IEM Katowice 2020 announced with $500,000 prize pool

ESL has revealed the first details about next year's IEM Katowice event, which will have $500,000 on offer.

The tournament will culminate with the playoffs held at the iconic Spodek Arena from February 28 through March 1, with the winner taking home the top prize of $250,000 and a point towards the Intel Grand Slam (IGS) Season 3.

IEM Katowice 2020 is the first of two Masters-level competitions that will be hosted as part of the ESL Pro Tour, a global circuit of ESL and DreamHack events that will have upwards of $5 million on offer. The other one will be ESL One Cologne, to be held in July.

Sixteen teams will be competing in Katowice, ten invited and six determined by regional qualifiers, with more details to come in the following weeks. The tournament will feature the same format that ESL has been using for its 16-team events, with two double-elimination groups and a six-team playoff bracket.

“Here in Katowice we do not only remember but also make esports history," said Michal Blicharz, Vice President of Pro Gaming at ESL. "This Intel Extreme Masters will be very special in that respect.

"When it first took place in 2013 it started the era of esports mega tournaments. Now, a new era starts for us with the first-ever Masters Championship of the ESL Pro Tour."

Astralis are the reigning IEM Katowice champions after winning the 2019 edition of the event - which marked ESL's first Major since 2016 - by beating ENCE in the final. That was the only tournament that the Danes won during season two of the Intel Grand Slam, which saw Liquid scoop the $1 million prize inside just 63 days.