IEM Chicago To Replace IEM Oakland
By Zac Cameron ·
ESL is mixing things up and heading to the Midwest.
ESL is taking its Intel Extreme Masters series on the road in November, booking a spot in Chicago for the first ever IEM Chicago event. After finalizing a deal with the United Center and the Wintrust Arena, IEM Chicago will take place over the next three years, replacing IEM Oakland.
The Wintrust Arena is the current home of the DePaul University Basketball team, and will be the site for IEM Chicago this year, with 16 teams battling for a share in the $250,000 prize pool. IEM Chicago will also be a part of the ESL Intel Grand Slam series, awarding $1,000,000 to the first team to win four of the last 10 ESL or DreamHack events.
IEM Chicago will move to the United Center in 2019 and 2020, home of the Chicago Bulls, as a part of the multi-year deal struck by ESL. "We are honored to be part of this rapidly growing industry and look forward to hosting fans from all over the world as we look to establish the United Center as a destination for live esports events,” United Center's SVP of operations and admin, Joe Myhra.
IEM Chicago is set to which kick off on November 6th of this year. For more information, check out the official website, here, and for more CS: GO news, check out the results from IEM Shanghai, here.