Intel® Extreme Masters once again returns to the Bay Area the west coast’s number one CS:GO event to the Oracle Arena in Oakland on November 18-19. Twelve top CS:GO teams from around the world will compete for a US$300,000 prize pool, the coveted trophy and a valuable win counting towards the Intel Grand Slam where the winner takes US$1,000,000.
Nine teams will be directed invited to the event, seven of which are already confirmed: FaZe Clan, G2 Esports, SK Gaming, Astralis, Cloud9, Team Liquid and Gambit Esports. Two more invites are yet to be revealed while the remaining three slots will be determined through three regional qualifiers: Europe, North America and Southeast Asia.
Qualifiers
Format
- Europe: 1 slot
- North America: 1 slot
- Southeast Asia: 1 slot
The EU and NA open qualifiers will be played in best of one single elimination bracket (unlimited), with the decider matches (semis) being best of three. Closed qualifier will be played in a best of three single elimination 8-team bracket.
The EU and NA qualifiers will consist of two stages: open and closed. The open qualifiers will take place on the ESEA platform, where we welcome all teams to join, with two top teams earning a spot in the closed qualifier, where six highly ranked invited teams will be waiting for them. The teams to come out on top in the regional closed qualifiers will secure their position to compete at one of the world’s premier CS:GO tournaments.
The SEA qualifier will have one, open stage played in a single elimination bracket.
How to register for the open qualifiers
EU and NA
Log in to the ESEA website and open a support ticket here. Please use “IEM Oakland EU” or “IEM Oakland NA” as the ticket subject with “Events” as the ticket type. Please use the region EU or NA depending on which qualifier you would like to register for. The signup deadline is THREE hours before the qualifier begins. After that point new teams will no longer be allowed to enter but already accepted teams will still be able to change players up until the start of the event. Once matches begin to be assigned to servers then teams will no longer be able to change players. Players are required to check in via the Steam group chat 1 hour before the event is set to start.. Check in will close 30 minutes before the event is set to begin.
SEA
Sign up here for the SEA qualifier.
Schedule
EU qualifier
- Open: September 19-20
- Closed: October 2
NA qualifier
- Open: September 19-20
- Closed: October 2
SEA qualifier
- Open: September 23-24
Oakland calling
Winning IEM Oakland counts towards the Intel Grand Slam: a new system that awards a US$1,000,000 prize to the team that has won four out of the last ten $200,000 events held between DreamHack and ESL. So far, SK Gaming are in the lead with their win at the recent ESL One Cologne 2017, with the next tournament being DreamHack Masters Malmo. IEM Oakland comes in as the fourth event.
Nothing beats the unforgettable experience of watching the world’s best teams compete live in a legendary stadium. Don’t miss out on this unique opportunity and join us at the Oracle Arena – secure yourself a ticket today!