Intel Excessive Grasp Cologne drew a document 39,000 folks to observe six of the world’s greatest Counter-Strike 2 gamers sq. off over a $1 million prize pool.
That document was set because the weekend occasion hit an exhilarating conclusion as Crew Vitality emerged as Champions within the Grand Remaining, narrowly beating Navi in extra time with a rating of 16 to 14. It was the primary time I used to be in a position to watch the occasion in individual, and I interviewed Michal Blicharz, one of many authentic creators of the occasion, which is called the Cathedral of Counter-Strike.
Set towards the backdrop of the enduring LANXESS area, this 12 months’s IEM Cologne introduced collectively six of the world’s greatest Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) groups within the playoffs—MOUZ, G2 Esports, Crew Vitality, FaZe Clan, SAW, and Natus Vincere—as they vied for the coveted trophy and a share of the $1 million prize pool.
The event drew 39,000 attendees to the Cathedral of Counter-Strike throughout three days, whereas over 1,050,000 viewers tuned in on-line globally to witness Crew Vitality declare their first ever IEM Cologne trophy, marking IEM Cologne 2024 because the most-watched non-Main Counter-Strike competitors of the 12 months.
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Crew Vitality’s journey to the Championship was paved with hard-fought victories towards the world’s greatest squads. The workforce confronted fierce competitors, together with MOUZ and G2 Esports, and their Grand Remaining best-of-five sequence towards Natus Vincere resulted in an intense 3-1 victory.
The win marks Crew Vitality’s first IEM Cologne title, and a long-awaited victory lap for workforce captain Dan “apEX” Madesclaire, who appeared on the LANXESS area’s first-ever IEM occasion in 2015. With the victory, Crew Vitality earned a Championship-level win, bringing them one step nearer to claiming an Intel Grand Slam and its $1 million prize. Inside, it was loud with screams, chants and roars. The manufacturing cameras for the massive display screen zeroed in on folks reacting to each nice play with shock or glee.
“I’m excited to win here with this bunch of boys – this is the best [win] I can ask for and one of the best days of my life,” stated Shahar “flameZ” Shushan, in an announcement. “It means loads to us. Of course we didn’t have the best year, but this trophy means everything. I’m so grateful to win [it] in front of such a great crowd and in front of one of the best teams in the world right now.”
However the story of IEM Cologne 2024 isn’t just in regards to the Champions. SAW, the Portuguese workforce that competed at IEM Cologne for the primary time this 12 months made historical past by representing their nation on the Cathedral of Counter-Strike. The underdog squad took dominant video games off of The MongolZ, BIG, and FaZe Clan.
In the meantime, Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut stole the present, being named the event’s DHL ESL Professional Tour Most Helpful Participant (MVP) for his excellent efficiency all through the occasion. His play was pivotal in securing Crew Vitality’s Championship run, notably within the Grand Remaining, the place their abilities had been on full show.
IEM Cologne featured three days of fan-centric celebrations, with EFG and an assortment of brand name companions enjoying main roles. EFG’s all-new ESL model marketing campaign, debuting in Cologne, ushered in a brand new search for the storied esports organizer and highlighted the gamers, groups, and followers which have chosen to “Live Legendary” over its almost 25-year tenure. The model additionally introduced a partnership renewal with long-time associate DHL, in addition to welcoming Logitech and Unilever diet manufacturers Knorr and Pot Noodle into the fray. Logitech confirmed me the athlete way of life participant’s lounge that it arrange within the close by Radisson Lodge, which got here with therapeutic massage tables, ping pong and different methods for the gamers to unwind once they weren’t enjoying essential matches.
This 12 months’s occasion has raised the bar for what’s to come back within the Intel Excessive Masters sequence, together with the upcoming IEM Rio, which involves Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on October 7-13. For extra data or to buy tickets, go to www.professional.eslgaming.com/tour/cs/rio.
The IEM Cologne 2024 occasion is run by ESL FACEIT Group (EFG), the place Blicherz works. Right here’s my edited transcript of our dialog.
GamesBeat: Is it true that you just’ve been to 100 of those IEM occasions now?
Michal Blicharz: That is quantity 101, sure. Intel Excessive Masters began in 2006. The primary finals occurred in 2007. It’s been ongoing ever since with a number of occasions all all over the world. We’ve gone throughout Europe. We’ve gone to Canada. We’ve gone to a number of locations in america. We’ve gone to Brazil, Australia, Korea, China, Singapore, Taiwan, Dubai. This event has gone to many, many alternative locations.
