ESL has confirmed that next year's first event in the ESL Pro Tour Masters Championship – the IEM Katowice 2021 – tournament will be held without spectators due to restrictions related to the spread of coronavirus infection. The competition is scheduled to begin on February 16. At the same time, the organizers expect that they will be able to hold the event in LAN-format, gathering all the teams in one location, the name of which is not disclosed yet. ESL officials note that the organization is considering a return to an online format, «in case the coronavirus remains a significant threat to the safety of players and staff».
Last year's IEM Katowice tournament was the first CS:GO event to be affected by the spread of the coronavirus: at the time, playoff matches were held in an arena without spectators. ESL tried several times during the year to return to the LAN-format, but due to the difficult epidemic situation it was not possible – . Both ESL One Cologne and IEM Global Challenge were eventually moved online.
IEM Katowice 2021 will feature 24 teams competing for the $1000000 prize pool. The initial round is scheduled for Feb. 16-17, the group stage will take place from Feb. 18-21, and the finals will be held on Feb. 28.
