Sydney has just lost one of its biggest CS: GO (Counter-Strike: Global Offence) events, to always rivalling city Melbourne. The Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) has been held in Sydney for the past three years making its debut back in 2017.
Normally held in Sydney Olympic Parks Qudos Bank Arena the $250,000 tournament brought the best CS:GO players to Sydney to fight it out over one weekend. 8,000 fans were in attendance each day of IEM Sydney in 2019 with 260,000 concurrent viewers online that saw 15 million unique viewers tuning in over the course of the event, to make it one of the highest-viewed esports event ever held in Australia.
Last year was a roller-coaster of a tournament with US squad Team Liquid taking out Swedish side Fnatic 3-2 in a best of five match-up winning $100,000 USD. As well as a show match between Australia and the UK nicknamed ‘The Caches” With Australia coming out on top. This was also the first year that first-person shooter ‘Overwatch’ was also included in the event with the Overwatch Contenders season 1 finals.
When speaking to News.com.au Intel’s e-sports business development strategist Brittany Williams commended the Sydney fans saying,
“It’s exciting to see how passionate the Aussie crowds are about e-sports and how they are helping solidify Australia’s presence in e-sports … With all the buzz, we’ve also seen growing support from the tech and gaming industry for this event, with more and more of our channel partners getting involved”
To the dismay of Sydney fans, ESL Australia have moved the event to Melbourne. This move further cements the city as the Esports capital of the country adding another major event to its growing catalogue. Coming off the Fortnite Australian Open earlier this year, the city plays host to The Melbourne International Games Week, Melbourne Esports Open and PAX (Penny-Arcade Exhibition) that also incorporates EB Games Expo.
What makes IEM special is that it is an International Tournament held on Australian soil, bringing the world stage down under. It’s a significant loss for the major Esports scene in Sydney that has lost multiple events including the League of Legends: OPL Grand Final Event in the last five years.
“Australians have always generated atmospheres that could not be matched by anything else. Coming back for 2020 was a top priority, and the Melbourne Esports Open was a natural match. It will open Intel Extreme Masters to a broader audience and provide CS:GO fans a richer event experience,” said Vice President of pro-gaming at ESL said in an official press release.
The event will be held on August 22 – 23, with 16 teams duking it out for a chance at $100,000.
The show won’t lose its arena flair though with the event being held at Rod Laver Arena which can hold up to 15 thousand people. Tickets for IEM Melbourne go on sale on Friday, February 14th from $69 for a single day or a full weekend ticket goes for $139, with $229 and $999 premium and Global elite tickets if you want to be treated like a VIP, for full details and prices check out the IEM website.
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