Players with a Russian passport will be able to take part in IEM Katowice 2023

As confirmed by the editors of the HLTV portal, players with a Russian passport will be able to take part in IEM Katowice 2023. Representatives of the resource received a corresponding response from the tournament operator ESL, which is responsible for holding the competition.

Recall that at the end of September, Poland banned most Russian citizens from entering the country against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine. This action by the local authorities called into question the possibility of the participation of players with a Russian passport at IEM Katowice 2023. However, now the championship organizers have dispelled doubts and confirmed that legally nothing prevents an esports player from entering the country and taking part in competitions.

At the moment, there is no local law indicating that any team or player cannot enter Poland and therefore not participate in the upcoming Katowice tournament. ESL FACEIT Group continues to comply with all international laws and sanctions and we will continue to monitor and modify our global and local business strategies.

However, ESL did not comment on the information regarding the future of Russian teams. In February, the tournament operator banned government-affiliated organizations from participating in its competitions. However, many of them either managed to sell their rosters or put up teams to participate under a neutral status.

IEM Katowice 2023 will take place from January 31 to February 12 in Katowice at the Spodek Arena. As part of the championship, 24 teams from the CIS, Europe, North and Latin America, Asia and Oceania will compete for a total prize pool of $1,000,000, as well as a ticket to IEM Cologne 2023 for the winner.

Currently, the names of three participants in the group stage of the championship are known - FaZe Clan (winner of IEM Cologne 2022), Vitality (winner of ESL Pro League Season 16) and Outsiders (winner of IEM Rio Major 2022). In addition, the fnatic team (the winner of Elisa Masters Espoo 2022) will definitely perform at the Play-In stage.

The remaining participants will be determined based on their position in the ESL Top Teams rankings as of December 19th.