Each year, IEM Katowice remains one of the biggest events in the Counter-Strike calendar, and 2025 is no different. This time around, the iconic Spodek Arena will play host to its first-ever CS2 event, where last year’s winner, G2, will attempt to reclaim the trophy once more.
This time around, IEM Katowice 2025 will be held between January 31st – February 12th, with a prize pool of $1,000,000 up for grabs.
Watch IEM Katowice 2025 Live:
IEM Katowice 2025 Format & Teams
Of the 24 teams at IEM Katowice 2025, 16 will play out a Play-In double-elimination bracket. Here, the top eight teams will move on to the main event, alongside the eight already qualified for the group stage.
From there, IEM Katowice 2025 will be whittled down to 16 teams. Then, another double-elimination bracket awaits, with the teams once again separated into two groups. The top three teams from each group will move on to the Playoffs, with the winners of each advancing directly to the Semi-Finals.
IEM Katowice 2025 Teams
IEM Katowice 2025 sees a total of 24 teams compete on the server – here are the invited teams in full:
Credit: ESL
IEM Katowice 2025 Main Event Schedule
Here is the schedule for the main event at the Spodek Arena. This is when fans can enter the arena to watch the Playoffs.
Credit: ESL
IEM Katowice 2025 Predictions
Predicting the outcome of any CS2 tournament is always difficult, and this time around is no exception. Amidst a ton of rostermania in recent months, there are still some teams that will come into the tournament as frontrunners.
First of all, it’s hard to look past Vitality at IEM Katowice 2025. The team ended 2025 winning the last two tournaments of the year, and looked near-impossible to best. We also expect FaZe Clan to benefit massively from the Winter break, and emerge out of the game in 2025 as trophy challengers.
In terms of dark horses, look out for both Falcons and Astralis. Falcons have finally put together their all-star roster, and will want to make an early impression on the scene. Meanwhile, Astralis will have a new coach and Winter break under their belt, allowing the potential of their roster to finally blossom.
No matter what, IEM Katowice 2025 is going to be mayhem on the server. You won’t want to miss it.
IEM Katowice 2025
IEM Katowice represents the major above majors in the CSGO tournament scene over the past decade. Each iteration is considered the best of their respective year.
IEM Katowice 2025 is held between February 1st – 12th, 2025, with 24 teams battling out for a $1,000,000 prize pool. The past three years crowned FaZe Clan (2022), Gambit (2021) and NaVi (2020) as champions.
Watch IEM Katowice Live:
IEM Katowice 2025 Format & Teams
The Katowice event features three stages of play and a total of 24 teams in the competition. 16 of the 24 will fight in a Play-In Format Double Elimination bracket, with the top 8 teams advancing into the main event. Here, the 16 teams are divided into two double elimination groups of 8, with the top 3 of each group advancing to the IEM Katowice Playoffs.
The Playoffs breakdown is relatively simple, with the best two teams from the group stage seeded directly into the semifinals, while the remaining four will battle out quarterfinals elimination style. Apart from the openers, all the matches at IEM Katowice will be played in bo3 series. The Grand Final will be a best-of-five series.
IEM Katowice 2025 Teams
IEM Katowice will feature a whopping 24 teams.. This means there will be some potential Dark Horse runs as well as big upsets. Let’s take a look at the list of invited teams.
IEM Katowice 2025 Main Event Schedule
Below you can see the overarching schedule for the entire event, including days and start times.
IEM Katowice 2025 Outright Predictions
Potential Tournament Winners
There are three potential teams with the biggest chances of winning this event. G2 Esports, Outsiders and Heroic.
- Outsiders are not given much chances to compete these days, but when they are able to, their form speaks for itself.
- Heroic are favorites at almost every event nowdays, and if they are able to peak against G2 and Outsiders they have a big shot at winning.
- G2 had several massive roster shake ups over the past 13 months, but finally seem to have found the winning formula.
Dark Horse Winner
The biggest dark horse at IEM Katowice is Natus Vincere. Yes you read that right. NaVi is coming off a very difficult 2025 in terms of both team stability, mental resilience and tough circumstance. The team dropped in the rankings from #1 all the way to #6 and IEM Katowice will either be the start of their redemption arc or yet another step down in the CSGO rankings. They are considered the Dark Horse because we really dont know what NaVi we will get at this event. The NaVi that has 2 of the top 10 best CSGO players, or NaVi that falls out of brackets due to early losses.
We will follow IEM Katowice in its entirety from PlayIn to Final. Check back with our CS2 News section each day for a fresh take and match predictions & analysis.
