The Intel Extreme Masters Season XIII – Katowice Major 2019, also known as IEM Katowice Major 2019 or Katowice 2019, was the fourteenth Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Major Championship and the world championship for the thirteenth season of the Intel Extreme Masters. It was held in Katowice, Silesian Voivodeship, Poland from February 13 – March 3, 2019.[1] Fourteen teams would qualify for the IEM Katowice Major 2019 based on their top fourteen placements from the last Major, the FACEIT Major: London 2018, while another ten teams would qualify from their respective regional qualifiers.[2] The top eight teams from the London Major ("Legends") received a bye to the second phase of the group stage while the other sixteen teams ("Challengers") had to go through the first and second group stages in order to reach the playoffs. It featured a US$1,000,000 prize pool, the seventh consecutive Major with that prize pool.[3][4] It was hosted by ESL, their first Major since 2016. This event was the start of the second season of the Intel Grand Slam.
| 2019 | |
 The Intel Extreme Masters logo | |
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Sport | Counter-Strike: Global Offensive |
| Location | Katowice, Silesian Voivodeship, Poland |
| Dates | February 13–March 3, 2019 |
| Administrator | Valve ESL |
Tournament format(s) | Two 16 team swiss-system group stages
8 team single-elimination playoff |
| Venue | ESL Arena Katowice MCK [pl] Spodek |
| Teams | 24 teams |
| Purse | $1,000,000 USD |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Astralis (3rd title) |
| 1st runners-up | ENCE |
| 2nd runners-up | MIBR Natus Vincere |
| MVP | Emil "Magisk" Reif |
Astralis, Team Liquid, MIBR, Natus Vincere, and FaZe Clan were incoming Legends who retained that status, while BIG, HellRaisers, and compLexity Gaming were knocked out in the New Legends stage. Renegades, Ninjas in Pyjamas, and ENCE advanced to the playoff stage to become Legends for the following Major.
The grand finals featured the world's number one team Astralis, which defeated Ninjas in Pyjamas and MIBR in the playoffs, and the underdog ENCE, which defeated the world's number two in Team Liquid and the world's number three in Natus Vincere. Astralis swept ENCE in two maps to take its third Major title and tie Fnatic for most Majors titles. In addition, Astralis became just the third team after Fnatic and the Brazilian roster of Luminosity Gaming and SK Gaming to win consecutive Majors.
Background
editCounter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) is a multiplayer first-person shooter video game developed by Hidden Path Entertainment and Valve. It is the fourth game in the Counter-Strike series. In professional CS:GO, the Valve-sponsored Majors are the most prestigious tournaments.[5][6]
The defending champions were Astralis, after winning their second championship at the FACEIT Major: London 2018. At the time, Fnatic had the most Major titles, with three.
Format
editThe Major cycle began with four Minors, or regional qualifiers: Americas, Asia, CIS, and Europe. Two teams from each qualifier moved on to the Major. In addition, because Valve reduced the number of direct Major invites from sixteen to fourteen, the third-place teams at each respective Minor advanced to a third-place qualifier to send two more teams to the Major.
The Major featured twenty-four teams. The top eight teams from the FACEIT Major: London 2018 were the Legends, and the remaining sixteen teams—the teams that placed ninth through fourteenth at the FACEIT Major and the ten teams that advanced from the Minors—were known as Challengers.
The Major was split into three stages. The first stage was the New Challengers stage, featuring all Challengers in a Swiss-system tournament: the top eight teams advanced to the next stage and the bottom eight teams were eliminated. The second stage is the New Legends stage, a second Swiss-system group stage. This stage featured the eight Legends from the London Major and the eight teams advancing from the New Challengers stage. Like the New Challengers stage, the New Legends stage also advanced the top eight teams and eliminated the bottom eight teams. All teams from this stage except the bottom two teams earned automatic invites to the following Major. The final stage was the New Champions stage, and teams that advanced to this stage received Legends status at the following Major. This stage featured an eight team, best-of-three, single elimination bracket.[7][8]
ESL announced changes for this Major in the New Challengers and the New Legends stages. Rather than only featuring best-of-threes in the fifth round of the group stages, ESL announced that any progression or elimination matches would feature a best-of-three series. Therefore, the high and low matches of round three and all matches in rounds four and five were best-of-three. ESL also made changes to the seeding protocol. Instead of having seeding determined by placement at the last Major and the Minors, each team in the Swiss-system stages ranked the other 15 teams in the stage; the rankings were then aggregated to create the final seeding for the first round of each Swiss-system stage.[9] ESL also moved away from FACEIT's Buchholz system and instead used an Elo rating system. Teams were assigned Elo ratings that matched their seeding and the rating changed after every win or loss, with the winner taking some of the loser's points. Each team's Elo rating was used to determine all matchups after the first round, instead of the random draws of previous Majors.[10][11]
Map Pool
editThe map pool remained the same as the previous Major.[12]
|
Minors
editEach regional qualifier, called "Minors", featured eight teams. Each Minor also had a US$50,000 prize pool, with first place receiving US$30,000, second place taking in US$15,000, and third place raking in the last US$5,000. Unlike past Minors, no teams was directly invited to the Minors.[13] All Minors take place in Katowice to avoid visa issues, just like the FACEIT Major approach.[14]
Each Minor's format was similar to past Minors, but with a couple small changes. The group stages would be a GSL, double elimination format with each group featuring four teams. The opening matches would be a best of one. A new change came along with the winner's set being a best of three instead of the usual best of one. The loser's and decider's matches would also be best of three sets. The top two teams in each group would move on to a four team, best of three, double elimination bracket. The top two teams would move on to the Major. In addition, the Minor finals that used to determine seeding would be eliminated; instead, the winner of the winner's match would be the first seed going into the New Challengers stage and the winner of the loser's match would be the second seed.[15]
CIS Minor
editThe CIS Minor qualifier featured sixteen teams. Winstrike Team was automatically invited based on its top sixteen placement at the FACEIT Major and another seven teams were invited. Eight more teams qualified through four online qualifiers. The qualifier will have a sixteen team, double elimination bracket and teams will play until eight teams qualified CIS Minor.
