ESL has announced the group lineup for IEM Beijing-Haidian 2020, and also revealed how the tournament will be run. The competition will begin on Nov. 6 with opening matches played in Europe and North America. The smaller divisions (Asia and Oceania) will begin next week, on November 13, with the final games taking place on November 22.
The largest prize pool – is in the European division, where teams will compete for $150,000. In North America it is $70,000 and for Oceania and Asia – at $30,000 each. The winners of the European and North American divisions, in addition to the cash prize, will be eligible to participate in the IEM Global Challenge.
Sixteen European teams will be divided into two groups, both of which have teams from the top 5: Vitality and Natus Vincere in Group A and Heroic and Astralis in Group B. The right to enter the playoffs will be awarded to the top four teams in each group. The four leaders in each group will qualify for the playoffs. Due to the large number of participants, there will be two matches per day during the group stage. The opening match will be Vitality and Spirit, followed by FaZe and OG.
Eight teams will take part in the North American division, and accordingly, four – teams, two from each group, will qualify for the playoffs. Asia and Oceania will play four teams each, which will immediately compete on a double elimination basis.
