group Stage schedule for IEM Sydney 2023 is as follows:
Day 1 - October 16, 2023 (Monday)
- Natus Vincere vs. Apeks (1-0): Mirage (13-9)
- MOUZ vs. VERTEX (1-0): Inferno (13-2)
- Vitality vs. BetBoom (0-1): Mirage (14-16)
- FaZe vs. GamerLegion (0-1): Nuke (15-19)
- ENCE vs. Lynn Vision (1-0): Anubis (13-6)
- fnatic vs. Cloud9 (1-0): Inferno (13-10)
- Monte vs. Complexity (0-1): Anubis (9-13)
- G2 vs. Grayhound (1-0): Nuke (13-11)
- Apeks vs. VERTEX (2-0): Mirage (13-5); Anubis (13-11)
- Natus Vincere vs. MOUZ (1-2): Mirage (13-16); Inferno (13-4); Ancient (6-13)
- BetBoom vs. GamerLegion (2-0): Mirage (13-11); Nuke (13-6)
- Vitality vs. FaZe: Overpass (16-14); Inferno (10-13); Nuke (9-13)
Day 2 - October 17, 2023 (Tuesday)
- Monte vs. Grayhound (2-0): Nuke (13-5); Anubis (13-11)
- Complexity vs. G2 (0-2): Anubis (7-13); Ancient (7-13)
- Lynn Vision vs. Cloud9 (0-2): Anubis (11-13); Ancient (8-13)
- ENCE vs. fnatic (2-1): Overpass (10-13); Anubis (13-10); Vertigo (13-10)
- Apeks vs. GamerLegion (0-2): Vertigo (8-13); Overpass (11-13)
- Natus Vincere vs. FaZe (1-2): Overpass (7-13); Mirage (13-4); Inferno (7-13)
Day 3 - October 18, 2023 (Wednesday)
- Monte vs. fnatic (2-1): Overpass (10-13); Anubis (13-4); Vertigo (13-6)
- Complexity vs. Cloud9 (2-1): Anubis (13-9); Ancient (6-13); Inferno (13-3)
- GamerLegion vs. FaZe (1-2): Ancient (11-13); Inferno (13-7); Nuke (6-13)
- MOUZ vs. BetBoom (2-1): Mirage (19-15); Ancient (7-13); Overpass (13-10)
- G2 vs. ENCE (2-0): Ancient (13-9); Vertigo (13-8)
- Monte vs. Complexity (0-2): Overpass (13-16); Ancient (13-16)
Where to watch Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) IEM Sydney 2023
Counter-Strike enthusiasts across the globe can watch the 2023 edition of IEM Sydney on ESL's official channels on Twitch and YouTube. Both platforms will have two simultaneous streams if match timings collide. Additionally, fans will have access to the watch parties of multiple notable streamers in various languages.
- IEM Sydney 2023 on Twitch: A steam and B stream
- IEM Sydney 2023 on YouTube: Watch here
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