The CIS Minor took place from January 16 to 20, 2019.[16]
|
| Upper round 1 | Upper final | Qualified | |||||||||||
| A1 | Team Spirit | 0 | |||||||||||
| B2 | AVANGAR | 2 | |||||||||||
| B2 | AVANGAR | 2 | |||||||||||
| B1 | Winstrike Team | 1 | |||||||||||
| B1 | Winstrike Team | 2 | |||||||||||
| A2 | Gambit Esports | 1 | |||||||||||
| B2 | AVANGAR | ||||||||||||
| A1 | Team Spirit | ||||||||||||
| Lower round 1 | Lower final | ||||||||||||
| B1 | Winstrike Team | 1 | |||||||||||
| A1 | Team Spirit | 2 | A1 | Team Spirit | 2 | ||||||||
| A2 | Gambit Esports | 0 | |||||||||||
Europe Minor
editThe Europe Minor qualifier featured sixteen teams. mousesports were automatically invited based on their top sixteen placement at the FACEIT Major and another seven teams were invited. Eight more teams qualified through four online qualifiers. The qualifier had a sixteen team, double elimination bracket and teams played until eight teams qualified for the Europe Minor.
The Europe Minor took place from January 16 to 20, 2019. ENCE and Team Vitality[17] qualified for the main qualifier.
|
| Upper round 1 | Upper final | Qualified | |||||||||||
| A1 | Team Vitality | 0 | |||||||||||
| B2 | North | 2 | |||||||||||
| B2 | North | 0 | |||||||||||
| B1 | ENCE | 2 | |||||||||||
| B1 | ENCE | 2 | |||||||||||
| A2 | Valiance | 1 | |||||||||||
| B1 | ENCE | ||||||||||||
| A1 | Team Vitality | ||||||||||||
| Lower round 1 | Lower final | ||||||||||||
| B2 | North | 1 | |||||||||||
| A1 | Team Vitality | 2 | A1 | Team Vitality | 2 | ||||||||
| A2 | Valiance | 1 | |||||||||||
Asia Minor
editThe Asia Minor featured two teams from Oceania, two teams from China, two teams from East Asia, one team from Southeast Asia, and one team from the Middle East. Each qualifier featured four invited teams and another four teams through two online qualifiers. Each qualifier consist of an eight team, double elimination, best of three bracket. MVP PK was the first team to qualify for any Katowice 2019 Minor after defeating compatriot GOSU and Renegades rounded up the Asia Minor lineup after defeating Tainted Minds.
The Asia Minor will take place from January 22 to 26, 2019.[18]
|
| Upper round 1 | Upper final | Qualified | |||||||||||
| A1 | Renegades | 2 | |||||||||||
| B2 | ViCi Gaming | 1 | |||||||||||
| A1 | Renegades | 2 | |||||||||||
| A2 | Grayhound G. | 1 | |||||||||||
| B1 | MVP PK | 1 | |||||||||||
| A2 | Grayhound G. | 2 | |||||||||||
| A1 | Renegades | ||||||||||||
| A2 | Grayhound G. | ||||||||||||
| Lower round 1 | Lower final | ||||||||||||
| A2 | Grayhound G. | 2 | |||||||||||
| B2 | ViCi Gaming | 2 | B2 | ViCi Gaming | 1 | ||||||||
| B1 | MVP PK | 0 | |||||||||||
Americas Minor
editThe Americas Minor featured two qualifiers, one from North America and one from South America. The North America qualifier featured sixteen teams. Eight teams were invited and another eight teams qualified through four online qualifiers. The qualifier would have a sixteen team, double elimination bracket and teams would play until six teams qualified for the Americas Minor. The South America qualifier featured eight teams. Four teams were invited and another four teams qualified through two online qualifiers. This qualifier have an eight team, double elimination, best of three bracket. Teams would play until two teams qualified for the Minor.
