IEM will return to Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena for its third consecutive Counter-Strike: Global Offensive event from May 3rd – 5th in 2019.
The event will feature 16 to-be-announced teams and will be apart of Intel’s Grand Slam, the second of 2019 after IEM Katowice held in February/March.
“For us to be able to announce our third consecutive stadium-scale esports event in Australia with IEM Sydney 2019 is something we never dreamt of happening 10 years ago” said Nick Vanzetti, Senior Vice President of ESL Asia-Pacific Japan.
“It’s a true testament to the strength of esports in our country, and we’ll be working hard to ensure it’s another unforgettable experience for every person who attends.”
Tickets for the event will go on sale Friday, November 16th at 2pm AEDT through ticketek.
The ticketing options range from one-day $39, weekend $139, Weekend Premium $239 and Global Elite passes at $1,199. More details on what each of these passes will entail is to be announced.
All tickets will allow fans to optionally enter the arena an hour prior to the official opening of the doors.
Last year’s event saw a distinct focus on regional competitors with seven of the sixteen slots at the event being given to Asian/Oceanic teams; three and four respectively.
Of these teams, Tyloo, Grayhound, and ORDER all managed to score big results over the top international teams in-attendance.
Grayhound beat the Brazilians, SK Gaming in a Bo3, also taking a map off of FaZe. ORDER also took a map off of Cloud9 before losing a close double overtime. Tyloo won against the Brazilians, Cloud9, Renegades and nearly FaZe also.
The event was a showcase of Asian/Oceanic talent and formed the base for many of these sides 2018 runs.
International teams also practice and scrims local sides during the event, giving players more experience outside of just the officials matches.
Word is yet to come out on IEM Sydney’s 2019 slots/qualifiers.
IEM Sydney 2018 was also marked by VISA issues, with both Turkish Space Soldiers and Russian/Ukrainian Na`Vi unable to attend.
IEM Sydney 2019 will hopefully look to resolve these issues and promote both a showcase of regional talent and elite international rosters.
Photos Supplied: ESL, Sarah Cooper, Helena Kristiansson