If you've been itching for some StarCraft 2 competition, then look no further than the IEM Katowice 2020. Organized by ESL as part of its ESL Pro Tour, the tournament offers a $400,000 prize pool. The competition begins today, February 24, and lasts until March 1.
Aside from the being the first StarCraft 2 major of the year, it also serves as the first global event of the ESL Pro Tour. That said, expect to see some excellent battles and high-level plays.
For the Qualifiers, there are going to be 11 slots available worldwide. Winners immediately get seeded to the Round of 24 with travel and accommodation being paid for by IEM Katowice. The main competition begins on February 24 with the Round of 76. There are going to be a total of four brackets, with the top three players of each bracket advancing to the Round of 24.
The competition is indeed tough and leading the pack is none other than Park "Dark" Ryung Woo. Known around the world as the best Zerg player from South Korea, he joins the tournament as the champion of the 2019 WCS Global Finals. Then there's also Zerg prodigy Riccardo "Reynor" Romiti, who was the runner-up in that same tournament and could be looking for some payback against Dark.
Other top players joining include Will Joona "Serral" Sotala, the Zerg master who could get the chance to go against the legendary Terran from South Korea Cho "Maru" Seong Ju. Don't forget about Korea's Protoss player Won "PartinG" Lee Sak, who could be seeking a comeback this year.
Below are the groupings of this year's IEM Katowice 2020:
- Group A
- Park "Dark" Ryung Woo
- Won "PartinG" Lee Sak
- Kim "Stats" Dae Yeob
- TBD
- TBD
- TBD
- Group B
- Riccardo "Reynor" Romiti
- Lee "Rogue" Byung Ryul
- Joo "Zest" Sung Wook
- TBD
- TBD
- TBD
- Group C
- Mikołaj "Elazer" Ogonowski
- Cho "Maru" Seong Ju
- Kang "Solar" Min Soo
- TBD
- TBD
- TBD
- Group D
- Kim "Cure" Doh Wook
- Joona "Serral" Sotala
- Jun "TY" Tae Yang
- TBD
- TBD
- TBD
Making the tournament even more exciting are the host of broadcasting talents that include:
- Hosts
- James “Kaelaris” Carrol
- Sue “Smix” Min Lee
- Observers
- Lee “Shine” Young-han
- Anthony “AweesomeSauce” Cain
- “Miwa “
- Commentators
- Dan “Artosis” Stemkoski
- Leigh “Maynarde” Mandalov
- Nathan Lawrence “Nathanias” Fabrikant
- Jared “PiG” Krensel
- Kevin “RotterdaM” van der Kooi
- Nicolas “Tasteless” Plott
So who are you banking on to win? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
