ESL alongside TEG Live has announced that the Intel Extreme Masters or IEM will be heading down to Melbourne, Australia in 2020. The global professional esports tournament circuit will be headlining the Melbourne Esports Open (MEO) which is in its 3rd year running combining the biggest esports events locally in one massive weekend.
MEO in conjunction with IEM will be held at the Melbourne & Olympic Parks in Rod Laver Arena across Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd August 2020. The event will feature the top CSGO teams from the world with a prize pool of US $250 000. No teams have been confirmed yet.
This is the first time IEM will be held in Melbourne and marks it’s the fourth year running in Australia with the previous three IEMs being held in Sydney, Australia. Victorian Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events Martin Pakula said that Melbourne was the esports and digital games capital of Australia:
“We host major events of all shapes and colours in Victoria and it’s fantastic that we can be a leader in esports,” Mr Pakula said. “More than half of Australia’s digital games companies are based here, so the local jobs story is just as compelling as the on-screen action.”
Michal Blicharz aka CARMAC, ESL Vice President Pro Gaming had this to say with the combining IEM with Melbourne Esports Open. “Australian Counter-Strike fans are second to none, and when we had the opportunity to bring IEM to Melbourne, to headline the Melbourne Esports Open, it was a perfect fit.”
“Australians have always generated atmospheres that could not be matched by anything else. Coming back for 2020 was a top priority, and the Melbourne Esports Open was a natural match. It will open Intel Extreme Masters to a broader audience and provide CS:GO fans a richer event experience” he added.
Tickets will be available from Friday, February 14th 2020 via Ticketek. IEM Melbourne 2020 tickets will be sold in Single Day Ticket ($69 AUD), Weekend ($139 AUD), Weekend Premium Ticket ($229 AUD) and Global Elite tickets ($999 AUD). The IEM tickets will also grant you ground pass access to Melbourne Esports Open 2020.
Melbourne Esports Open 2020 ticket holders will also gain access to a first-come, first-serve unreserved general admission section of Rod Laver Arena to experience IEM Melbourne 2020. These tickets will be available as a single day ($25 AUD) and weekend pass ($39 AUD).
For more information on IEM Melbourne 2020, check out their website here.