The Americas Minor took place from January 22 to 26, 2019, the same dates as the Asia Minor.[19]
|
| Upper round 1 | Upper final | Qualified | |||||||||||
| A1 | NRG Esports | 2 | |||||||||||
| B2 | Team Envy | 0 | |||||||||||
| A1 | NRG Esports | 2 | |||||||||||
| B1 | FURIA Esports | 0 | |||||||||||
| B1 | FURIA Esports | 2 | |||||||||||
| A2 | INTZ eSports | 1 | |||||||||||
| A1 | NRG Esports | ||||||||||||
| B1 | FURIA Esports | ||||||||||||
| Lower round 1 | Lower final | ||||||||||||
| B1 | FURIA Esports | 2 | |||||||||||
| B2 | Team Envy | 2 | B2 | Team Envy | 0 | ||||||||
| A2 | INTZ eSports | 1 | |||||||||||
Minor play-in
editThis qualifier featured the teams that placed third in their respective Minors. This phase was a four team, best of three, double elimination bracket. The opening matches were the Asia Minor representative against the Europe Minor representative and the CIS Minor team versus the Americans Minor team.[15]
The Minor play-in took place on January 27, 2019.[20]
|
| Upper round 1 | Upper final | Qualified | |||||||||||
| AS | ViCi Gaming | 1 | |||||||||||
| EU | North | 0 | |||||||||||
| AS | ViCi Gaming | 0 | |||||||||||
| CIS | Winstrike Team | 1 | |||||||||||
| CIS | Winstrike Team | 1 | |||||||||||
| AM | Team Envy | 0 | |||||||||||
| CIS | Winstrike Team | ||||||||||||
| AS | ViCi Gaming | ||||||||||||
| Lower round 1 | Lower final | ||||||||||||
| AS | ViCi Gaming | 2 | |||||||||||
| EU | North | 2 | EU | North | 0 | ||||||||
| AM | Team Envy | 0 | |||||||||||
Broadcast talent
editThe Major was streamed in various languages across Twitch. It was also streamed on ESL's YouTube channel, Steam.tv, and on CS:GO's in-game viewing client GOTV.[21]
Desk hosts
- Alex "Machine" Richardson
- Tres "stunna" Saranthus
Stage host
- OJ Borg
Reporter
- Frankie Ward
Commentators
- Henry "HenryG" Greer
- Vince Hill
- Jason "moses" O'Toole
- Matthew "Sadokist" Trivett
Analysts
- Chad "SPUNJ" Burchill
- Sean "seang@res" Gares
- Jacob "Pimp" Winneche
Observers
- Connor "Sliggy" Blomfield
- Heather "sapphiRe" Garozzo
- David "Prius" Kuntz
- Alex "Rushly" Rush
Teams competing
edit
|
|
|
Pre-Major ranking
editHLTV.org rank teams based on results of teams' performances. The rankings shown below reflect the February 11, 2019 rankings.[22]
Teams that were in the top 30 but failed to qualify for the major include North (#7, Denmark), mousesports (#10, Europe), Ghost Gaming (#16, United States), Valiance (#20, Serbia), 3DMAX (#24, France), Heroic (#25, Denmark), forZe (#26, Russia), Luminosity Gaming (#27, Brazil), Sprout Esports (#29, Germany), and x6tence Galaxy (#30, Sweden).
| World ranking | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Place | Team | Points | Move1 | Peak2 | Low2 | Best Major placing3 | Best achievements2 |
| 1 | Astralis | 933 | 
|
1 | 1 | 1st at Atlanta 2017 1st at London 2018 |
IEM Chicago 2018 winner ECS Season 6 winner ESL Pro League Season 8 winner |
| 2 | Team Liquid | 576 |  1
|
2 | 3 | 2nd at Cologne 2016 | IEM Chicago 2018 runner-up ESL One New York runner-up ESL Pro League Season 8 runner-up |
| 3 | Natus Vincere | 384 |  1
|
2 | 3 | 2nd at Cluj-Napoca 2015 2nd at Columbus 2016 2nd at London 2018 |
BLAST Copenhagen winner EPICENTER 2018 runner-up |
| 4 | FaZe Clan | 4327 | 1
|
4 | 8 | 2nd at Boston 2018 | EPICENTER 2018 winner 3rd at IEM Chicago 2018 ELEAGUE Invitational 2019 winner |
| 5 | NRG Esports | 265 |
|
5 | 10 | 1st at Katowice 2019 Americas Minor | cs_summit 3 winner 3rd at ESL One New York 2018 3rd at SL iL Season 6 |
| 6 | Fnatic | 265 |
|
5 | 26 | 1st at Winter 2013 1st at Katowice 2015 1st Cologne 2015 |
PLG Grand Slam 2018 winner 3rd at IEM Chicago 2018 |
| 8 | Cloud9 | 208 | 13
|
7 | 29 | 1st at Boston 2018 | 3rd at BLAST Lisbon 2018 ELEAGUE Invitational 2019 runner-up |
| 9 | MIBR | 187 | 5
|
4 | 9 | 1st at Columbus 2016 1st at Cologne 2016 |
ECS Season 6 runner-up BLAST Istanbul 2018 runner-up |
| 11 | ENCE | 182 | 6
|
10 | 20 | 1st at Katowice 2019 Europe Minor | DreamHack Winter 2018 winner SL iL Season 6 winner |
| 12 | BIG | 178 | 4
|
7 | 15 | 5th at Kraków 2017 5th at London 2018 |
5th at SL iL Season 6 3rd at cs_summit 3 |
| 13 | Renegades | 166 | 10
|
11 | 30 | 9th at Cologne 2015 | 5th at SL iL Season 6 3rd at Toyota Masters Bangkok 2018 |
| 14 | Ninjas in Pyjamas | 163 | 5
|
6 | 14 | 1st at Cologne 2014 | BLAST Copenhagen runner-up 5th at EPICENTER 2018 |
| 15 | Team Vitality | 162 | N/A | 14 | 45 | 2nd at Katowice 2019 Europe Minor | DreamHack Atlanta 2018 winner |
| 17 | Team Spirit | 115 | 17
|
17 | 56 | 17th at London 2018 | 5th at WePlay! Lock and Load |
| 18 | AVANGAR | 114 | 15
|
15 | 31 | 17th at Boston 2018 | 3rd at EPICENTER 2018 Qi Invitational runner-up |
| 19 | G2 Esports | 109 | 4
|
4 | 25 | 5th at Boston 2018 | 5th at ESL One New York 2018 7th at ESL Pro League Season 8 |
| 21 | HellRaisers | 101 | 11
|
10 | 21 | 5th at London 2018 | 5th at EPICENTER 2018 |
| 22 | Grayhound Gaming | 82 | 23
|
22 | 68 | 2nd at Katowice 2019 Asia Minor | 3rd at ESEA Season 29 9th at PLG Grand Slam |
| 23 | FURIA Esports | 80 | 56
|
21 | 85 | 2nd at Katowice 2018 Americas Minor | 5th at WePlay! Lock and Load |
| 28 | Winstrike Team | 178 | 276
|
27 | 304 | 1st at Katowice 2019 play-in | 9th at WePlay! Lock and Load |
| 35 | ViCi Gaming | – | 110
|
35 | 145 | 2nd at Katowice 2019 play-in | 13th at ESL Pro League Season 8 |
| 39 | compLexity Gaming | – | 18
|
11 | 39 | 5th at London 2018 | 3rd at DreamHack Atlanta 2018 4th at cs_summit 3 |
| 53 | Vega Squadron | – | 13
|
13 | 53 | 9th at Boston 2018 | SL iL Season 6 runner-up |
| 67 | TyLoo | – | 55
|
12 | 67 | 12th at London 2018 | DreamHack Open Austin 2018 runner-up |
1Change since September 24, 2018 ranking, the ranking after the FACEIT Major.