You possibly can examine it to the Roland-Garros in tennis. It’s one of many Grand Slam occasions for Counter-Strike, one of the crucial prestigious. You’re a very massive boss when you win this occasion. And I’d say not solely in Counter-Strike, however most likely throughout all the esports trade. The prize pool is $1 million.
GamesBeat: The place did the nickname come from, the Cathedral of Counter-Strike?
Blicharz: We didn’t provide you with that. It was given to the occasion by the followers, for just a few causes. Throughout the river there’s a really well-known cathedral. And the expertise is a little bit bit comparable. Lots of people collect for a similar function. The gods are totally different, however the function is analogous.
From a enterprise perspective, a sponsorship perspective, it’s been fairly the lengthy highway along with Intel. They’ve taken various leaps of religion throughout our relationship. They believed in esports from the beginning. In 2013, after we modified the mannequin from co-located occasions–we’d go to a giant comedian present or a recreation commerce present like E3. We’d simply hire out a little bit piece of E3 and construct a stage there. However in 2013 we had the chance to go to our personal area, host 1000’s of individuals, and never be co-located. We had been the present.
Esports on the time was fairly small. We had been a bit like a sapper. The place I come from we are saying {that a} sapper’s job is tough, as a result of one mistake and that’s it. You get to play till the primary mistake. That was esports again then, or at the least that’s how we felt. The folks at Intel who had been accountable took what may very well be seen, from sure angles, as a really massive danger, going from co-located to renting out a full area. It’s gone very effectively as you may see. We recognize the truth that our relationship with Intel over time was constructed on this degree of belief. Anyone was prepared to danger their job as a result of we believed they usually believed.
GamesBeat: How many individuals are right here this 12 months?
Blicharz: It’s about 13,000. We began within the area in 2015. The occasion itself began in 2014, and the primary one was co-located with Gamescom. In 2020 it didn’t happen resulting from COVID. In 2021 it came about in a resort in Cologne with no followers. Each different one has absolutely bought out forward of time right here. This is likely one of the largest recurring esports occasions on this planet.
We had area occasions earlier than that had possibly 1,500 folks in them. They came about at an area, nevertheless it wasn’t full. The primary large-scale mega-arena occasion in Europe was in 2013 for positive. The League of Legends finals at Galen Heart in 2012 was just a few months forward of that. That was the transition interval when esports began shifting to main sports activities arenas.
GamesBeat: Do you continue to hear folks discuss an “esports winter,” or do you suppose that’s behind us now?
Blicharz: It’s an fascinating subject for us. We haven’t felt any esports winter. We’ve all the time bought out on the similar tempo. We’ve all the time had persevering with success with our ongoing sponsorships, as a result of we proceed to ship the identical viewership numbers because the earlier 12 months, or larger. We function in an open ecosystem. The esports winter recreation titles are usually closed franchise leagues. They have a tendency to have problem changing their expertise.
In case you create a closed league and all the worth is poured into the groups in that particular league, with out one thing just like the NCAA fueling it from under, you’re not going to have expertise are available in. You’re making a membership of 10 groups with millionaires enjoying for them and no full-time jobs exterior that. How are you going to hope to develop into a professional participant when you don’t have anyone paying you, supporting you? In our ecosystem, which is open, it’s way more like tennis than, say, the NBA. All these franchise league programs appear to be having bother with an esports winter. Something that works extra like tennis or golf in its annual construction was largely unaffected.
GamesBeat: In your particular position, what’s your each day like?
Blicharz: My position was initially working Intel Excessive Masters. I used to be liable for the whole lot. Proper now I’m vp of particular initiatives. At this occasion my particular challenge is to be the manager producer for the published. With a workforce of individuals, I attempt to think about what the expertise must be for the opening, the closing. What ought to ceremonies appear to be? Which course ought to our broadcast go? Issues like that.
To be extra particular, my pet peeve is physique language among the many gamers. Watching an esports occasion, a default esports occasion, it’s a bit like watching Spider-Man with all of the Peter Parker scenes reduce out. We see the masks. We see the avatar. However we don’t actually get to see the human. It’s type of the identical in esports. When the gamers sit down, their faces are lined by the monitor. Their actions are represented by pixels. My job, and the workforce’s job, is to introduce extra Peter Parker again into the film.
