The big CS:GO has had a long break recently to return to our screens. This year, as it was in the previous one, February will be the start of CSGO tournaments: we will watch the IEM championships, dive into the league, and follow events at female CS:GO tournaments.
Get ready for the marathon of the competitive CS that will start with the biggest winter tournament – IEM Katowice 2023.
IEM Katowice 2023
The second month of 2023 will mark the start of IEM Katowice 2023. The titled Intel Extreme Masters tournament will return to the esports fold of Katowice and our screens.
The game rules have not changed: the best teams of the competitive CS:GO world will fight for the general prize pool of $1,000,000. The longtime Spodek Arena in Katowice will be the venue for the tournament.
Traditionally, the tournament will be divided into a few stages. The Polish CS:GO holiday will be opened by the teams from Play-In, there will be 16 of them in Katowice: OG, ENCE, BIG, Sprout, paiN Gaming, Evil Geniuses, Team Spirit, Ninjas in Pyjamas, Cloud9, Complexity Gaming, FURIA, MIBR, IHC Esports, Grayhound Gaming, Permitta Esports, and Fnatic.
The crowd company will compete for 8 slots in the group stage where they will be waited on by the teams, which have received a direct invitation from ESL. They include NAVI, FaZe Clan, Team Vitality, Outsiders, Heroic, Team Liquid, NAVI, Mouz, and G2 Esports.
The action will last till February 12. The winner of IEM Katowice 2023 will earn the main money prize of $400,000 and also become the first participant in IEM Cologne 2023.
ESL Impact Katowice 2023
Another important championship will be carried out simultaneously with the main February CS:GO holiday. The series of female CS:GO tournaments returns with ESL Impact Katowice 2023.
The main female CS:GO championship will be hosted on February 10-13. The championship will invite 6 teams to the International Congress Center.
Participants of the tournament will be fighting for the prize pool of $100,000. Besides the champions of ESL Impact League Season 1 and Season 2, Nigma Galaxy Female, the representatives of CLG Red, FURIA Esports Female, HSG, NAVI Javelins, 9 Pandas Fearless, Saits, and B4 Esports Female will play at the tournament.
ESL Pro League Season 17
ESL Pro League Season 17 will be the last one on the list but not the least important tournament in February. This year, the classic event will have a new cycle of development with updated rules.
The organizers of the tournament have increased the number of EPL participants to 32 teams, which is 6 more than in the previous season. Together with the expanded number of participants, a prize pool has also grown a bit: teams will now be fighting for $850,000, instead of $835,000 last year.
The best team of the season will earn the main money prize of $400,000 and, which is even more important, a slot in IEM Cologne 2023. The competition for the main prizes will be serious: the seeding of participants is already known.
Participants of ESL Pro League Season 17
Group А Outsiders, G2 Esports, Fnatic, Cloud9, IHC Esports, MIBR, Eternal Fire, Evil Geniuses Group В Movistar Riders, Heroic, BIG, SAW, MOUZ, Imperial Esports, FURIA, Complexity Group С FaZe Clan, Team Vitality, Ninjas in Pyjamas, OG, Grayhound Gaming, Rooster, 00NATION, and paiN Gaming Group D Natus Vincere, Team Liquid, Team Spirit, Astralis, forZe, ATK, ENCE, and Rare Atom ESL Pro League Season 17 will begin in Malta on February 22, however, we will find out the name of the winner in March. The name of the best team of EPL S17 will become known at the end of the month, on March 26.
February promises to become a nice aperitif for the full start of the new competitive CS:GO season. We will be watching CS:GO on different levels, in different formats and shapes, and the main thing is that we will be supporting our favorite teams, and keeping abreast of all the events.
Champion of Champions Tour
Let’s move forward on the calendar. Our next date is February 16.
The first tournament of the Champion of Champions Tour series starts on this date. CCT Central Europe Malta Finals will invite 8 teams, including ENCE, Copenhagen Flames, forZe, and Horonis, to the arena InterContinental Malta and propose them to compete for $100,000 of prize money.
Besides CS:GO in Central Europe, the organizers of CCT are going to connect with other regions. The tournaments CCT North Europe Series 3, CCT North America Series 3 и CCT West Europe Series 1, and CCT South America Series 4 are being prepared in February, and the last one will even feature a large offline event with the Brazilian public.