The IEM Katowice talent list

IEM Katowice 2023 is going to be an amazing CS:GO event and the talent list that was announced for it includes most of the heavyweights.

Notable exceptions include Richard Lewis, who retired after his last Major, and Duncan “Thorin” Shields, who’s doing a little bit of everything these days and was a harsh critic of ESL’s decision to sell the company to Saudi Arabia for around $1 billion.

Talent List

The most notable people on IEM Katowice’s talent list include Oliver “OJ Borg” D’Anastasi, the man who became famous for his amazing voice and hyped interviews during events. Once again, he will serve as the stage host.

At the main desk we have Tres “stunna” Saranthus, who is very experienced in this role, and Freya “Freya” Spiers, who has been around since 2018. ESL decided to use a third desk host for this tournament, and that person will be Mike “DarfMike” Winnick.

One of the interviewers, as we’ve gotten used to, will be James Banks. The second interviewer will be someone whom we’re used to seeing at the main desk, hosting esports events: Eefje “Sjokz” Depoortere.

The analysts will be a joy to watch. All of them are highly professional and there are six in total. The two of them that usually stand out are Janko “YNk” Paunovic and Mathieu “Maniac” Quiquerez.

The commentator list includes legends like Chad “SPUNJ” Burchill and Alex “Machine” Richardson. Two other great names on this list are James Bardolph and Mohan “launders” Govindasamy.

Unfortunately, there’s no Anders and Semmler at this tournament. But the people who will shoutcast and commentate the matches are quite amazing and should be able to replace them to some extent.

About the event itself

IEM Katowice is a long-form event that lasts for almost two weeks. This is practically a CS:GO Major in everything but name. The format also differs a bit but not much. When a tournament plans to have numerous matches each day, there will be plenty of opportunities to watch your favorite players and talent.

Between the maps and matches, IEM Katowice will have fairly long desk sessions, interviews, and much more. The most exciting will probably be the player interviews, which usually offer insights into how they and their team are dealing with the situation.

The top players, such as Alexandr “s1mple” Kostyliev and Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut, will probably be interviewed at least once. Hopefully, for the sake of the show, both of their teams will reach the playoffs.

Header: ESL