Intel Extreme Masters

Intel Extreme Masters
Sport eSports
League of Legends
StarCraft II
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
Founded 2007
Owner(s) Turtle Entertainment
Country Worldwide
Most recent champion(s) League of Legends: Team SoloMid
StarCraft II: Joo "Zest" Sung Wook

The Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) are a series of international esports tournaments held in countries around the world. These Electronic Sports League (ESL) sanctioned events, sponsored by Intel, include events in Starcraft II, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Quake Live, League of Legends and Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft.[1] The body that owns the league is Turtle Entertainment. The League has existed for nine seasons as of 2015. The Season Nine tournament finals took place in Katowice, Poland.[2] Previous events have been held in Chengdu, Dubai, Hanover, and Los Angeles, among other cities.[3]

A view of the crowd during Intel Extreme Masters Katowice 2013
Intel Extreme Masters Katowice 2013

History

The Intel Extreme Masters are a product of the ESL. In 2006, when the Intel sponsored European tournament saw room for expansion outside of Europe, especially in North American markets, Intel provided funds for a worldwide tournament, billing it as the Intel Extreme Masters.[4] In 2007, when established, the IEM established a format of many smaller qualifying events, leading up to a large final event that is held at CeBIT. All of the Grand Finals have been held at CeBIT. Starting in 2008, the Tournament was billed as being worldwide, boasting participants from Europe, North America, and Asia.[4] Although Counterstrike 1.6 was the only game offered in the first season, the variety of games has increased greatly, to the four that were offered during Season 5. World of Warcraft was offered during Season 4, but was dropped for Season 5. The Season 5 Finals will be held at CeBIT and will included a US$130,000 prize pool.[5]

Games offered in Intel Extreme Masters: Counter-Strike (Seasons 1–6), Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos and Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne (Seasons 1–2, 3: Asian Championship Finals — CS1.6 and Asian Championship Finals — WoW, 4: Global Challenge Chengdu, 5: Global Challenge Shanghai), World of Warcraft (Seasons 2: Global Challenge Dreamhack, 3–4), Quake Live (Seasons 4–5), StarCraft II (Seasons 5–6), League of Legends (LoL) (Seasons 5: World Championship (LoL Invitational), 6)

Past IEM Winners

Season I

(Finals: 15–18 March 2007 at CeBIT 2007)

Season II

(Finals: 6–9 March 2008 at CeBIT 2008)

A large crowd at the Fan Expo at Intel Extreme Masters Toronto 2014
Fan Expo at Intel Extreme Masters Toronto 2014

Season III

(World Championship(Finals): 3–8 March 2009 at CeBIT 2009)

Season IV

(World Championship(Finals): 2–6 March 2010 at CeBIT 2010)

Season V

(World Championship(Finals): 1–5 March 2011 at CeBIT 2011)

Season VI

(World Championship(Finals): 6–10 March 2012 at CeBIT 2012)

Season VII

Season VIII

Season IX

Season X

Format

IEM utilizes a fair number of offline qualifiers. During Season 5, qualifiers were held for North America, Europe, and Southeast Asia regions.[31] Those who qualify for the finals are placed into two groups of six, of which the top two advance. The first place member of each group goes directly to the semifinals, and the second and third place members go into the quarterfinals.[32]

Organisation

The Intel Extreme Masters are run by the ESL which is owned by Turtle Entertainment GmbH. Turtle Entertainment is based in Cologne, Germany.

Gallery

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Intel Extreme Masters.

References

  1. ↑ "Hearthstone debuts at Intel Extreme Masters". 1 March 2014.
  2. ↑ "Open qualifier signups for Intel Extreme Master Katowice are here!". ESL. 2015-02-11.
  3. ↑ Sutton, Mark (17 October 2009). "Sheikh Majid Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum opens Gitex Shopper". Retrieved 2 March 2011.
  4. 1 2 "INTEL极限大师赛亚洲总决赛落户成都". Sina. 11 September 2008. Retrieved 2 March 2011.
  5. ↑ "CeBIT 2011: Finale der Intel Extreme Masters". 1 March 2011. Retrieved 2 March 2011.
  6. ↑ "Season 3: Montreal: Main — Global Challenge Montreal — Season III — Intel Extreme Masters — ESL". ESL-World.net. 20 October 2008. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  7. ↑ "Microsite Continental Finals Asia WoW — Continental Finals Asia WoW — Season III — Intel Extreme Masters — ESL". ESL-World.net. 16 November 2008. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  8. ↑ "Continental Finals Asia CS — Continental Finals Asia CS — Season III — Intel Extreme Masters — ESL". ESL-World.net. 19 January 2009. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  9. ↑ "ESL World: GamesCom 09 — GamesCom 09 — Season IV — Intel Extreme Masters — ESL". ESL-World.net. 23 July 2012. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  10. ↑ "ESL World: Chengdu — Chengdu — Season IV — Intel Extreme Masters — ESL". ESL-World.net. 3 October 2009. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  11. ↑ "ESL World: CJ Entus Blaze and YoDa are the new World Champions — News — World Championship — Season 7 — Intel Extreme Masters — ESL". ESL-World.net. 9 March 2013. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  12. ↑ "Shanghai". Intel Extreme Masters. Turtle Entertainment. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  13. ↑ "New York". Intel Extreme Masters. Turtle Entertainment. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  14. ↑ "Cologne". Intel Extreme Masters. Turtle Entertainment. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  15. ↑ "Singapore". Intel Extreme Masters. Turtle Entertainment. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  16. ↑ "Sao Paulo". Intel Extreme Masters. Turtle Entertainment. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  17. ↑ "Cologne". Intel Extreme Masters. Turtle Entertainment. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  18. ↑ "World Championship". Intel Extreme Masters. Turtle Entertainment. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  19. ↑ "Shenzhen Tournament & Bracket". Intel Extreme Masters. Turtle Entertainment. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  20. ↑ "Toronto Tournament & Bracket". Intel Extreme Masters. Turtle Entertainment. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  21. ↑ "San Jose Tournament & Bracket". Intel Extreme Masters. Turtle Entertainment. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  22. ↑ "Cologne Tournament & Bracket". Intel Extreme Masters. Turtle Entertainment. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  23. ↑ "Taipei Tournament & Bracket". Intel Extreme Masters. Turtle Entertainment. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  24. ↑ "World Championship Tournament & Bracket". Intel Extreme Masters. Turtle Entertainment. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  25. ↑ "Shenzhen Standings". Intel Extreme Masters. Turtle Entertainment. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  26. ↑ "Gamescom Standings". Intel Extreme Masters. Turtle Entertainment. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  27. ↑ "San Jose Standings". Intel Extreme Masters. Turtle Entertainment. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  28. ↑ "Cologne Standings". Intel Extreme Masters. Turtle Entertainment. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  29. ↑ "Taipei Standings". Intel Extreme Masters. Turtle Entertainment. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  30. ↑ "World Championship". Intel Extreme Masters. Turtle Entertainment. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  31. ↑ "Intel Extreme Masters 5: европейский финал киберспортивного чемпионата стартовал в Киеве". THG.ru (in Russian). 21 January 2011. Retrieved 2 March 2011.
  32. ↑ "ESL World: Main". ESL-World.com. Retrieved 2 March 2011.

External links

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