Intel Extreme Masters

The Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) is a series of international esports tournaments held in countries around the world. These Electronic Sports League (ESL) sanctioned events, sponsored by Intel, as of 2022 currently host events in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and StarCraft II. Other game titles were hosted in the past.[1] The body that owns the league is Turtle Entertainment. The League has operated 16 seasons as of 2022. The season finals, with the largest prize pool, takes place in Katowice, Poland.[1] Mid-season events are held in numerous cities around the globe, including Chicago, Shanghai and Sydney.[1]

Intel Extreme Masters
Logo since 2019
SportEsports
Counter-Strike
StarCraft II
Founded2007
CountryWorldwide
Most recent
champion(s)		Counter-Strike: Team Vitality (Fall 2021)
StarCraft II: Lee "Rogue" Byung Yeol
Most titlesCounter-Strike: Fnatic
Sponsor(s)Intel, Acer Predator, GG.bet, Paysafecard, DHL, MTN Dew AMP Game Fuel
Official websitewww.intelextrememasters.com

History
Intel Extreme Masters Katowice 2013

The Intel Extreme Masters are a product of the ESL. In 2006, when the Intel sponsored European tournament saw room for expansion outside of Europe, especially in North American markets, Intel provided funds for a worldwide tournament, billing it as the Intel Extreme Masters.[2] In 2007, when established, the IEM established a format of many smaller qualifying events, leading up to a large final event that is held at CeBIT. All of the Grand Finals have been held at CeBIT. Starting in 2008, the Tournament was billed as being worldwide, boasting participants from Europe, North America, and Asia.[2] Although Counterstrike 1.6 was the only game offered in the first season, the variety of games has increased greatly, to the four that were offered during Season 5. World of Warcraft was offered during Season 4, but was dropped for Season 5. The Season 5 Finals will be held at CeBIT and will included a US$130,000 prize pool.[3]

Games offered in Intel Extreme Masters: Counter-Strike (Seasons 1–6), Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos and Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne (Seasons 1–2, 3: Asian Championship Finals — CS1.6 and Asian Championship Finals — WoW, 4: Global Challenge Chengdu, 5: Global Challenge Shanghai), World of Warcraft (Seasons 2: Global Challenge Dreamhack, 3–4), Quake Live (Seasons 4–5), StarCraft II (Seasons 5–6), League of Legends (LoL) (Seasons 5: World Championship (LoL Invitational), 6)

IEM seasons

Season I

(Finals: 15–18 March 2007 at CeBIT 2007)

Season II

(Finals: 6–9 March 2008 at CeBIT 2008)

Fan Expo at Intel Extreme Masters Toronto 2014

Season III

(World Championship(Finals): 3–8 March 2009 at CeBIT 2009)

  • Global Challenge Games Convention:
    • World of Warcraft: Germany's Nihilum Plasma
  • Global Challenge Los Angeles:
    • Counter-Strike: Sweden's SK Gaming
    • World of Warcraft: Spain's x6tence
  • Global Challenge Montreal:[4]
  • Global Challenge Dubai:
  • Asian Championshiphttp: — WoW:[5]
  • European Championship:
    • Counter-Strike: Denmark's mTw
    • World of Warcraft: Bulgaria's iNNERFiRE
  • American Championship:
    • Counter-Strike: Brazil's Made in Brazil
    • World of Warcraft: the United States's Trade Chat
  • Asian Championship: CS1.6:[6]
  • World Championship:
    • Counter-Strike: Sweden's fnatic
    • World of Warcraft: Korea's H O N

Season IV

(World Championship(Finals): 2–6 March 2010 at CeBIT 2010)

  • Global Challenge Gamescom:[7]
    • Counter-Strike: Germany's Mousesports
    • Quake Live: the United States's Shane "rapha" Hendrixson
    • World of Warcraft: the United Arab Emirates's Ensidia
  • Global Challenge Chengdu:[8]
  • Global Challenge Dubai:
    • Counter-Strike: Sweden's Fnatic
    • Quake Live: the United States's Shane "rapha" Hendrixson
  • European Championship:
  • American Championship:
    • Counter Strike: the United States's compLexity
    • Quake Live: the United States's Tim "DaHanG" Fogarty
    • World of Warcraft: the United States's compLexity Black
  • Asian Championship:
    • Counter Strike: Korea's WeMade FOX
    • Quake Live: China's Fan "Jibo" Zhibo
    • World of Warcraft: Korea's Button Bashers
  • World Championship:

Season V

(World Championship(Finals): 1–5 March 2011 at CeBIT 2011)

  • Global Challenge Shanghai:
    • Counter-Strike: Sweden's fnatic
    • Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne: Korea's June "Lyn" Park
    • DotA: China's: EHOME
  • Global Challenge Cologne:
    • StarCraft II: Sweden's Stefan "MorroW" Andersson — Mousesports
    • Quake Live: Germany's k1llsen
  • American Championship:
  • European Championship:
    • Counter-Strike: Sweden's fnatic
    • Quake Live: Russia's Anton "Cooller" Singov
    • StarCraft II: Sweden's Jeffrey "SjoW" Brusi — Team Dignitas
  • World Championship:

Season VI

(World Championship(Finals): 6–10 March 2012 at CeBIT 2012)

Season VII
  • Global Challenge Gamescom:
    • LoL: Russia's Moscow Five
    • StarCraft II: Korea's Jung "Mvp" Jong-Hyun — Incredible Miracle
  • Global Challenge Singapore(originally in Guangzhou):
    • LoL: the European Union's MeetYourMakers
    • StarCraft II: Korea's Ju "Sting" Hoon — Western Wolves
  • Global Challenge Cologne:
  • Global Challenge Katowice:
    • LoL: Russia's Gambit Gaming (ex-M5)
    • StarCraft II: Korea's Kang "First" Hyun-Woo — Incredible Miracle
  • Global Challenge Brazil:
    • LoL: Korea's Incredible Miracle
  • World Championship:[9]
    • LoL: Korea's CJ Entus Blaze
    • StarCraft II: Korea's Choi "YoDa" Byung-Hyun — Incredible Miracle

Season VIII
Intel Extreme Masters Season VIII
Event Dates Game Winner Runner-up Ref
Shanghai 25–28 July 2013 League of Legends Team WE Invictus Gaming [10]
StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm Revival Oz
New York 10–13 October 2013 StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm Life NaNiwa [11]
Cologne 23–24 November 2013 League of Legends (Pro) Gambit Gaming Fnatic [12]
League of Legends (Amateur) Copenhagen Wolves Ninjas in Pyjamas
Singapore 28 November – 1 December 2013 League of Legends Invictus Gaming CJ Entus Frost [13]
StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm herO san
São Paulo 28 January – 1 February 2014 League of Legends Millenium paiN Gaming [14]
StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm herO MC
Cologne 13–16 February 2014 StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm HerO Polt [15]
World Championship
Katowice		 13–16 March 2014
Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft Gnimsh Artosis [16]
League of Legends KT Rolster Bullets Fnatic
StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm sOs herO

Season IX
Main article: Intel Extreme Masters Season IX
Intel Extreme Masters Season IX
Event Dates Game Winner Runner-up Ref
Shenzhen 16–20 July 2014 Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft Amaz Azeri [17]
League of Legends Team WE EDward Gaming
StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm TaeJa Solar
Toronto 28–31 August 2014 StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm Flash Zest [18]
San Jose 6–7 December 2014 League of Legends Cloud9 Unicorns of Love [19]
StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm herO Rain
Cologne 18–21 December 2014 League of Legends Gambit Gaming Counter Logic Gaming [20]
Taipei 28 January – 1 February 2015 League of Legends yoe Flash Wolves Taipei Assassins [21]
StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm Life Maru
World Championship
Katowice		 12–15 March 2015 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Fnatic Ninjas in Pyjamas [22]
League of Legends Team SoloMid Team WE
StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm Zest Trap