2Since end of FACEIT Major
3Best major placements may not necessarily reflect teams' current rosters
New Challengers stage
editThe New Challengers stage took place from February 13 to February 17, 2019, at the ESL Arena. The Challengers stage, also known as the Preliminary stage and formerly known as the offline qualifier, was a sixteen team swiss tournament. The seeding was released on February 6, 2019. Next to each team's name under the "Team" column is each team's initial seeding. Under each of the "Rounds" columns are the team's opponent's seed at the time the round was played.[23]
| Place | Team | Record | RD | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Round 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1–2 | NRG Esports (2) | 3–0 | +22 | Winstrike Team (15) 16–9 Nuke |
High match ViCi Gaming (12) 16–6 Overpass |
High match TyLoo (6) 2–0 |
New Legends stage | New Legends stage |
| Renegades (9) | 3–0 | +22 | AVANGAR (8) 16–8 Train |
High match Ninjas in Pyjamas (3) 16–13 Mirage |
High match ENCE (2) 2–0 |
New Legends stage | New Legends stage | |
| 3–5 | Team Vitality (6) | 3–1 | +16 | TyLoo (11) 8–16 Inferno |
Low match Grayhound Gaming (15) 19–17 Nuke |
Mid match Vega Squadron (11) 16–1 Overpass |
High match ViCi Gaming (11) 2–0 |
New Legends stage |
| AVANGAR (8) | 3–1 | +6 | Renegades (9) 8–16 Train |
Low match FURIA Esports (14) 16–14 Mirage |
Mid match G2 Esports (7) 16–10 Overpass |
High match TyLoo (7) 2–0 |
New Legends stage | |
| ENCE eSports (5) | 3–1 | +4 | Team Spirit (12) 16–10 Nuke |
High match G2 Esports (6) 16–6 Overpass |
High match Renegades (5) 0–2 |
High match Winstrike Team (12) 2–1 |
New Legends stage | |
| 6–8 | Ninjas in Pyjamas (4) | 3–2 | +20 | FURIA Esports (13) 16–6 Mirage |
High match Renegades (8) 13–16 Mirage |
Mid match Winstrike Team (13) 6–16 Train |
Low match Vega Squadron (13) 2–1 |
ViCi Gaming (11) 2–1 |
| G2 Esports (7) | 3–2 | +16 | Vega Squadron (10) 16–14 Cache |
High match ENCE eSports (4) 6–16 Overpass |
Mid match AVANGAR (10) 16–10 Overpass |
Low match Fnatic (10) 2–1 |
TyLoo (10) 2–1 | |
| Cloud9 (3) | 3–2 | 0 | Grayhound Gaming (14) 16–11 Mirage |
High match TyLoo (9) 3–16 Overpass |
Mid match ViCi Gaming (12) 6–16 Inferno |
Low match FURIA Esports (14) 2–1 |
Winstrike Team (8) 2–0 | |
| 9–11 | Winstrike Team (15) | 2–3 | −3 | NRG Esports (2) 9–16 Nuke |
Low match Fnatic (5) 16–11 Train |
Mid match Ninjas in Pyjamas (3) 16–6 Train |
High match ENCE eSports (3) 1–2 |
Cloud9 (9) 0–2 |
| TyLoo (11) | 2–3 | −9 | Team Vitality (6) 16–8 Inferno |
High match Cloud9 (2) 16–3 Overpass |
High match NRG Esports (1) 0–2 |
High match AVANGAR (8) 0–2 |
G2 Esports (7) 1–2 | |
| ViCi Gaming (16) | 2–3 | −12 | Fnatic (1) 16–9 Train |
High match NRG Esports (1) 6–16 Overpass |
Mid match Cloud9 (4) 16–6 Inferno |
High match Team Vitality (5) 0–2 |
Ninjas in Pyjamas (6) 1–2 | |
| 12–14 | FURIA Esports (13) | 1–3 | −9 | Ninjas in Pyjamas (4) 6–16 Mirage |
Low match AVANGAR (10) 14–16 Mirage |
Low match Team Spirit (14) 2–0 |
Low match Cloud9 (14) 1–2 |
Eliminated |
| Fnatic (1) | 1–3 | −11 | ViCi Gaming (16) 9–16 Overpass |
Low match Winstrike Team (16) 11–16 Train |
Low match Grayhound Gaming (16) 2–0 |
Low match G2 Esports (9) 1–2 |
Eliminated | |
| Vega Squadron (10) | 1–3 | −26 | G2 Esports (7) 14–16 Cache |
Low match Team Spirit (13) 16–14 Mirage |
Mid match Team Vitality (8) 1–16 Overpass |
Low match Ninjas in Pyjamas (6) 1–2 |
Eliminated | |
| 15–16 | Team Spirit (12) | 0–3 | −17 | ENCE eSports (5) 10–16 Nuke |
Low match Vega Squadron (11) 14–16 Mirage |
Low match FURIA Esports (15) 0–2 |
Eliminated | Eliminated |
| Grayhound Gaming (14) | 0–3 | −19 | Cloud9 (3) 11–16 Mirage |
Low match Team Vitality (7) 17–19 Nuke |
Low match Fnatic (9) 0–2 |
Eliminated | Eliminated |
| Round 3 matches | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| ENCE eSports | 7 | Nuke | 16 | Renegades |
| ENCE eSports | 14 | Mirage | 16 | Renegades |
| ENCE eSports | – | Inferno | – | Renegades |
