ESL unveils IEM Sydney 2023 groups

The first major tournament in the Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) era is closer than ever, the IEM Sydney 2023, and a few hours ago, the tournament organizers, ESL, revealed the Groups of the first phase.

The 16 teams invited to the tournament will battle it out in the new CS2 from October 16-18, 2023, in Sydney in the Group Stage, and after detailing each group, we have that Group A could be the “Group of Death.”

Undoubtedly, we look forward to what might happen in this tournament. Not only is it the return of Counter-Strike to Australia in this post-Pandemic era, but it will be the first Tier 1 tournament to be officially contested in CS2.

ESL Announce IEM Sydney 2023 Groups

Through a Post on its Twitter/X account, the ESL revealed the groups for IEM Sydney 2023, which will be played from October 16-18, 2023.

THE #IEM SYDNEY GROUP STAGE!🇦🇺🦘

THE FIRST CS2 LAN GAMES UNVEILED 👇

GROUP A@TeamVitality@BetBoomTeam@GamerLegion@FaZeClan@natusvincere@apeksgg@VertexESC@mousesports

GROUP B@ENCE@Lynnvision_@FNATIC@C9CSGO@Monte_Esports@Complexity@grayhoundgaming@G2CSGO pic.twitter. com/trWWWmJoE1p

— Intel® Extreme Masters (@IEM) October 3, 2023

The groups are made up as follows:

Group A

• Team Vitality
• BetBoom Team
• GamerLegion
• FaZe Clan
• NaVi
• Apeks
• Vertex
• MOUZ

Group B

• ENCE
• Lynn Vision
• Fnatic
• Cloud9
• Monte Esports
• Complexity
• Grayhound Gaming
• G2 Esports

As we can see, the tournament is packed with the best Counter-Strike teams in the world today. However, there is no doubt that all the spotlight will be on Group A, as there is no doubt that we can call it the “Group of Death.”

In this group, we have Team Vitality, winners of the Paris Major, MOUZ, the ESL Pro League S18, and NaVi, who seem to have found the formula that will lead them to victory. We also have FaZe Clan, a team that we all know what they are capable of. Finally, thanks to their excellent season, Apeks and GamerLegion are not far behind.

On the other hand, we can’t underestimate Group B either, as we have ENCE, one of the most consistent teams this season. G2 Esports is one of the best squads at the moment, Cloud9 with a fearsome lineup and Complexity being NA’s hope in this tournament. Likewise, Monte should also be mentioned, who have also been playing at a great level of play this season.

Getting out of the Group Stage of IEM Sydney 2023 is a big challenge

There is no doubt that, for the first time in a long time, we can say that getting through the Group Stage of a top-level Counter-Strike tournament will be a tough challenge.

Both groups are full of strong and talented teams, so that anything could happen. However, it’s no secret to anyone that Group A, on paper, is the toughest.

All of us in the Counter-Strike community are toasting the new era of CS2 and looking forward to what will happen with the new MR12 format. We are also eager to see which teams will be at the top of the competitive scene from now on.

Header: ESL