One of the most anticipated StarCraft 2 tournaments is just around the corner, with the world's best players getting ready to fight for their share of $500,000 in prize money.
A legendary esports event, the Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) Katowice is a CS:GO tournament held in Poland. In this guide, we'll go over all the participating teams, details about the schedule, as well as everything you need to know about IEM CS:GO betting!
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One of the most anticipated StarCraft 2 tournaments is just around the corner, with the world's best players getting ready to fight for their share of $500,000 in prize money. In this piece, we’ll be providing all the information you need to know about IEM Katowice SC2 — including odds, where to start IEM Katowice betting, and much more!
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In case you’re wondering how we came up with a list of StarCraft 2 betting sites, we want to introduce our ranking factors.
First and foremost, every operator from our list will provide competitive Intel Extreme Masters betting odds. Moreover, a plain match-winner bet is not enough for most punters, hence why we looked for sites that actually provide a wide range of betting markets you can use when placing StarCraft 2 bets.
It’s also important to mention live betting on StarCraft 2 as it is in high demand. We are going to get plenty of action while IEM Katowice betting, so we want to provide operators that are offering in-play bets for this event.
Another important element of our top table is based on payment methods. Alongside traditional ones that include credit cards and e-wallets, we also dug deep in order to provide you with sites that accept cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
All in all, we believe that the sites we listed will provide plenty of IEM Katowice 2023 fun, and in addition, you will have a real chance to come out on top while placing wagers on this event.
IEM (Intel Extreme Masters) is a series of esports tournaments hosted all around the globe. At the time of writing, this organisation sponsored by Intel is hosting tournaments in two esports titles: Intel Extreme Masters CS:GO, and of course, StarCraft 2.
The countdown has started. ⏰ We are 31 days away from #IEM Katowice 2023! — ESL StarCraft 2 (@ESLSC2) January 10, 2023
The countdown has started. ⏰
We are 31 days away from #IEM Katowice 2023!
— ESL StarCraft 2 (@ESLSC2) January 10, 2023
You are probably wondering why IEM Katowice SC2 is so special. Well, the fact is that this tournament hosts an insane crowd that tends to be very vocal while supporting their favourite players. The statement below from Intel’s esports manager George Woo says it all;
“IEM Katowice has a World Cup type of buzz and feel.”
StarCraft 2 is one of the games that does not come with daily matches like CS:GO or Dota 2. However, once the event goes live, there is so much to bet on. To help you get started, here are the basics you need to know before placing your first bet.
There are three main ways to bet on StarCraft. By far the most popular one is pre-match betting, where you place real-money bets on the matches before they start. Next, comes live/in-play betting. In order to make a profit from this type of bet, you need to have prior knowledge of the game and your timing has to be nearly perfect in order to catch opportunities and high odds.
Last but not least, tournament/outright betting is an excellent way for newcomers to bet on their favourite team without investing a lot of money into the betting part of SC2. With this type of wager, you are betting on the tournament outcome; for instance, placing a wager on your favourite player to go all the way and win IEM Katowice 2023 SC2 tournament will offer massive payouts for the initial stake.
Using a reputable betting site is crucial. You can refer to our list of operators from the table above to guide you when choosing where to start Sc2 IEM betting.
All in all, this event is going to provide a lot of opportunities for punters to make money, especially those interested in live betting.
Even though StarCraft 2 betting markets do not go as deep as some other esports out there, there is still a solid range to choose from. Without further ado, let’s get straight into breaking down the most popular and profitable betting markets that apply to pre-match wagers.
Match-Winner — This is the easiest bet to understand and is most commonly used by many SC2 punters. The logic is simple behind this one — you are placing a wager on the team you think is going to win the match.
Total Maps Played — Usually, the IEM Katowice SC2 tournament is played in two types of series: best of three and best of seven (playoffs). Given the fact that there is more than one map played, betting sites allowed us a chance to place wagers on the number of maps that are going to be played in the match.
Map Winner — Even though this bet is often used during pre-match betting, in our opinion, it is best used during the match. If you can spot the potential breakthroughs, mistakes, or advantages someone has, this is the perfect bet for you as it is only tied to the map you bet on.
Correct Map Score — We would not recommend this as a main bet for anyone. However, the potential return is very high, hence why some punters try their chance at times. What you are betting on here is the correct outcome of the game. When there are seven maps to be played, and if you can properly guess the final outcomes, the profit you get is through the roof.
Alongside these highly popular pre-match bets, we want to introduce dedicated IEM Katowice betting opportunities for outright wagers.
To Win Outright — If you have a hunch that one player will come out on top and win IEM Katowice SC2, then this bet could come in handy. What you are doing with this one is placing a wager on the tournament outcome.
Region of Winner — This bet is slightly more favourable as there are two options available. First and foremost, South Korea is the most popular region in SC2, and betting sites are predicting that a player from this region will emerge victorious. Every player that is not South Korean fits in the “rest of the world” bet that comes with interesting odds (2.30 at the time of writing).
Race of The Winner — Here is the one that is related to the actual gameplay. As you know, there are three races to play with in SC2, these being Zerg, Terran, and Protoss. Some operators will offer you a chance to place a wager on which race is going to win IEM Katowice 2023.
StarCraft 2 alongside Intel Extreme Masters has quite a history. Events hosted by IEM regarding this esport have been played ever since 2010.
However, it is worth noting that the number of events IEM produces for this game has been reduced to one event since 2022, whereas before, we were used to seeing five or six IEMs related to StarCraft played annually.
However, it is also important to mention that back in the day, the prize pool that professional players were battling for was nowhere near the amount being offered in the last couple of years.