| Fnatic | 16 | Inferno | 9 | Grayhound Gaming |
| Fnatic | 16 | Overpass | 11 | Grayhound Gaming |
| Fnatic | – | Mirage | – | Grayhound Gaming |
| NRG Esports | 16 | Inferno | 14 | TyLoo |
| NRG Esports | 16 | Mirage | 13 | TyLoo |
| NRG Esports | – | Train | – | TyLoo |
| Team Spirit | 9 | Mirage | 16 | FURIA Esports |
| Team Spirit | 14 | Nuke | 16 | FURIA Esports |
| Team Spirit | – | Cache | – | FURIA Esports |
| Round 4 matches | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| Team Vitality | 25 | Inferno | 22 | ViCi Gaming |
| Team Vitality | 16 | Nuke | 12 | ViCi Gaming |
| Team Vitality | – | Overpass | – | ViCi Gaming |
| TyLoo | 12 | Cache | 16 | AVANGAR |
| TyLoo | 14 | Inferno | 16 | AVANGAR |
| TyLoo | – | Mirage | – | AVANGAR |
| ENCE eSports | 16 | Dust II | 11 | Winstrike Team |
| ENCE eSports | 7 | Mirage | 16 | Winstrike Team |
| ENCE eSports | 16 | Train | 13 | Winstrike Team |
| Ninjas in Pyjamas | 17 | Overpass | 19 | Vega Squadron |
| Ninjas in Pyjamas | 16 | Train | 6 | Vega Squadron |
| Ninjas in Pyjamas | 16 | Mirage | 6 | Vega Squadron |
| G2 Esports | 8 | Mirage | 16 | Fnatic |
| G2 Esports | 16 | Dust II | 8 | Fnatic |
| G2 Esports | 16 | Overpass | 5 | Fnatic |
| Cloud9 | 1 | Mirage | 16 | FURIA Esports |
| Cloud9 | 16 | Inferno | 1 | FURIA Esports |
| Cloud9 | 16 | Cache | 10 | FURIA Esports |
| Round 5 matches | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| Ninjas in Pyjamas | 16 | Train | 7 | ViCi Gaming |
| Ninjas in Pyjamas | 13 | Inferno | 16 | ViCi Gaming |
| Ninjas in Pyjamas | 16 | Mirage | 7 | ViCi Gaming |
| G2 Esports | 12 | Mirage | 16 | TyLoo |
| G2 Esports | 16 | Dust II | 2 | TyLoo |
| G2 Esports | 16 | Cache | 7 | TyLoo |
| Cloud9 | 16 | Nuke | 7 | Winstrike Team |
| Cloud9 | 19 | Overpass | 16 | Winstrike Team |
| Cloud9 | – | Mirage | – | Winstrike Team |
New Legends stage
editThe New Legends stage, formerly known as the Group stage, used the same format as the Challengers stage. This stage takes place from February 20 to February 24, 2019, live at the International Congress Center in Katowice. The seeding was released on February 19, 2019.[24] Next to each team's name under the "Team" column is each team's initial seeding. Under each of the "Rounds" columns are the team's opponent's seed at the time the round was played.[25]
| Place | Team | Record | RD | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Round 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1–2 | Astralis (1) | 3–0 | +45 | compLexity Gaming (16) 16–6 Nuke |
High match Cloud9 (12) 16–0 Train |
High match Renegades (8) 2–1 |
New Champions stage | New Champions stage |
| Team Liquid (2) | 3–0 | +16 | AVANGAR (15) 16–12 Overpass |
High match Ninjas in Pyjamas (10) 16–13 Overpass |
High match Natus Vincere (3) 2–0 |
New Champions stage | New Champions stage | |
| 3–5 | Natus Vincere (3) | 3–1 | +18 | G2 Esports (14) 16–7 Inferno |
High match Team Vitality (11) 25–22 Mirage |
High match Team Liquid (2) 0–2 |
High match AVANGAR (10) 2–0 |
New Champions stage |
| MIBR (4) | 3–1 | +10 | Cloud9 (13) 3–16 Inferno |
Low match compLexity Gaming (16) 16–9 Mirage |
Mid match G2 Esports (14) 16–12 Inferno |
High match Ninjas in Pyjamas (8) 2–0 |
New Champions stage | |
| Renegades (9) | 3–1 | −4 | ENCE eSports (8) 16–13 Inferno |
High match FaZe Clan (4) 16–14 Inferno |
High match Astralis (1) 1–2 |
High match Team Vitality (7) 2–1 |
New Champions stage | |
| 6–8 | FaZe Clan (5) | 3–2 | +15 | HellRaisers (12) 16–4 Train |
High match Renegades (8) 14–16 Inferno |
Mid match AVANGAR (15) 13–16 Mirage |
Low match compLexity Gaming (14) 2–1 |
Cloud9 (11) 2–0 |
| ENCE eSports (8) | 3–2 | +11 | Renegades (9) 13–16 Inferno |
Low match HellRaisers (13) 12–16 Dust II |
Low match BIG (7) 2–1 |
Low match G2 Esports (14) 2–0 |
AVANGAR (10) 2–0 | |
| Ninjas in Pyjamas (11) | 3–2 | +8 | NRG Esports (6) 16–14 Nuke |
High match Team Liquid (2) 13–16 Overpass |
Mid match HellRaisers (13) 16–5 Overpass |
High match MIBR (4) 0–2 |
Team Vitality (9) 2–1 | |
