The 24 teams that will compete at Intel Extreme Masters Katowice from Feb. 15-27, 2022 have been announced. Sixteen of theses teams will go through a play-in stage that will allow them to advance to the group stage. The play-in teams are as follows:
- Ninjas in Pyjamas
- Astralis
- FaZe Clan
- GODSENT
- Extra Salt
- MIBR
- Renegades
- TYLOO
- BIG
- Entropiq
- OG
- Copenhagen Flames
- Fnatic
- ENCE
- MOUZ
- Wisła Kraków
The eight teams who will be waiting in the group stage are as follows:
- Natus Vincere
- Gambit Esports
- G2 Esports
- Team Vitality
- Heroic
- Virtus.pro
- FURIA Esports
- Team Liquid
Besides WisÅ‚a Kraków, who won the Polish National Championship, teams were invited to IEM Katowice through the amount of ESL Pro Tour circuit points they’ve accrued. Invitations were split by region with the exception of the final seven teams, who were simply the next highest rated on the EPT World Rankings regardless of their region. Natus Vincere top the World Rankings by a wide margin, more than 750 points above the No. 2 ranked Team Vitality.
The tournament begins with a double elimination bracket play-in stage, which runs from Feb. 15-16. Opening matches are best-of-one, while subsequent matches are best-of-three. The top-eight teams move on to the group stage, which runs from Feb. 17-20. Two double-elimination format groups will be formed with eight teams each. All matches are best-of-three and the top-three teams from each group advance to the playoffs. The single elimination playoffs will run from Feb. 25-27.
With the long absence of Tier 1 Counter-Strike through January and early February, IEM Katowice will mark a return to pro play for the teams. Moreover, many of the teams at the event will feature new rosters as organizations continue to alter their line-ups during the end-of-season transfer period.
IEM Katowice is an S-Tier masters event that kicks of the Intel Grand Slam. The winner of the tournament will receive $400,000 and 1800 EPT circuit points.
