Despite its $250.000 prize pool, IEM Rio 2023 is a prestigious event. It will be held in the same place where the last CS:GO Major took place, which pretty much guarantees a sold arena and a great show for esports fans around the globe.
IEM Rio brings together 16 of the world’s best teams. Now that the qualifiers for BLAST.tv Paris Major are over, the participants will be able to fully relax and enjoy the competition. This could easily be a simulation for the Major. The winner of IEM Rio 2023 will likely do well in Paris too.
Don't miss the IEM Rio action. https://t.co/Pqkq5PAPgv pic.twitter.com/7Z4UG9BP4Q
— NAVI (@natusvincere) April 13, 2023
Dates and format
IEM Rio takes place between April 17-23. For one week, Brazil will be the host of a spectacular CS:GO tournament that could have easily been another Major. From the talent to the participants, this LAN event has all the characteristics of a prestigious CS:GO competition.
With few exceptions, such as G2 Esports and Virtus.pro, there are very few top-tier CS:GO teams that are missing.
The format used will be one of the most common ones for this esport. The 16 teams will be initially divided into two groups of eight. In both groups, a double-elimination format will be used. The best three teams advance to the playoffs. The winners of the groups skip the first stage and start in the semifinals.
The opening matches of the group stage are best-of-one. The remaining matches are best-of-three. The Grand Final is a best-of-five series. In the playoffs, the format used is single-elimination.
Participants and groups
Here are the 16 participants that will take part in IEM Rio 2023:
- FaZe Clan
- Fnatic
- MOUZ
- Natus Vincere
- Ninjas in Pyjamas
- Team Vitality
- FURIA Esports
- Heroic
- Cloud9
- OG
- 9INE
- BIG
- MIBR
- 9z Team
- The MongolZ
- Imperial Esports
Really thought we were gonna miss the last CS:GO Major? 😅 pic.twitter.com/m6YOifMDk7
— FaZe Clan (@FaZeClan) April 15, 2023
These 16 teams will be divided into two groups like this:
Group A
- Heroic
- 9INE
- BIG
- MOUZ
- Imperial Esports
- Ninjas in Pyjamas
- The MongolZ
- Natus Vincere
Group B
- FaZe Clan
- 9z Team
- FURIA Esports
- Fnatic
- Team Vitality
- OG
- MIBR
- Cloud9
Favorites
In group A, the favorites are Heroic, 9INE, and Natus Vincere. Because of the global rankings, Heroic and 9INE will face each other in the very first match of the upper bracket. These two teams won European RMR B for the Paris Major with perfect records: 3 W – 0 L.
In group B, Team Vitality, FaZe Clan, and FURIA Esports are the favorites, but Cloud9 and Fnatic could easily cause some upsets.
Header: ESL
