BIG leaves IEM Katowice 2023 group stage

Team BIG lost to Team Spirit with a score of 1:2, thus leaving the group stage of IEM Katowice 2023. As a result, the German team suffered a second defeat and took 13th-16th place, earning $10,000. In turn, the "dragons" go to the second round of the lower bracket, where they will play with the loser of the Team Liquid semi-finals - Natus Vincere.

The match of the lower bracket of group A started on the Nuke map, which became the choice of the Russian team. However, the BIG players quickly seized the initiative on the server, keeping the "dragons" away from them. