Intel Extreme Masters
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|
 Logo since 2019 | |
| Sport | Esports Counter-Strike StarCraft II |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2007 |
| Country | Worldwide |
| Most recent champion(s) | Counter-Strike: Natus Vincere StarCraft II: Lee "Rogue" Byung Yeol |
| Most titles | Counter-Strike: Fnatic |
| Sponsor(s) | Intel, Acer Predator, GG.bet, Paysafecard, DHL, MTN Dew AMP Game Fuel |
| Official website | www |
The Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) is a series of international esports tournaments held in countries around the world. These Electronic Sports League (ESL) sanctioned events, sponsored by Intel, as of 2020 currently host events in Counter-Strike and Starcraft II. Other game titles were hosted in the past.[1] The body that owns the league is Turtle Entertainment. The League has operated 14 seasons as of 2020. The season finals, with the largest prize pool, takes place in Katowice, Poland.[1] Mid-season events are held in numerous cities around the globe, including Chicago, Shanghai and Sydney.[1]
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.[2] 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.[2] 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.[3]
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)
IEM seasons[]
 | This list (which may have dates, numbers, etc.) may be better in a sortable table format. (November 2015) |
Season I[]
(Finals: 15–18 March 2007 at CeBIT 2007)
- Counter-Strike: Poland's Team Pentagram
- Warcraft III: France's Yoan "ToD" Merlo
Season II[]
(Finals: 6–9 March 2008 at CeBIT 2008)
- Global Challenge Los Angeles:
- Counter-Strike: Sweden's FnaticRC
- Warcraft III: Korea's June "Lyn" Park
- World Championship:
- Counter-Strike: Germany's Mousesports
- Warcraft III: Korea's June "Lyn" Park
Season III[]
(World Championship(Finals): 3–8 March 2009 at CeBIT 2009)
- Global Challenge Games Convention:
- World of Warcraft: Germany's Nihilum Plasma
- Global Challenge Los Angeles:
- Counter-Strike: Sweden's SK Gaming
- World of Warcraft: Spain's x6tence
- Global Challenge Montreal:[4]
- Counter-Strike: Sweden's Fnatic
- World of Warcraft: the UK's SK Gaming
- Global Challenge Dubai:
- Counter-Strike: Germany's Mousesports
- Asian Championshiphttp: — WoW:[5]
- Counter-Strike: Korea's e-STRO
- World of Warcraft: Korea's H O N
- WarCraft III: the Netherlands's Manuel "Grubby" Schenkhuizen
- European Championship:
- Counter-Strike: Denmark's mTw
- World of Warcraft: Bulgaria's iNNERFiRE
- American Championship:
- Counter-Strike: Brazil's Made in Brazil
- World of Warcraft: the United States's Trade Chat
- Asian Championship: CS1.6:[6]
- Counter-Strike: China's
- WarCraft III: China's Li "Sky" Xiaofeng
- World Championship:
- Counter-Strike: Sweden's fnatic
- World of Warcraft: Korea's
Season IV[]
(World Championship(Finals): 2–6 March 2010 at CeBIT 2010)
- Global Challenge Gamescom:[7][failed verification]
- Counter-Strike: Germany's Mousesports
- Quake Live: the United States's Shane "rapha" Hendrixson
- World of Warcraft: the United Arab Emirates's Ensidia
- Global Challenge Chengdu:[8]
- Counter-Strike: Sweden's SK Gaming
- DotA: China's For The Dream (ex-LGD)
- Warcraft III: China's Lu "Fly100%" Weiliang
- Global Challenge Dubai:
- Counter-Strike: Sweden's Fnatic
- Quake Live: the United States's Shane "rapha" Hendrixson
