IEM Chicago 2019 announced
ESL have announced IEM Chicago 2019, building on the success of last year's event which saw Astralis continue their dominance against domestic favorites Liquid. With the date being moved forward by four months from the 2018 event, IEM Chicago 2019 is set to run from July 18th -21st.
This iteration of IEM Chicago features numerous changes with the most important being a downsizing of the team-list from sixteen to eight teams. Although ESL have not specified the reason, this is likely due to the StarLadder Berlin Americas and Europeans Minor running concurrently to IEM Chicago
In their branding, ESL are emphasizing a North American-European rivalry and as such, the event will feature three invited teams from the Americas and from Europe, with no spots being offered to Asia or Oceania. Additionally, North America and Europe will each have a single qualifier to fill the remaining two spots.
Another big change is a venue upgrade, with the 2019 event moving to the United Center. Home of the Chicago Bulls and Blackhawks, the location hosts nearly double the number of seats compared to the Wintrust Arena, where IEM Chicago was hosted last year.
The full schedule for the event is as follows:
Thursday, 18th July (EDT)
12:00 Group A match #1 & #2 (BO3)
15:50 Group B match #1 & #2 (BO3)
~19:40 Group A winners' match (BO3)
~19:40 Group A elimination match (BO3)
Friday, 19th July (EDT)
12:00 Group B winners' match (BO3)
12:00 Group B elimination match (BO3)
~15:50 Group A decider match (BO3)
~19:25 Group B decider match (BO3)
Saturday, 20th, July (EDT)
15:30 Semi-final #1 (BO3)
~19:20 Semi-final #2 (BO3)
Sunday, 21st July (EDT)
15:30 Grand Final (BO5)
Additionally, before the grand finals, a showmatch is set to take place. Last year, IEM Chicago played host to a collegiate showmatch which saw the RMU Eagles take down Illini Esports 16-5.
