The preview of Intel Extreme Masters Cologne 2021
The general information
Intel Extreme Masters Katowice 2021 starts on July 6 and will last for 12 days. The end of the event is scheduled for July 18. The remarkable thing is that this tournament will be held in the LAN format and will meet all sanitary standards to guarantee the health security of players and the rest of the staff.
The general prize pool of the tournament will amount to a significant $1,000,000. The winner will earn the main reward of 40% of the prize pool — $400,000. The vice-champion will earn the second prize of $180,000.
Besides the financial resources, the rating points BLAST Premier and ESL Pro Tour will be up for grabs at the championship.
The distribution of the prize pool will be made in the following way:
- 1st place: $400,000 + 1,800 EPT + 3,200 BP
- 2nd place: $180,000 + 1,400 EPT + 1,600 BP
- 3rd-4th place: $80,000 + 1,100 EPT + 1,000 BP
- 3rd-4th place: $80,000 + 1,100 EPT + 1,000 BP
- 5th-6th place: $40,000 + 825 EPT + 400 BP
- 5th-6th place: $40,000 + 825 EPT + 400 BP
- 7th-8th place: $24,000 + 575 EPT + 200 BP
- 7th-8th place: $24,000 + 575 EPT + 200 BP
- 9th-12th place: $16,000 + 325 EPT
- 9th-12th place: $16,000 + 325 EPT
- 9th-12th place: $16,000 + 325 EPT
- 9th-12th place: $16,000 + 325 EPT
- 13th-16th place: $10,000 + 125 EPT
- 13th-16th place: $10,000 + 125 EPT
- 13th-16th place: $10,000 + 125 EPT
- 13th-16th place: $10,000 + 125 EPT
- 17th-20th place: $4,500 + 60 EPT
- 17th-20th place: $4,500 + 60 EPT
- 17th-20th place: $4,500 + 60 EPT
- 17th-20th place: $4,500 + 60 EPT
- 21st-24th place: $2,500
- 21st-24th place: $2,500
- 21st-24th place: $2,500
- 21st-24th place: $2,500
NiP and device
It will be interesting for CS:GO fans to watch the performance of NiP together with device on the roster. The first tournament, in which the legendary Danish player played under the tag of the Swedish organization, was more or less successful and the team placed 2nd there, however, every championship that came after that one was not able to make the fans of the Swedish organization happy. Initially, the team held the 7th-8th place in the standings of IEM Summer 2021 and the team placed 4th in the standings at BLAST Premier Spring Finals 2021. The charity championship Gamers Without Borders 2021 did not finish with something good too. The team stayed for one match there, after which it left the event and placed 5th-6th.
Now, it will be very interesting to see how hard the players of NiP were training and what they are ready to show against their opponents. Less than two months have passed since the arrival of device in the ranks of the Swedish roster and it can be still said that esportsman is just getting used to his new teammates.
The team now holds the 5th place in the world rate, so we can expect NiP to perform in an interesting way. By the way, such a big prize pool has not been up for grabs in CS:GO for a long time.
What will Heroic demonstrate?
There was the period not that long ago when Heroic entered the top 2 CS:GO teams in the world by one of the reputable esports editions HLTV. At the moment of the rise of Gambit Esports on the top of the CS:GO Olympus, the Russian players were calling Heroic their main opponent and stated that the Danes also held the top 1, just like Gambit Esports. What can we see now? We see a decline in the Danish team’s results. Initially, the team held the 3rd-4th place at BLAST Premier Spring Showdown 2021 and DreamHack Masters Spring 2021, after which it placed 4th at Flashpoint Season 3 but the roster even held the 9th-12th place at IEM Summer 2021 after it lost in the match against NiP.
The main question regarding Heroic sounds as follows: what should we expect from this team and do the Danes deserve to place 4th on the list of the best CS:GO teams in the world by HLTV at the moment? We will find out the answers to these questions very soon. Regarding our suggestions, we think that Heroic might “make a statement” because they have probably had a rest and prepared for the competition.
What is next for FaZe Clan?
There were changes in the ranks of FaZe Clan a month ago. Marcelo ‘coldzera’ David was benched on his own wish and is now looking for an opportunity to continue his career in a different club. Olof ‘olofmeister’ Kajbjer stepped into the active roster once again to help his teammates. Together with the Swede, FaZe managed to participate in two championships: BLAST Premier Spring Finals 2021 and Gamers Without Borders 2021. The performances at the above-mentioned tournaments can’t be called successful at all. The team held the 7th-8th place at BLAST Premier Spring Finals 2021 and earned a relatively small prize of $10,000 and the team place 5th-6th place at the charity Gamers Without Borders 2021.
We think that FaZe Clan will play at this championship in the same way as at the previous ones, however, we can’t exclude the factor of suddenness. Due to the opponents being able to not prepare for Twistzz and his teammates too well, the last ones can use it and surprise all CS:GO viewers and its fans.
How far will Virtus.pro advance?
Virtus.pro has become one of the eight chosen teams, which received direct invitations to the group stage, avoiding Play-In. Jame and his teammates managed to reach this result due to the results achieved in the rating season and the earned ESL Pro Tour points. The team held the fourth place in Europe, having lost to Gambit, NAVI, and Heroic, but it was higher than Astralis and G2. It allowed Virtus.pro not to try hard playing in the Play-In stage and reach the group stage immediately but we can’t say if this is for a reason and if Virtus.pro can proceed that far to make its fans and itself happy.
At the moment, the team is ranked 6th in the world rate by HLTV. Previously, the roster was holding the 5th place but lost it to device and his teammates from NiP. Virtus.pro has recently participated in Intel Extreme Masters Summer 2021 and has not passed the quarterfinal after they had made it to the playoffs. Team Vitality did not allow Jame and his teammates to win a map.
We see no reasons for VP to perform successfully at the upcoming championship, however, Virtus.pro can have the same leverage in the form of the factor of suddenness at the same time. While its opponents may not expect big new ideas in the tactics by Virtus.pro, the last ones can prepare for the championship and enter the top 4, which we would like to see. We will find out very soon if we are right or not.
Gambit Esports and NAVI
As they say, we leave the most interesting things for later! The topic with Gambit Esports and Natus Vincere was left for the very end because it is probably one of the most interesting of all we will be able to see at the championship. In the past StarLadder CIS RMR 2021, we have seen three matches between Gambit Esports and NAVI. Initially, they fought in the group stage, after which they faced in the final of the upper bracket, and the last match was held in the grand final — just as it should be. Gambit achieved victory in the first two matches with a score of 2-1 and they came to the last match as the obvious favorite not just due to the match history and its place in the world rate but the fact that the team had one map of advantage in the Bo5 match. However, this did not help them, s1mple with his teammates prevailed in this fight.
This time, we will not be able to watch that many matches with the participation of Gambit Esports and Natus Vincere because the teams were seeded in different groups in the group stage. Gambit got in Group A together with Team Liquid, Virtus.pro, and G2 Esports, while the organizers decided to send NAVI to Group B where FURIA Esports, Astralis, and Heroic are waiting for their moment. However, we are almost sure that we will be able to watch the match with the participation of NAVI and Gambit, especially if the teams will reach the final, just like at StarLadder CIS RMR 2021. In this case, the CIS community and the rest of CS:GO fans will have the real esports banquet in the form of the grand final of the $1,000,000 tournament with the participation of the top two teams in the world.
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