| 9–11 | Cloud9 (13) | 2–3 | −2 | MIBR (4) 16–3 Inferno |
High match Astralis (1) 0–16 Train |
Mid match Team Vitality (11) 14–16 Mirage |
Low match HellRaisers (12) 2–0 |
FaZe Clan (6) 0–2 |
| Team Vitality (10) | 2–3 | −16 | BIG (7) 16–11 Mirage |
High match Natus Vincere (3) 22–25 Mirage |
Mid match Cloud9 (12) 16–14 Mirage |
High match Renegades (5) 1–2 |
Ninjas in Pyjamas (8) 1–2 | |
| AVANGAR (15) | 2–3 | −26 | Team Liquid (2) 12–16 Overpass |
Low match NRG Sports (6) 16–13 Overpass |
Mid match FaZe Clan (4) 16–13 Mirage |
High match Natus Vincere (3) 0–2 |
ENCE eSports (7) 0–2 | |
| 12–14 | compLexity Gaming (16) | 1–3 | −10 | Astralis (1) 6–16 Nuke |
Low match MIBR (5) 9–16 Mirage |
Low match NRG Esports (6) 2–0 |
Low match FaZe Clan (6) 1–2 |
Eliminated |
| G2 Esports (14) | 1–3 | −18 | Natus Vincere (3) 7–16 Inferno |
Low match BIG (7) 16–13 Mirage |
Mid match MIBR (5) 12–16 Inferno |
Low match ENCE eSports (8) 2–0 |
Eliminated | |
| HellRaisers (12) | 1–3 | −31 | FaZe Clan (5) 4–16 Train |
Low match ENCE eSports (9) 16–12 Dust II |
Mid match Ninjas in Pyjamas (10) 5–16 Overpass |
Low match Cloud9 (11) 0–2 |
Eliminated | |
| 15–16 | BIG (7) | 0–3 | −5 | Team Vitality (10) 11–16 Mirage |
Low match G2 Esports (14) 13–16 Mirage |
Low match ENCE eSports (9) 1–2 |
Eliminated | Eliminated |
| NRG Esports (6) | 0–3 | −11 | Ninjas in Pyjamas (11) 14–16 Nuke |
Low match AVANGAR (15) 13–16 Overpass |
Low match compLexity Gaming (16) 0–2 |
Eliminated | Eliminated |
| Round 3 matches | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| Astralis | 17 | Mirage | 19 | Renegades |
| Astralis | 16 | Nuke | 9 | Renegades |
| Astralis | 16 | Inferno | 2 | Renegades |
| ENCE eSports | 5 | Dust II | 16 | BIG |
| ENCE eSports | 16 | Train | 14 | BIG |
| ENCE eSports | 16 | Overpass | 10 | BIG |
| Team Liquid | 16 | Mirage | 14 | Natus Vincere |
| Team Liquid | 16 | Dust II | 9 | Natus Vincere |
| Team Liquid | – | Nuke | – | Natus Vincere |
| NRG Esports | 19 | Nuke | 22 | compLexity Gaming |
| NRG Esports | 16 | Cache | 19 | compLexity Gaming |
| NRG Esports | – | Inferno | – | compLexity Gaming |
| Round 4 matches | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| Renegades | 16 | Dust II | 5 | Team Vitality |
| Renegades | 11 | Cache | 16 | Team Vitality |
| Renegades | 16 | Inferno | 12 | Team Vitality |
| Natus Vincere | 16 | Dust II | 6 | AVANGAR |
| Natus Vincere | 16 | Train | 11 | AVANGAR |
| Natus Vincere | – | Mirage | – | AVANGAR |
| MIBR | 16 | Train | 6 | Ninjas in Pyjamas |
| MIBR | 16 | Inferno | 14 | Ninjas in Pyjamas |
| MIBR | – | Mirage | – | Ninjas in Pyjamas |
| ENCE eSports | 19 | Dust II | 17 | G2 Esports |
| ENCE eSports | 16 | Mirage | 10 | G2 Esports |
| ENCE eSports | – | Nuke | – | G2 Esports |
| FaZe Clan | 8 | Cache | 16 | compLexity Gaming |
| FaZe Clan | 16 | Mirage | 11 | compLexity Gaming |
| FaZe Clan | 16 | Dust II | 14 | compLexity Gaming |
| Cloud9 | 16 | Inferno | 8 | HellRaisers |
| Cloud9 | 16 | Cache | 12 | HellRaisers |
| Cloud9 | – | Mirage | – | HellRaisers |
| Round 5 matches | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| ENCE eSports | 16 | Mirage | 12 | AVANGAR |
| ENCE eSports | 16 | Train | 7 | AVANGAR |
| ENCE eSports | – | Overpass | – | AVANGAR |
| Ninjas in Pyjamas | 16 | Cache | 7 | Team Vitality |
| Ninjas in Pyjamas | 8 | Overpass | 16 | Team Vitality |
| Ninjas in Pyjamas | 16 | Mirage | 7 | Team Vitality |
| FaZe Clan | 16 | Cache | 14 | Cloud9 |
| FaZe Clan | 16 | Dust II | 9 | Cloud9 |
| FaZe Clan | – | Nuke | – | Cloud9 |
New Champions stage
editThe New Champions Stage, also known as the Playoffs, is a best of three double elimination bracket. Teams play until a winner is decided. This stage is taking place at the Spodek from February 28 to March 3, 2019. Brackets were revealed shortly after FaZe defeated Cloud9 in the last map of the group stages. Teams were seeded first based on their record in the New Legends stage and based on the strength of their schedule.