Season X
Intel Extreme Masters Season X
Event Dates Game Winner Runner-up Ref
Shenzhen 16–20 July 2015 Heroes of the Storm MVP Black Virtus.pro [23]
StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm Classic PartinG
Gamescom 5–9 August 2015 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Team EnVyUs Team SoloMid [24]
StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm INnoVation soO
San Jose 21–22 November 2015 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Natus Vincere Team SoloMid [25]
League of Legends Origen Counter Logic Gaming
Cologne 18–20 December 2015 League of Legends ESC Ever Qiao Gu Reapers [26]
Taipei 29 January – 2 February 2016 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive The MongolZ Renegades [27]
StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void sOs ByuN
World Championship
Katowice		 4–6 March 2016 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Fnatic Luminosity Gaming [28]
League of Legends SK Telecom T1 Fnatic
StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void Polt Snute

Season XI
Intel Extreme Masters Season XI[29]
Event Dates Game Winner Runner-up Ref
Shanghai 28–31 July 2016 StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void uThermal Neeb [30]
Oakland 19–20 November 2016 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Ninjas in Pyjamas SK Gaming [31]
League of Legends Unicorns Of Love Flash Wolves
Gyeonggi 17–18 December 2016 League of Legends Samsung Galaxy Kongdoo Monster [32]
Overwatch LuxuryWatch Red Lunatic-Hai
StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void INnoVation Stats
World Championship
Katowice		 25–26 February & 3–5 March 2017 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Astralis FaZe Clan [33]
League of Legends Flash Wolves G2 Esports
StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void TY Stats

Season XII
See also: Intel Extreme Masters Season XII – Oakland
Intel Extreme Masters Season XII[34]
Venue Dates Game Champions Runners-up
Qudos Bank Arena — Sydney, Australia[35] 6–7 May 2017 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive SK Gaming FaZe Clan
SNIEC — Shanghai, China[36] 27–30 July 2017 Starcraft 2 Rogue herO
Oracle Arena — Oakland, United States[37] 18–19 November 2017 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Ninjas in Pyjamas FaZe Clan
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds *aAa* Gaming Tempo Storm
2018 PyeongChang — PyeongChang, South Korea 5–7 February 2018 Starcraft 2 Scarlett sOs
Spodek Arena — Katowice, Poland[38] 2–4 March 2018 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Fnatic FaZe Clan
Starcraft 2 Rogue Classic

Season XIII
See also: Intel Extreme Masters Season XIII – World Championship and Intel Extreme Masters Season XIII – Katowice Major 2019

Season XIV
Intel Extreme Masters Season XIV
Event Venue Dates Game Champion Runner-Up
Sydney Qudos Bank Arena 29 April – 5 May 2019 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Team Liquid Fnatic
Chicago United Center 18 – 21 July 2019 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Team Liquid ENCE
Beijing Beijing University Students' Stadium 7 – 10 November 2019 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Astralis 100 Thieves
World Championship Spodek, Katowice 24 February – 1 March 2020 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Natus Vincere G2 Esports

Season XV
Intel Extreme Masters Season XV
Event Venue Dates Game Champion Runner-Up
Global Challenge
Online
 15 – 20 December 2020 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Astralis Team Liquid
World Championship 16 – 28 February 2021 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Gambit Esports Virtus.pro
Melbourne 17 – 22 August 2021 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
Cancelled

Season XVI
Intel Extreme Masters Season XVI
Event Dates Game Champion Runner-Up
Summer 3 – 13 June 2021 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Gambit Esports OG
Cologne 6 – 18 July 2021 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Natus Vincere G2 Esports
Winter 2 – 12 December 2021 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Team Vitality Ninjas in Pyjamas
Katowice 15 – 22 February 2022 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive FaZe Clan G2 Esports

Format

IEM utilizes a fair number of offline qualifiers. During Season 5, qualifiers were held for North America, Europe, and Southeast Asia regions.[39] Those who qualify for the finals are placed into two groups of six, of which the top two advance. The first place member of each group goes directly to the semifinals, and the second and third place members go into the quarterfinals.[40]

Organisation

The Intel Extreme Masters are run by the ESL which is owned by Turtle Entertainment GmbH. Turtle Entertainment is based in Cologne, Germany.

