Intel Extreme Masters To Hold World Championship In Katowice, Poland

The eighth World Championship final of the Intel Extreme Masters will take place at the extraordinary Spodek sports arena in Katowice (Poland) between March 14th-16th, 2014. The event in Katowice will be the final stop of the tour that goes to Shanghai (China), New York City (USA), Singapore and Sao Paulo (Brazil).

Gaming superstars from around the world will compete for a total prize purse of 250,000 US Dollars in League of Legends (a team-based game by Riot Games) and StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm (a real time strategy game by Blizzard Entertainment). The event will mark the first time that the Intel Extreme Masters World Championship is not held at the CeBIT trade show in Hannover (Germany), where the tournament occupied an entire exhibition hall. In Katowice the event will be held inside Spodek, Poland’s most famous sports and events venue, which also plays host to world famous musicians and the Volleyball World League. Spodek was previously used by the Intel Extreme Masters in January 2013, attracting 50,000 visiting fans and over 5,000,000 unique viewers on ESL TV’s online streams, making it the most successful European eSports event in history.

As with the previous event, the Intel Extreme Masters World Championship will take place thanks to a partnership with the city of Katowice and with the direct involvement of Piotr Uszok, the Katowice President.

“We are proud to be hosting such a prestigious and globally influential gaming event like the Intel Extreme Masters in our city,” says Piotr Uszok. “The event has become a part of our city’s strategy because gaming is a major part of youth culture today.”

“I have never seen an event as amazing as the Intel Extreme Masters event that took place in Spodek last January and I can only imagine what it will look like when we stage the World Championship here,” says Michał Blicharz, Director of Pro Gaming at Turtle Entertainment. “The turnout of the fans last year and the unforgettable atmosphere they have created gave us absolutely no choice but to move the finals event from Germany to Poland.”

“I have been involved with this global tour for seven years now and in that time I had not seen anything like the event we had in Katowice,” says George Woo, Intel’s IEM Marketing Manager. “Poland is very passionate for gaming and Spodek is the perfect venue for what we are trying to achieve together.”

Next to experiencing eSports competition at the highest level, visitors can interact with the newest games and gaming technology at various partner areas, including the Intel showcase, BenQ and Kingston HyperX.

Thank you Intel for providing us with this information.