Bracket
edit| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Astralis | 16 | 16 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Ninjas in Pyjamas | 2 | 14 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Astralis | 16 | 16 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | MIBR | 14 | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | MIBR | 16 | 16 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Renegades | 6 | 12 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Astralis | 16 | 16 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | ENCE | 11 | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Natus Vincere | 16 | 16 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | FaZe Clan | 13 | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Natus Vincere | 14 | 16 | 14 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | ENCE | 16 | 3 | 16 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Team Liquid | 11 | 16 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | ENCE | 16 | 19 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
Quarterfinals
editNatus Vincere vs. FaZe Clan
editCasters: HenryG & Sadokist
| Natus Vincere vs. FaZe Clan scores | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| Natus Vincere | 16 | Inferno | 13 | FaZe Clan |
| Natus Vincere | 16 | Mirage | 7 | FaZe Clan |
| Natus Vincere | – | Dust II | – | FaZe Clan |
Team Liquid vs. ENCE eSports
editCasters: Vince Hill & moses
| Team Liquid vs. ENCE eSports scores | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| Team Liquid | 11 | Mirage | 16 | ENCE eSports |
| Team Liquid | 16 | Inferno | 19 | ENCE eSports |
| Team Liquid | – | Overpass | – | ENCE eSports |
MIBR vs. Renegades
editCasters: HenryG & Sadokist
| MIBR vs. Renegades scores | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| MIBR | 16 | Dust II | 6 | Renegades |
| MIBR | 16 | Train | 12 | Renegades |
| MIBR | – | Mirage | – | Renegades |
Astralis vs. Ninjas in Pyjamas
editCasters: Vince Hill & moses
| Astralis vs. Ninjas in Pyjamas scores | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| Astralis | 16 | Mirage | 2 | Ninjas in Pyjamas |
| Astralis | 16 | Dust II | 14 | Ninjas in Pyjamas |
| Astralis | – | Overpass | – | Ninjas in Pyjamas |
Semifinals
editNatus Vincere vs. ENCE eSports
editCasters: HenryG & Sadokist
| Natus Vincere vs. ENCE eSports scores | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| Natus Vincere | 14 | Train | 16 | ENCE eSports |
| Natus Vincere | 16 | Dust II | 3 | ENCE eSports |
| Natus Vincere | 14 | Mirage | 16 | ENCE eSports |
MIBR vs. Astralis
editCasters: Vince Hill & moses
| MIBR vs. Astralis scores | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| MIBR | 14 | Overpass | 16 | Astralis |
| MIBR | 7 | Inferno | 16 | Astralis |
| MIBR | – | Train | – | Astralis |
Finals
editCasters: HenryG & Sadokist
| ENCE eSports vs. Astralis scores | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| ENCE eSports | 11 | Train | 16 | Astralis |
| ENCE eSports | 4 | Inferno | 16 | Astralis |
| ENCE eSports | – | Overpass | – | Astralis |
Final standings
editThe final placings are shown below. In addition, the prize distribution, seed for the next major, roster, and coaches are shown. Each team's in-game leader is shown first.
| Place | Prize Money | Team | Seed | Roster | Coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | US$500,000 | Astralis | Berlin 2019 Legends | gla1ve, dev1ce, dupreeh, Magisk, Xyp9x | zonic |
| 2nd | US$150,000 | ENCE | Aleksib, Aerial, allu, sergej, xseven | Twista | |
| 3rd – 4th | US$70,000 | MIBR | FalleN, coldzera, felps, fer, TACO | zews | |
| Natus Vincere | Zeus, Edward, s1mple, electronic, flamie | kane | |||
| 5th – 8th | US$35,000 | FaZe Clan | NiKo, AdreN, GuardiaN, olofmeister, rain | YNk | |
| Ninjas in Pyjamas | Lekr0, dennis, f0rest, GeT RiGhT, REZ | pita | |||
| Renegades | AZR, jks, Liazz, Gratisfaction, jkaem | kassad | |||
| Team Liquid | nitr0, ELiGE, Stewie2K, NAF, Twistzz | adreN | |||
| 9th – 11th | US$8,750 | AVANGAR | Berlin 2019 Challengers | Jame, buster, fitch, KrizzeN, qikert | dastan |
| Cloud9 | Zellsis,[a] autimatic, RUSH, flusha, kioShiMa | – | |||
| Team Vitality | NBK-, apEX, Rpk, ZywOo, ALEX | XTQZZZ | |||
| 12th – 14th | US$8,750 | compLexity Gaming | stanislaw, n0thing, ShahZaM, dephh, Rickeh | Warden | |
| G2 Esports | shox, bodyy, JaCkz, kennyS, Lucky | maLeK | |||
| HellRaisers | ANGE1, DeadFox, HObbit, ISSAA, woxic | ami | |||
| 15th – 16th | US$8,750 | BIG | – | gob b, nex, tabseN, tiziaN, XANTARES | kakafu |
| NRG Esports | daps, Brehze, Ethan, FugLy, CeRq | ImAPet | |||
| 17th – 19th | – | TyLoo | Attacker, somebody, Summer, xccurate, BnTeT | Johnta | |
| ViCi Gaming | advent, aumaN, zhokiNg, Freeman, kaze | – | |||
| Winstrike Team | Boombl4, n0rb3r7, WorldEdit, Kvik, wayLander | iksou | |||
