IEM confirms top CS:GO teams to compete in IEM Winter 2021

The Intel Extreme Masters Winter 2021 team confirmed 13 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive teams that will face head-to-head at the tournament. The nearly two-week-long LAN competition is scheduled to run from Dec. 2-12. IEM Winter 2021 holds a $250,000 prize pool and is the last chance for teams to earn ESL Pro Tour points for IEM Katowice 2022. Furthermore, this event counts as a contribution for teams eyeing the legendary Intel Grand Slam.

IEM Winter 2021 will consist of three stages: a closed qualifier, group stage and playoffs. Beginning in late Sept., uninvited teams from Europe, North America and Asia will battle it out for an opportunity at the grand stage. Sixteen teams will compete against teams in their region in an open and closed qualifier. However, only five will move to the main tournament on Dec. 2. The closed qualifier concludes Oct. 19 and will be streamed on official ESL Twitch channels.

Confirmed IEM Winter 2021 CS: GO teams

On Oct. 6, the IEM Winter team released a list of 13 teams that have qualified for the event via their region’s qualifying event, ESL world ranking or invitation. The partner teams include Team Vitality, G2 Esports, Ninjas in Pyjamas, FaZe Clan, Astralis and Team Liquid. Recently, GODSENT bested FURIA Esports at the North American closed qualifier and secured themselves a position at IEM. Similarly, TYLOO will be attending the tournament because they were victorious over Team NKT at the Asia qualifier.

With #IEM Winter less than 2 months away we already have 13 teams who are going to be there! 🤩@G2esports @TeamVitality @FaZeClan @NIPCS @AstralisCS @TeamLiquidCS @GambitEsports @heroicgg @virtuspro @OGcsgo @BIGCLANgg @GODSENT @tyloogaming pic.twitter.com/rgyfeMgOVA

— Intel® Extreme Masters (@IEM) October 6, 2021

Lastly, rounding out the list of 13 teams are Gambit Esports, Heroic, Virtus.pro, OG Esports and BIG Esports. These teams have earned their spot at IEM Winter 2021 because they are currently some of the highest-ranked CS: GO organizations.

Final competition spots

While the current IEM Winter 2021 roster features some stacked teams, the list isn’t complete. The European qualifier event in mid-Oct. will fill three remaining tournament spots. First, the European open qualifier, running from Oct. 9-16, will decide the region’s top teams. Then, the closed qualifier is set to take place from Oct. 18-19. The top three teams from the closed qualifier will solidify the IEM Winter tournament roster.

With IEM Winter just around the corner CS: GO fans are excited to see which European teams will make their way to the world’s stage. For more information about the closed qualifier and IEM tournament, fans can visit the official HLTV page.