Astralis & FaZe invited to IEM Oakland
Astralis and FaZe have been invited to compete at IEM Oakland, ESL has announced.
The European duo, who are currently ranked second and third in the world, respectively, are the first two teams confirmed for the IEM event, which will take place on November 18-19 at the Oracle Arena, home of NBA franchise Golden State Warriors.
Six more spots will be filled through invites, two of which will be revealed on Friday. The last four teams will be determined via qualifiers, with details expected to be released in the coming weeks.
A total of $300,000 will be up for grabs at IEM Oakland, making it the fourth event to count towards the Intel Grand Slam (after ESL One Cologne, DreamHack Masters Malmö and ESL One New York).
The 12 participating teams will be split into two best-of-one round robin groups. The group winners will advance to the semi-finals, while the second and the third-placed sides will be placed in the quarter-finals. The single-elimination playoffs will culminate with the best-of-five grand final, scheduled for 20:00 .
Ticket sales will go up on Friday at 21:00 on the event's official website. Below you can find the team list as it stands:
Astralis | FaZe |
Invite #3 | Invite #4 |
Invite #5 | Invite #6 |
Invite #7 | Invite #8 |
Qualifier #1 | Qualifier #2 |
Qualifier #3 | Qualifier #4 |
Ninjas in Pyjamas are the current IEM Oakland champions after defeating SK 2-1 in the grand final of the 2016 edition, which took place from November 16-20.
Below you can find the prize distribution for the event:
1. $125,000
2. $50,000
3-4. $25,000
5-6. $12,000
7-8. $5,000
9-10. $3,500
11-12. $2,000(+$1,000 per group stage win)
#IEM will be returning to the Bay Area this November with @astralisgg & @FaZeClan as the first invited teams!https://t.co/2qV54qQidC pic.twitter.com/Vl266cc7Pk
— Intel®ExtremeMasters (@IEM) June 22, 2017