Which CS2 Teams Will Be Participating in IEM Rio 2024?

With the recent conclusion of IEM Cologne 2024, after a nail-biting finale that saw Team Vitality best the Natus Vincere Team in a 3-1 win, the next IEM Tournament based in Rio has quickly become the main topic of discussion.

The prestigious event will return to Rio for the third consecutive year and will run from October 7^th to October 23^rd. Teams and attendees will converge at the Farmasi Arena to witness their favourite teams fiercely compete for the championship as well as an eye watering $250,000 prize pool.

The Cathedral of Counter Strike did not disappoint this year and instead upped the ante for all teams involved, so all eyes are currently on Rio. Team Vitality walks into this competition on a high after winning the IEM Cologne 2024 Tournament as well as being the previous IEM Rio 2023 champions, meaning they have the momentum advantage, but will it be enough?

Team Spirit Bows Out of IEM Rio 2024

img: Team Spirit Team Photo – src: @Team__Spirit

Prior to IEM Cologne 2024, Team Spirit formally declined the invitation to IEM Rio 2024 and publicly announced that they would not be participating in the event. This came as a surprise to fans, as they were looking forward to their participation, especially after their impressive performance in IEM Katowice 2024, which they won earlier this year.

They immediately cleared up the air by stating that the reason for their withdrawal was entirely based on putting the players first and prioritizing their mental and physical health. Dropping out of an S-Tier event is a big deal, so Team Spirit’s withdrawal garnered much attention but was well received overall, as player health being a top priority is a net positive for the sport.

16 Teams Expected to Participate in IEM Rio 2024

There are 16 teams expected to participate in this year’s IEM Rio, with 13 spots already secured. The distribution of teams was based on their partnerships with the ESL as well as their ESL World rankings, with 6 and 5 being the distribution, respectively.

The remaining five slots will be filled by teams that successfully win their respective Regional Qualifiers. Rare Atom won the Asian Qualifiers while paIN Gaming won the South American Qualifiers, securing their spots in IEM Rio 2024.

The European Qualifiers and North American Qualifiers are yet to be played, meaning 3 spots are still up for grabs as the European Qualifiers hold two spots.

THE #IEM RIO 2024 INVITED TEAMS 🇧🇷@mousesports @TeamVitality @FaZeClan @natusvincere @G2CSGO @FURIA @virtuspro @ComplexityCS @1mongolz @9zTeam

The remaining 5 slots will be filled by the winners of our regional qualifiers! 🌍 pic.twitter.com/pTSKcMr7PT

— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) July 23, 2024