| 20th – 22nd | – | Fnatic | Xizt, Brollan, JW, KRiMZ, twist | Jumpy | |
| FURIA Esports | arT, ableJ, KSCERATO, VINI, yuurih | guerri | |||
| Vega Squadron | chopper, hutji, tonyblack, crush, jR | Fierce | |||
| 23rd – 24th | – | Grayhound Gaming | dexter, DickStacy, malta, sterling, erkaSt | – | |
| Team Spirit | S0tF1k, DavCost, Dima, COLDYY1, somedieyoung | Certus |
Post-Major ranking
editThe rankings shown below reflect the March 4, 2019 rankings, the first ranking after the Major.[28]
| World ranking | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Place | Team | Points | Move1 | ||||
| 1 | Astralis | 986 |
| ||||
| 2 | Team Liquid | 534 |
| ||||
| 3 | Natus Vincere | 464 |
| ||||
| 4 | ENCE | 435 | 7
| ||||
| 5 | MIBR | 352 | 4
| ||||
| 6 | FaZe Clan | 310 | 2
| ||||
| 7 | Renegades | 275 | 6
| ||||
| 8 | Ninjas in Pyjamas | 252 | 6
| ||||
| 9 | Cloud9 | 196 | 1
| ||||
| 10 | Team Vitality | 184 | 5
| ||||
| 11 | NRG Esports | 172 | 6
| ||||
| 13 | AVANGAR | 149 | 5
| ||||
| 14 | Fnatic | 147 | 8
| ||||
| 16 | G2 Esports | 132 | 3
| ||||
| 18 | BIG | 122 | 6
| ||||
| 19 | HellRaisers | 88 | 2
| ||||
| 21 | FURIA Esports | 83 | 2
| ||||
| 22 | Winstrike Team | 83 | 6
| ||||
| 23 | TyLoo | 71 | 44
| ||||
| 25 | ViCi Gaming | 67 | 10
| ||||
| 27 | compLexity Gaming | 63 | 12
| ||||
| 28 | Grayhound Gaming | 53 | 6
| ||||
| 31 | Team Spirit | – | 14
| ||||
| 38 | Vega Squadron | – | 15
| ||||
1Change since February 11, 2019 ranking
References
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- ^ "ESL to host Major at IEM Katowice". HLTV.org. Retrieved 2018-09-10.
- ^ "Valve Grants ESL the First CS:GO Major of 2019 for IEM Katowice – The Esports Observer". The Esports Observer. 2018-07-12. Retrieved 2018-09-10.
- ^ "IEM Katowice 2019". Red Bull. Retrieved 2018-09-10.
- ^ Chiu, Stephen. "Retrospective of the Majors: Lineups with 2 Major Wins and Players with 3". VPEsports. Archived from the original on 13 February 2021. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
- ^ Kovanen, Tomi. "Why CS:GO needs major events". HLTV.org. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
- ^ "The IEM Katowice 2019 CS:GO Major format explained". www.eslgaming.com. Archived from the original on 2018-12-16. Retrieved 2018-12-16.
- ^ "Winning is Everything". Valve. 2018-08-28. Retrieved 2019-01-12.
- ^ Mira, Luís. "ESL announces IEM Katowice Major format and seeding method". HLTV.org. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
- ^ Mira, Luis (January 21, 2018). "ESL announces IEM Katowice Major format and seeding method". HLTV.org. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
- ^ Villanueva, Jamie (January 21, 2018). "ESL introduces changes to the Valve Major format ahead of IEM Katowice". Dot Esports. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
- ^ "IEM Katowice 2019 overview; Map Pool". HLTV.org. Retrieved 2019-01-30.
- ^ Cropley, Steven (October 9, 2018). "ESL Removes Minor Invites Ahead of IEM Katowice Major". VPEsports. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
- ^ Mira, Luis (October 9, 2018). "ESL to host all Minors in Katowice". HLTV.org. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
- ^ a b Cropley, Steven (December 21, 2018). "ESL Reveals Change to Minor Format, Eliminates Grand Final". VPEsports. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
- ^ "CIS Minor – IEM Katowice 2019 overview". HLTV.org. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
- ^ "Europe Minor – IEM Katowice 2019 overview". HLTV.org. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
- ^ "Asia Minor – IEM Katowice 2019 overview". HLTV.org. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
- ^ "Americas Minor – IEM Katowice 2019 overview". HLTV.org. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
- ^ "IEM Katowice 2019 Minor Playoff overview". HLTV.org. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
- ^ "IEM Katowice CS:GO Major Adds Fresh Blood to Talent Lineup". VPEsports. 2019-02-08. Retrieved 2019-02-09.
- ^ "CS:GO Ranking – World Ranking". HLTV.org. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
- ^ Burazin, Zvonimir (February 6, 2019). "IEM Katowice New Challengers stage seeding, first matchup determined". HLTV.org. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
- ^ "Legends Stage First Round matchups and initial seeding announced – IEM Katowice 2019". Retrieved 2019-02-19.
- ^ "IEM Katowice Major New Legends Stage viewer's guide". HLTV.org. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
- ^ Švejda, Milan "Striker". "Cloud9 list Zellsis as coach for IEM Katowice 2019". HLTV. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
- ^ Švejda, Milan "Striker". "refrezh to step in for Cloud9 at BLAST Pro Series Lisbon as Golden is ruled out". HLTV. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
- ^ "CS:GO Ranking – World Ranking". HLTV.org. Retrieved March 4, 2019.