Intel Extreme Masters tournament series

The Intel Extreme Masters is perhaps the most respected and well-known series of eSports tournaments on the pro gaming calendar. Players from around the globe compete in a series of events scattered around the world, with tournaments taking place across the globe, events on nearly every continent, and an epic final in Poland.

Sponsored by Intel and organised and sanctioned by the Electronic Sports League (ESL), the Intel Extreme Masters covers all the biggest and best games on the pro gaming scene, including CS2 and Starcraft II.

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History of the Intel Extreme Masters

ESL first introduced the Intel Extreme Masters to the world in 2006 following a number of successful albeit smaller European tournaments. Intel, extremely pleased by the performance and fan interest of the events, sponsored the event’s expansion, leading to the creation of the “Extreme Masters” from what was initially individually-named events.

The very first Intel Extreme Masters took place in 2007, with smaller qualifying events leading into an epic final. This structure remains today, although the final has moved from the CeBIT trade show in Hanover, Germany, to Katowice in Poland.

Those beginning seasons were small and limited in scope: the only game being played back in 2008 was Counter Strike 1.6. As history would show, this quickly expanded to become a lineup of five before retracting back to the two main titles, Counter-Strike and Starcraft II.

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Intel Extreme Masters Events in 2025

Date	Event	Prize Pool USD$	Location
TBC	IEM Katowice CS2	$1,000,000	Katowice, Poland
TBC	IEM Katowice (Starcraft II)	$500,000	Katowice, Poland
TBC	IEM Spring	$250,000	Chengdu, China
TBC	IEM Summer	$250,000	Dallas, United States of America
TBC	IEM Cologne	$1,000,000	Cologne, Germany
TBC	IEM Fall	$250,000	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

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Intel Extreme Masters Games

The Intel Extreme Masters has experimented with a number of different games throughout the years. Counter-Strike 1.6 was used in the tournament’s early years, while both Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos and Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne lasted for three years from the event’s inception. Quake Live managed to last two seasons before essentially falling off the eSports map, replaced by the likes of StarCraft II, League of Legends and Overwatch.

These are the games that have been played during each season of the Intel Extreme Masters:

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Format of the Intel Extreme Masters

The Intel Extreme Masters relies on a qualifying season by which teams compete in an offline environment. Qualifiers tend to move around the globe, with the most recent 2023 qualifiers held in Rio de Janeiro, Dallas and Sydney.

Teams that qualify from these rounds are placed into the finals, where two groups of six teams are made, with the top two advancing to the grand final. The first placed team of each group will go directly to the semifinals, while second and third place go into the knock-out quarter finals.

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Intel Extreme Masters Prize Money

The prize money on offer for the Intel Extreme Masters has fluctuated, but it still remains one of the most lucrative events on the pro gaming calendar. The current season offers a US$2.75 million prize pool in total, with both the IEM Katowice and IEM Cologne events having a prize pool of US$1,000,000.

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Top Intel Extreme Masters earning players

• Joona “Serral” Sotala (StarCraft II) | US$427,300
• Nikola “NiKo” Kovac (Counter-Strike) | US$401,400
• Havard “rain” Nygaard (Counter-Strike) | US$382,950
• Finn “karrigan” Andersen (Counter-Strike) | US$370,286
• Byung “Rogue” Ryul Lee (Starcraft II) | US$365,700

Top Intel Extreme Masters earning teams

• FaZe Clan | US$1,996,000
• Natus Vincere | US$1,734,200
• G2 Esports | US$1,690,500
• Astralis | US$1,614,750
• Team Vitality | US$1,167,750