International e-sports competition ‘Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) GyeongGi’ gets under way in Ilsan
Createdd 2016-12-16 Hit 522
Contents
Players vie for the top spot in League of Legends, Starcraft 2, and Overwatch
from December 16 to 18
Gyeonggi Province hosts ‘Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) GyeongGi’, the largest international e-sports competition, at the Ilsan Goyang
Sports Complex for three days from December 16 to 18. ⓒ Gyeonggi G-News
Gyeonggi Province hosts ‘Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) GyeongGi’, the largest international e-sports
competition, at the Ilsan Goyang Sports Complex for three days from December 16
to 18.
Hosted
by the Electronics Sports League (ESL) and sponsored by INTEL, IEM is an
e-sports competition played out at several major cities around the world. This
year’s
competition is the first official IEM event held in Korea.
This
year’s IEM
will feature more than 140 players from Korea, North America, and Europe. Events
will include League of Legends, Starcraft 2, Overwatch, and more. Overwatch,
a recent worldwide sensation, has been selected for the competition, which
means this year’s IEM offers even more to grab the attention of e-sports fans around the
world.
Contestants
who make it through the qualifying rounds on December 14 and 15 will go through
two days of elimination rounds from December 16 to reach the finals.
Sixteen
players will compete in Starcraft 2,
eight teams will compete in League of
Legends, and six teams will compete in Overwatch
to power through to the finals of each event, which will begin at 11:00am on
December 18.
One
Gyeonggi Province official said, “We’ve been cooperating with INTEL and other stakeholders
since July last year to bring IEM, the largest e-sports competition in the
world, to Gyeonggi Province. In April, Gyeonggi Province signed a MOU with
INTEL to facilitate the IEM competition, carry out joint marketing efforts, and
promote e-sports.”
IEM is
celebrating its 11th season this year. To date, the cumulative prize
money stood at USD 5,593,650 (approximately KRW 6.5 billion) and the event has attracted
more than 20 million live viewers online during the competition each season.
Kim
Hee-won khw2403@naver.com
