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, currently host events in Counter-Strike 2. Other game titles were hosted in the past, including ' and League of Legends. The body that owns the league is Savvy Games Group. The League has operated 17 seasons . The highest tier of events, known as Masters Championships, are held in the summer in Cologne, Germany and in the new year in Poland, offering the most prize money. Other events, known as Masters events, are held in numerous cities around the globe, which have included Dallas, Shanghai and Sydney.
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. 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. 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 prize pool.
Games offered in Intel Extreme Masters: Counter-Strike (Seasons 1âÂÂ6), Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos and Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne (Seasons 1âÂÂ2, 3: Asian Championship Finals â CS1.6 and Asian Championship Finals â WoW, 4: Global Challenge Chengdu, 5: Global Challenge Shanghai), World of Warcraft (Seasons 2: Global Challenge Dreamhack, 3âÂÂ4), Quake Live (Seasons 4âÂÂ5), StarCraft II (Seasons 5âÂÂ6), League of Legends (LoL) (Seasons 5: World Championship (LoL Invitational), 6)
IEM utilizes a fair number of offline qualifiers. During Season 5, qualifiers were held for North America, Europe, and Southeast Asia regions. Those who qualify for the finals are placed into two groups of six, of which the top two advance. The first place member of each group goes directly to the semifinals, and the second and third place members go into the quarterfinals.
The Intel Extreme Masters are run by the ESL, part of the ESL FACEIT Group which is owned by Savvy Games Group. Savvy Games Group is based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and is owned by the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF).