First 2019 Major headed for IEM Katowice
The first CS:GO Major of 2019 is set to be held in the Polish city of Katowice, between February 14th and March 3rd. Once again, there will be 24 teams in attendance and a $1,000,000 prize pool.
This marks the first return of a CS:GO Major to Katowice since ESL One was held in the city in 2015, as well as ESL's first Major since ESL One Cologne in 2016. This will be ESL's sixth time hosting the pinnacle of the event calendar.
The start of the event shall be the 16-team New Challengers stage, held between February 14th - 20th at the ESL Studios in Katowice, where the top two teams from each Minor will meet the middle-eight teams of the FACEIT London Major.
The top eight teams from that will move to the New Legends Stage, held between February 21st - 24th, in the nearby International Congress Center, where they will meet the Legends teams from the FACEIT London Major. This will also be hosted infront of a 1,000-strong live audience at the venue, as part of the IEM Expo.
Finally, the New Champions playoffs stage will be held between February 28th - March 3rd in the Spodek Arena, from which the new Major champion will be crowned, taking home a sizeable chunk of the $1,000,000 prize pool. This event will mark the seventh consecutive IEM held in the Polish city.
Further details on the 14th Valve-sponsored CS:GO Major, including on if it will be a spot on the $1,000,000 Intel Grand Slam, will be announced in the coming weeks, and closer to the event.
