Eight professional CS:GO teams will battle against each other at IEM Beijing starting on Wednesday, Nov. 6.
For Astralis and Evil Geniuses, there’s way more than money on the line. If EG finish ahead of Astralis, they’ll maintain their title as the best CS:GO team in the world. But if the Danes win IEM Beijing, they’ll surpass EG and become the best CS:GO team in the world again in HLTV’s rankings.
Other teams like Vitality, 100 Thieves, and FaZe Clan, who won BLAST Pro Series Copenhagen last weekend, pose a threat to Astralis and EG.
Here’s everything you need to know about IEM Beijing.
Stream
IEM Beijing will be broadcasted on ESL’s two Twitch channels since the event will feature simultaneous matches until the group match deciders. You won’t want to miss any of the action on the main broadcast or the second channel.
Format
The competition will last four days, with the grand finals set to be played on Nov. 10. Eight teams will fight for their share of the $250,000 prize pool and the champion will gain one point for the Intel Grand Slam.
The teams will be split into two double-elimination GSL groups. All matches will be played as best-of-three series except for the grand finals, which will be a best-of-five. The two top teams from each group will advance to the playoffs.
The winner will take home $125,000. The runners-up will earn $50,000, while the semifinalists get $22,000.
Teams
Group A
- Astralis: Nicolai “device” Reedtz, Peter “dupreeh” Rasmussen, Andreas “Xyp9x” Højsleth, Emil “Magisk” Reif, and Lukas “gla1ve” Rossander
- 100 Thieves: Justin “jks” Savage, Joakim “jkaem” Myrbostad, Aaron “AZR” Ward, Jay “liazz” Tregillgas, and Sean “Gratisfaction” Kaiwai
- ENCE: Aleksi “allu” Jalli, Jere “sergej” Jalo, Miikka “suNny” Kemppi, Jani “Aerial” Jussila, and Sami “xSeveN” Laasanen
- ViCi: Zhong “zhokiNg” Weijie, Liu “aumaN” Zhihong, Liang “advent” Zhuo, Andrew “kaze” Khong, and Yi “JamYoung” Yang
Group B
- Evil Geniuses: Ethan Arnold, Tarik Celik, Vincent “Brehze” Cayonte, Cvetelin “CeRq” Dimitrov, and Peter “stanislaw” Jarguz
- Vitality: Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut, Dan “apEX” Madesclaire, Richard “shox” Papillon, Cédric “RpK” Guipouy, and Alex McMeekin
- FaZe Clan: Nikola “NiKo” Kovač, Håvard “rain” Nygaar, Olof “olofmeister” Kajbjer, Helvijs “broky” Saukants, and Marcelo “coldzera” David
- TYLOO: Hansel “BnTeT” Ferdinand, Wing Hei “Freeman” Cheung, HaoWen “somebody” Xu, YuLun “Summer” Cai, and YuanZhang “Attacker” Sheng
Schedule
Wednesday, Nov. 6
- 10pm CT: Astralis vs. ViCi
- 10pm CT: 100 Thieves vs. ENCE
Thursday, Nov. 7
- 1:50am CT: Vitality vs. TYLOO
- 1:50am CT: EG vs. FaZe
- 5:40am CT: Group A winners match
- 5:40am CT: Group A elimination match
- 10pm CT: Group B winners match
- 10pm CT: Group B elimination match
Friday, Nov. 8
- 1:50am CT: Group A decider match
- 5:25am CT: Group B decider match
Saturday, Nov. 9
- 12am CT: First semifinal
- 3:50am CT: Second semifinal
Sunday, Nov. 10
- 1:30am CT: Grand finals
Key storylines
EG deservedly won StarSeries i-League season eight last month and became the best CS:GO team in the world, according to HLTV’s rankings. The North Americans will play at IEM Beijing and try to maintain their spot.
Astralis, on the other hand, lost an opportunity at BLAST Pro Series Copenhagen last weekend when they underperformed in front of their home crowd. The Danes have to win IEM Beijing to steal EG’s spot.
FaZe didn’t drop a single map at BLAST Pro Series Copenhagen. But it’s unclear if they’ll be able to replicate that same success in a longer tournament that will demand more maps from them.
Vitality had everything they needed to make a deep run at StarSeries i-League season eight after they won their first matches. The French squad, however, looked lost in the playoffs and were sent home. Fans are expecting a better performance in Beijing and they’re counting on the duo of ZywOo and shox.
100 Thieves will finally debut in CS:GO after the organization’s first experience with a Brazilian roster in 2017—a lineup that didn’t play a single match for 100T. The org acquired the Australian players from Renegades last week. They’re one of the most solid lineups in the game, even though they’ve never won a tier-one tournament. Will they surprise everyone like EG did at ESL One New York in September and take home the title?