  • Spectators at IEM 2013 Katowice
  • Crowd at IEM 2014 Toronto
  • Katowice, Poland 2013
  • Katowice, Poland 2013
  • Katowice, Poland 2013

See also

References
  1. "Legacy - Intel Extreme Masters". www.intelextrememasters.com. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  2. "INTEL极限大师赛亚洲总决赛落户成都". Sina. 11 September 2008. Retrieved 2 March 2011.
  3. "CeBIT 2011: Finale der Intel Extreme Masters". 1 March 2011. Retrieved 2 March 2011.
  4. "Season 3: Montreal: Main — Global Challenge Montreal — Season III — Intel Extreme Masters — ESL". ESL-World.net. 20 October 2008. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  5. "Microsite Continental Finals Asia WoW — Continental Finals Asia WoW — Season III — Intel Extreme Masters — ESL". ESL-World.net. 16 November 2008. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  6. "Continental Finals Asia CS — Continental Finals Asia CS — Season III — Intel Extreme Masters — ESL". ESL-World.net. 19 January 2009. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  7. "ESL World: GamesCom 09 — GamesCom 09 — Season IV — Intel Extreme Masters — ESL". ESL-World.net. 23 July 2012. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  8. "ESL World: Chengdu — Chengdu — Season IV — Intel Extreme Masters — ESL". ESL-World.net. 3 October 2009. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  9. "ESL World: CJ Entus Blaze and YoDa are the new World Champions — News — World Championship — Season 7 — Intel Extreme Masters — ESL". ESL-World.net. 9 March 2013. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  10. "Shanghai". Intel Extreme Masters. Turtle Entertainment. Archived from the original on 29 January 2014. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  11. "New York". Intel Extreme Masters. Turtle Entertainment. Archived from the original on 4 February 2014. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  12. "Cologne". Intel Extreme Masters. Turtle Entertainment. Archived from the original on 21 December 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  13. "Singapore". Intel Extreme Masters. Turtle Entertainment. Archived from the original on 20 January 2014. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  14. "São Paulo". Intel Extreme Masters. Turtle Entertainment. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  15. "Cologne". Intel Extreme Masters. Turtle Entertainment. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  16. "World Championship". Intel Extreme Masters. Turtle Entertainment. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
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  18. "Toronto Tournament & Bracket". Intel Extreme Masters. Turtle Entertainment. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  19. "San Jose Tournament & Bracket". Intel Extreme Masters. Turtle Entertainment. Archived from the original on 27 November 2016. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
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  27. "Taipei Standings". Intel Extreme Masters. Turtle Entertainment. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  28. "World Championship Katowice Standings". Intel Extreme Masters. Turtle Entertainment. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  29. "Intel Extreme Masters Season 11 breaks the one million dollar barrier!". Intel Extreme Masters. Turtle Entertainment. 11 May 2016. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  30. "Shanghai Standings". Intel Extreme Masters. Turtle Entertainment. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  31. "Oakland Standings". Intel Extreme Masters. Turtle Entertainment. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  32. "Gyeonggi Standings". Intel Extreme Masters. Turtle Entertainment. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  33. "Katowice Standings". Intel Extreme Masters. Turtle Entertainment. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  34. ESL. "Intel Extreme Masters". en.intelextrememasters.com. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  35. ESL. "Intel Extreme Masters". en.intelextrememasters.com. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  36. ESL. "Intel Extreme Masters 2017 – Shanghai | Intel Extreme Masters". en.intelextrememasters.com. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  37. ESL. "Intel Extreme Masters 2017 – Oakland | Intel Extreme Masters". en.intelextrememasters.com. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  38. ESL. "Intel Extreme Masters 2017 – Katowice | Intel Extreme Masters". en.intelextrememasters.com. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  39. "Intel Extreme Masters 5: европейский финал киберспортивного чемпионата стартовал в Киеве". THG.ru (in Russian). 21 January 2011. Retrieved 2 March 2011.
  40. "ESL World: Main". ESL-World.com. Retrieved 2 March 2011.
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