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Intel Extreme Masters Katowice 2025 Invites Announced

tit-krajnik
09 Jan 2025
Tit Krajnik 09 Jan 2025
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  • ESL announced the 24 teams invited to IEM Katowice 2025
  • Eight teams were seeded directly into Stage 2
  • IEM Katowice 2025 will feature a female roster for the first time in history
IEM Katowice
IEM Katowice (Getty Images)
On Thursday, ESL revealed the 24 Counter-Strike teams that will attend Intel Extreme Masters Katowice 2025 and the seeding into Stage 1 and Stage 2.

IEM Katowice 2025, which will take place on January 29 – February 9, will feature 24 Counter-Strike teams who received invites to the tournament based on the Valve Regional Standings (VRS). It will be the second S-Tier CS2 event of the year, following BLAST Bounty Spring 2025, set for late January.

Out of 24 invited teams, eight have received direct invites to the second stage, previously known as the group stage, while the remaining 16 squads will begin their IEM Katowice 2025 conquest in the first stage (previously Play-In stage).



The eight teams with direct byes into the second stage are G2 Esports, Team Vitality, Natus Vincere, MOUZ, FaZe Clan, Team Falcons, and the defending IEM Katowice champions, Team Spirit.

All but four of the eight heavyweights will field changed lineups in Poland, having made roster changes during the offseason.

More notably, FaZe Clan parted ways with Robin "ropz" Kool, who is on his way to join Team Vitality, while G2 Esports released Nikola "NiKo" Kovač, who has since signed for Team Falcons.

The MongolZ are a surprise appearance among the elite few, having made a name for themselves with strong showings throughout 2024.

The Mongolian outfit last season won Thunderpick World Championsip 2024 and YaLLa Compass 2024, placed second at Skyesports Championship 2024, and left strong impressions at Elisa Masters Espoo 2024 (3rd-4th) and Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024 (5th-8th).

The remaining 16 teams were seeded into IEM Katowice 2025 Stage 1, where they will battle through a double-elimination for eight tickets leading into the second stage.

The Stage 1 list includes Team Liquid, FURIA Esports, GamerLegion, Complexity Gaming, HEROIC, Virtus.pro, and other known names. However, the biggest surprise are Imperial Female.

Imperial Female are the first female Counter-Strike team in history to attend Intel Extreme Masters Katowice after securing a no.23 spot on Valve Regional Standings (VRS) with strong results in 2024.

Viktoria "tory" Kazieva and co. ended last season with four gold medals and two runner-up finishes. Those include titles from ESL Impact League Season 5 and 6 and silver medals from Tradeit League FE Masters #5 and Rainhas do Clutch FERJEE 2024.

Intel Extreme Masters Katowice 2025 is set to kick off on January 29, 2025.

IEM Katowice 2025 Stage 1 Invites


Team LiquidFURIA Esports
paiN GamingMIBR
3DMAXEternal Fire
GamerLegionComplexity Gaming
SAWBIG
FlyQuestAstralis
WildcardVirtus.pro
Imperial FemaleHEROIC


IEM Katowice 2025 Stage 2 Invites

G2 EsportsTeam Spirit
Team VitalityMOUZ
FaZe ClanNatus Vincere
Team FalconsThe MongolZ