- European Championship:
- Counter-Strike: Germany's Mousesports
- Quake Live: Belarus's Alexey "Cypher" Yanushevsky
- World of Warcraft: Germany's SK Gaming Sansibar
- American Championship:
- Counter Strike: the United States's compLexity
- Quake Live: the United States's
- World of Warcraft: the United States's compLexity Black
- Asian Championship:
- Counter Strike: Korea's WeMade FOX
- Quake Live: China's
- World of Warcraft: Korea's
- World Championship:
- Counter-Strike: Ukraine's Natus Vincere
- Quake Live: the United States's Shane "rapha" Hendrixson
- World of Warcraft: the United States's Evil Geniuses
Season V[]
(World Championship(Finals): 1–5 March 2011 at CeBIT 2011)
- Global Challenge Shanghai:
- Counter-Strike: Sweden's fnatic
- Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne: Korea's June "Lyn" Park
- DotA: China's: EHOME
- Global Challenge Cologne:
- StarCraft II: Sweden's Stefan "MorroW" Andersson — Mousesports
- Quake Live: Germany's k1llsen
- American Championship:
- Counter Strike: Brazil's compLexity
- Quake Live: the United States's Shane "rapha" Hendrixson
- StarCraft II: Peru's Jian "Fenix" Morayra Alejo — fnatic
- European Championship:
- Counter-Strike: Sweden's fnatic
- Quake Live: Russia's
- StarCraft II: Sweden's Jeffrey "SjoW" Brusi — Team Dignitas
- World Championship:
- Counter-Strike: Ukraine's Natus Vincere
- Quake Live: the United States's Shane "rapha" Hendrixson
- StarCraft II: Korea's — Team StarTale
- LoL Invitational: Germany's
Season VI[]
(World Championship(Finals): 6–10 March 2012 at CeBIT 2012)
- Global Challenge Cologne:
- LoL: the United States's Counter Logic Gaming
- StarCraft II: Korea's Lee "PuMa" Ho-Joon — Evil Geniuses
- Global Challenge Guangzhou:
- LoL: China's World Elite
- StarCraft II: the United States's Greg "IdrA" Fields — Evil Geniuses
- Counter-Strike: Sweden's fnatic
- Global Challenge New York City:
- LoL: the European Union's fnatic
- StarCraft II: Korea's Park "DongRaeGu" Soo-Ho — Complexity Gaming & Team MvP
- Counter-Strike: Sweden's SK Gaming
- Global Challenge Kiev:
- LoL: Russia's Moscow 5
- StarCraft II: Korea's Moon "MMA" Sung-Won — Team SlayerS
- Counter-Strike: Ukraine's Natus Vincere
- Global Challenge São Paulo:
- StarCraft II: Korea's Kim "viOLet" Dong-Hwan —
- World Championship:
- LoL: Russia's Moscow 5
- StarCraft II: Korea's Jang "MC" Min-Chul— SK Gaming
- Counter-Strike: Poland's ESC Gaming
Season VII[]
- Global Challenge Gamescom:
- LoL: Russia's Moscow Five
- StarCraft II: Korea's Jung "Mvp" Jong-Hyun — Incredible Miracle
- Global Challenge Singapore:
- LoL: the European Union's MeetYourMakers
- StarCraft II: Korea's Ju "Sting" Hoon —
- Global Challenge Cologne:
- LoL: Korea's SK Telecom T1
- Global Challenge Katowice:
- LoL: Russia's Gambit Gaming (ex-M5)
- StarCraft II: Korea's Kang "First" Hyun-Woo — Incredible Miracle
- Global Challenge Brazil:
- LoL: Korea's Incredible Miracle
- World Championship:[9]
- LoL: Korea's CJ Entus Blaze
- StarCraft II: Korea's Choi "YoDa" Byung-Hyun — Incredible Miracle
Season VIII[]
Season IX[]
Season X[]
Season XI[]
Season XII[]
Season XIII[]
Season XIV[]
Season XV[]
Season XV was held online due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Season XVI[]
- Intel x86 microprocessors
- Intel Extreme Masters
- 2006 establishments in Germany
- StarCraft II competitions