Heroic blir den første store finalisten i IEM Katowice 2023

The Heroic team becomes the first grand finalist of IEM Katowice 2023. In the semifinals of the tournament, the Danish team was stronger than NAVI with a score of 2:0. Now Xizt's wards will face the winner of the G2 Esports-Team Liquid pair. In turn, "Born to Win" are eliminated from the championship, taking 3rd-4th place and earning $80,000.

The first semi-final of the championship started on the map Inferno, which became the choice of the "Born to Win". However, here the Danes managed to quickly seize the initiative on the server in order to completely break the opponent's game. Nevertheless, towards the end of the first half, NAVI managed to return to the game in order to close the gap and get chances for a full return. However, after the side switch, the Heroic players did not leave the opponent a single chance, showing a lightning-fast attack to quickly take the lead in the series — 16:8.

Next, the teams moved to the Mirage map, which turned out to be Heroic's choice. Here the Danish team again began to break the intrigue, imposing their own style. At the same time, NAVI could not manage to adjust to the opponent's game, for which the team received a natural defeat - 11:4. After the side switch, the miracle didn't happen as Xizt's men won the pistol series and rushed forward. In turn, NAVI did not manage to wake up, allowing Heroic to secure the final victory and advance to the grand final of the championship — 16:7.

IEM Katowice 2023 takes place from 1 to 12 February in Katowice at the Spodek Arena. As part of the championship, 24 teams from the CIS, Europe, North and Latin America, Asia and Oceania are fighting for a total prize pool of $1,000,000, as well as a ticket to IEM Cologne 2023 for the winner.

Interim results of IEM Katowice 2023

• 1st place: $400,000 + ticket to IEM Cologne 2023
• 2nd place: $180,000
• 3rd-4th place: NAVI — $80,000
• 5th-6th place: Outsiders and Vitality - $40,000
• 7th-8th place: FaZe Clan and Complexity Gaming — $24,000
• 9th-12th place: IHC Esports, OG, fnatic and Team Spirit — $16,000
• 13th-16th place: BIG, Ninjas in Pajamas, MOUZ and Cloud9 — $10,000
• 17th-20th place: MIBR, ENCE, Sprout and FURIA - $4,500
• 21st-24th place: paiN Gaming, Evil Geniuses, Permitta Esports and Grayhound Gaming — $2,500