Since 2013, the world’s top StarCraft II players have been gathering at Spodek Arena in Katowice, Poland, for the final event of the StarCraft II season, the IEM Katowice. As one of the most prestigious competitions in the SCII esports scene, the IEM Katowice is also a big hit in the online esports betting community, which explains why so many esports betting sites offer betting markets on the event.
But even though the IEM Katowice betting markets are readily available and anyone can bet on StarCraft II’s premier event, there are a few things any esports bettor should know about the tournament first. This article will teach you everything you need to know about StarCraft II betting and how you should approach placing bets on IEM Katowice.
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IEM Katowice Betting News
IEM Katowice SCII Tips
IEM Katowice Betting 2024
The Intel Extreme Masters Katowice is a major esports event across several esports titles, including Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, and particularly StarCraft II. While Dota 2 and CS2 both have other, more prestigious events in The International and Majors, respectively, the Intel Extreme Masters Katowice serves as the most important competition on StarCraft II’s schedule.
The SCIII IEM Katowice marks the final event of the ESL Pro Tour, which has been StarCraft II’s main professional circuit since 2020, when Blizzard announced the end of the World Championship Series (WCS).
The Intel Extreme Masters tournament for StarCraft II was hosted way before (first in 2015), but it wasn’t until the start of the decade that it became the most important event in the SCII esports ecosystem.
Welcoming the world’s top players from Europe, North America, South America and Asia, the IEM Katowice features the cream of the crop of the SCII esports scene who compete for the right to have their names carved into the coveted trophy and the lion’s share of the $500,000 prize pool.
While the history behind IEM Katowice is interesting, the tournament’s future is far more exciting. So keep reading to learn everything you need to know about the upcoming Intel Extreme Masters SCII tournament.
The Best IEM Katowice SCII Betting Sites
As one of the world’s biggest and most prestigious esports events, Intel Extreme Masters is extremely well-covered by all online betting sites, including esports bookmakers and most traditional bookmakers.
While the selection of SCII betting sites where you can place bets is vast, a few stand out as the best options for betting on IEM Katowice 2023:
Top esports betting sites
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#1
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Fast Payouts BetOnline50% matched deposit up to USD $5,000
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Visit BetOnline BetOnline Review |
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#2
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Live Betting Odds BovadaClaim a 50% deposit bonus up to the value of USD $250
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Visit Bovada Bovada Review |
IEM Katowice SCII Betting Odds 2024
Odds for IEM Katowice SCII are not available.
IEM Katowice SCII Groups
The 24 players participating in IEM Katowice will be separated into four groups of six.
IEM Katowice SCII Tournament Format
Intel Extreme Masters 2024 Katowice will use the standard SCII international tournament format, kicking off with Round of 36 in early February.
- Group Stage
- Four groups of six players
- Round-Robin format
- All matches are best-of-three (Bo3)
- Winner of each group advances to the quarterfinals
- Second and third place advance to Round of 12
- In the case of a tie, the ties are broken in the following order:
- Map difference
- Number of maps won
- Match wins between the tied players
- Map difference between the tied players
- Number of maps won between the tied players
- Tie break matches
- Coin toss
- Playoffs
- 12 players
- Single-elimination bracket
- All games besides the finals are best-of-five (Bo5)
- The finals are best-of-seven (Bo7)
IEM Katowice past winners and history
Spodek Arena in Katowice hosted its first StarCraft II event in 2013 (IEM Season VII – Katowice) as the third event of the Electronic Sports League (ESL) circuit, but it wasn’t until March 2014 that the Polish stadium hosted its first StarCraft World Championship.
Since 2014, Spodek Arena has become a regular stop for StarCtaft II’s season-culminating event, which has been historically dominated by South Korean players, winning every iteration besides the last two, which belonged to European SCII pros.
- 2014 – Kim “sOs” Yu-jin (Korea)
- 2015 – Joo “Zest” Sung-wook (Korea)
- 2016 – Choi “Polt” Seong-hun (Korea)
- 2017 – Jeon “TY” Tae-yang (Korea)
- 2018 – Lee “Rogue” Byeong-yeol (Korea)
- 2019 – Eo “soO” Yun-su (Korea)
- 2020 – Lee “Rogue” Byeong-yeol (Korea)
- 2021 – Riccardo “Reynor” Romiti (Italy)
- 2022 – Joona “Serral” Sotala (Finland)
- 2023 – Li “Oliveira” Peinan (China)
- 2024 – Joona “Serral” Sotala (Finland)
IEM Katowice SCII Prize Pool Distribution
The Intel Extreme Masters Katowice 2023 will feature a $500,000 prize pool distributed between 24 participating players.
| Place | Prizemoney ($USD) | EPT Global Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | $150,000 | 2000 |
| 2nd | $70,000 | 1200 |
| 3rd-4th | $40,000 | 650 |
| 5th-8th | $20,000 | 350 |
| 9th-12th | $10,000 | 225 |
| 13th-16th | $5,500 | 150 |
| 17th-20th | $4,000 | 100 |
| 21st-24th | $3,000 | 50 |
Where To Watch SCII Intel Extreme Masters Katowice 2024
StarCraft II’s season-culminating event will be streamed on YouTube, and Twitch, with four broadcasts, including the Main Stream, Stream B, Stream C and Stream D.
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