For instance, because of this we’ve such an extended catwalk. Only a easy instance. At most esports occasions gamers go one, two, three, wave, and sit down. That’s not lots of physique language, not lots of Peter Parker. The lengthy catwalk right here is likely one of the issues we do. They’re bare in entrance of all the stadium, within the very heart of it, they usually’re strolling in order that our eyes are in a position to soak up that physique language. Consciously or unconsciously, we choose up and perceive the participant’s state of mind. Is that participant assured? Would that participant relatively be some place else? Is he cautious? Is he excited? Issues like that.
That’s a part of the present, as a result of we in the end wish to place the gamers as people that the viewers can establish with. That’s one factor I’m liable for. Peter Parker-ing the gamers.
GamesBeat: What’s your response to among the massive occasions which have gone on currently? We simply had the Esports World Cup. That looks as if an try to take issues up one other notch.
Blicharz: The Esports World Cup enhances the remainder of esports in a manner the Olympics enhances the ATP in Tennis. I don’t suppose Wimbledon is worried in regards to the Olympics, nor the U.S. Open or the Australian Open. By the identical token, we’re not involved by the Esports World Cup occurring. The experiences are complementary. It’s yet another title for a participant to win. It’s very profitable. It’s constructing its personal status. We’ve got our personal historical past and custom right here. We’ve got nothing to be ashamed of in entrance of any event on this planet.
GamesBeat: What kind of future highway map do you see for esports? What do you suppose is the following milestone?
Blicharz: I do know your work. You’ve been round many alternative esports occasions.
GamesBeat: I keep in mind watching Dennis Fong play at a Sega GameWorks in Seattle.
Blicharz: You may have my respect. I came upon about Dennis Fong shortly after he was performed enjoying. Usually, with regards to esports–the explanation I convey up your previous work, I assume you’ve talked to many individuals about the way forward for esports. I’d say that if anybody has a really particular prediction for the way forward for esports, then pardon my French, they’re stuffed with shit.
The explanation for that’s, esports is inherently tied to video video games. The way forward for video video games is predicated on a few issues. One, the restrictions of {hardware}, whether or not it’s networking or computer systems or consoles. What can the {hardware} do? That limits the creativeness of online game creators. Again when Thresh performed, we couldn’t think about PUBG. That was fully inconceivable, unimaginable. We’re sitting in a spot in time the place we are able to’t think about the following era of fantastic video video games. So the way forward for esports is tied to video video games, and the way forward for video video games is unpredictable. If I may predict what tools we’ll have, I’d be a startup CEO wanting ahead to creating massive cash.
We all know that that is generational, although. My daughter was born just a few months after Intel Excessive Masters Katowice. She was born right into a world the place area occasions for esports are a traditional factor. Anyone born in 2013 and later are esports natives. It’s regular to them. Once I don’t journey, I get pleasure from Intel Excessive Masters at residence with my youngsters. I play video video games with my youngsters. Meaning there’s solely going to be extra of us. All I can let you know is that it’s going to be greater.
GamesBeat: I’m wondering when the standard sports activities guys will have the ability to match their expectations to the enterprise alternative. Like another classes, it’s taking longer to get there than some folks anticipated throughout the days of overhype.
Blicharz: Esports usually has been fueled by funding cash. It’s pure that many alternative blueprints for easy methods to get it proper had been tried. Frankly, I used to be anticipating the so-called esports winter. I didn’t imagine in among the blueprints that had been tried. Esports all through the years has gone by way of rise and correction, rise and correction, rise and correction. With each one in all these cycles, we’re getting nearer to a wholesome enterprise. We simply must attempt 1,000,000 blueprints earlier than we discover the blueprint. We all know the viewers is there. We all know the followers are there. We have to proceed perfecting the recipe. As you may see right here, the magic on this area is simple.
The explanation we do that–this isn’t your first area occasion. You already know what it’s like. We’d like younger, proficient folks from all over the world – the Thresh from Australia, the Thresh from Malaysia, the Thresh from Chile – to have a dream and have the ability to fulfill it right here. I don’t suppose there’s something higher as a gamer–when you’re on this stage, you search for on the display screen, and all you see is faces staring again at you. All of the lights pointing at you. You may have one second within the lights. You are feeling it in your pores and skin. You are feeling it by way of the headset. You see it together with your eyes. In case you occur to do one thing nice, the earth shakes.
That’s usually solely obtainable to folks like Tom Brady or Taylor Swift. We’re attempting to make that feeling obtainable to any gamer on this planet who has expertise and the need to attempt.