🏆 Your #IEM Katowice 2020 @StarCraft II Champion is Rogue 🏆 pic.twitter.com/uKF06ENXrf — Intel® Extreme Masters (@IEM) March 1, 2020
🏆 Your #IEM Katowice 2020 @StarCraft II Champion is Rogue 🏆 pic.twitter.com/uKF06ENXrf
— Intel® Extreme Masters (@IEM) March 1, 2020
Here is what StarCraft 2 events looked like throughout history, how big the prize pools were, and which race and player won the event.
*Once you look at the information provided for the past winners, a betting market where you can wager on the race of the winner could come in handy, right? As you can see, the last five times an event was played in Katowice, Zerg came out on top. With the current odds of Zerg being the race of the winner capped at 2.10, this is definitely a worthy bet.
Since the list of players that are attending the IEM Katowice SC2 event has not been finalised, we are going to allow betting sites to take the lead in this one. Operators such as 1xbet, bet365, and GG.bet have already provided us with StarCraft 2 odds regarding the tournament outcome (i.e. who is going to win the event).
As you can see from the odds listed, out of the top 10 favourites, seven of those are from South Korea. Remember that region winner outright bet that we talked about? Well, by doing the math, you can come to a simple conclusion that the smart money is definitely on South Korean players to go all the way and win IEM Katowice 2023.
Here is our take on the players to go all the way and win IEM Katowice SC2, 2023 edition. First and foremost, we want to mention that the last two events were won by EU players — Reynor in 2021, and Serral in 2022.
We believe that this tradition is about to end. Maru has been a dominant force in recent months and no one has found a way to beat him, so we believe that he has a high chance of reaching the grand finals. However, the bet that Maru will reach the final comes with slightly lower odds, currently capped at 1.72.
In our opinion, these are not the highest odds for the tournament outcome, but the fact remains the same: Maru proved to be the best StarCraft 2 player in the world, and where better to prove himself than in this event?
A total of 36 players will compete in this edition of the Intel Extreme Masters StarCraft 2 event. As always, there are three stages to the event:
The play-in stage will cater to 16 players that will compete in the double elimination bracket. The winner of the first match advances to the upper bracket, while the loser is demoted to the lower bracket. Whoever loses an additional match in the lower bracket is eliminated. Bear in mind that the best four players from the play-in stage will qualify for the group stage.
The group stage is where the magic happens. There are six players per group with four groups played in total. All of the matches during the group stages are contested in the Round-Robin format. Moreover, every match is played in the best-of-three format, which is excellent for IEM betting.
It is also worth noting that players who end up #1 in the group will advance straight to the quarterfinals, while #2 and #3 seeded teams will battle it out starting in the round of 12.
Last but not least, playoffs are played in the single-elimination bracket; this means that there are no second chances for anyone at this stage of the event. If you lose one match, you are eliminated. Matched played in the round of 12, quarterfinals, and semifinals are all played in best of five format while the grand finals will be contested over the course of seven maps if needed.
As mentioned in the introduction, players are competing for their share of $500,000 in prize money. In order to find out how this prize pool is distributed, refer to the table below.
At the time of writing, we do not have enough information regarding the schedule of IEM Katowice 2023. However, we do know that the start date of this event is February 8th, while the event ends on February 12th.
This time span is identical to the event played the year prior. The Play-in is likely to kickstart on February 8th, and you can expect your day to be filled with StarCraft 2 action. On top of that, the group stage should commence the day after (February 9th) and it should be wrapped up on February 10th.
All of this means that two full days — February 11th and 12th — are dedicated to the playoffs.
Luckily for us, IEM Katowice is always broadcasted on numerous platforms, the two most popular ones definitely being Twitch.tv and YouTube. However, there is a catch when it comes to broadcasting SC2 IEM matches.
Since there are multiple matches played at the same time, a lot of viewers and punters are unable to find the match they are interested in and just give up, thinking that there is only one stream available. Below, we provide every ESL link where IEM Katowice 2023 will be broadcasted.
This edition of IEM Katowice SC2 is going to bring a lot of tense moments and potential profits. With the last two trophies going to Europe, South Korean players will definitely look to claim this one, and betting sites have acknowledged that.
Starting February 8th, there are going to be plenty of betting options. We believe that there is money to be made in the outright betting, hence why we suggest going for Zerg to be the race of the tournament winner. On top of that, during our research of this event, we came to the conclusion that Maru is the most complete competing player. In order to play it safe, the chances of him reaching the grand finals are high.
In all fairness, betting fans and esports enthusiasts will have their hands full as we expect to see non-stop action for five straight days…which is why Intel Extreme Masters Katowice is so great!
IEM Katowice SC2 is a tournament hosted by Intel Extreme Masters. In the last couple of years, this StarCraft 2 tournament was also labeled as the World Championship, which says all you need to know about the popularity of this event.
IEM Katowice SC2 2023 starts on February 8th with the Play-in stage, while the grand finals are scheduled to be played on February 12th.
According to betting sites, the current favourite to win IEM Katowice 2023 is Maru, with the odds of 3.40.
The best sites for IEM Katowice SC2 betting are bet365, 1xBet, Betway, GG.BET, and Pinnacle Esports.
StarCraft 2 betting sites are offering odds on the faction to win this edition of the Intel Extreme Masters event. By far the most favoured race is Zerg with the odds of 2.10, followed by Terran with the odds of 2.37. The least favoured race is Protoss with the current odds of 5.30.
Mario has been involved into the esports scene ever since the first CS:GO tournament. His passion is betting on Dota 2, League of Legends, CS:GO and Valorant. He enjoys creating tournament previews and he found success with his tips and predictions.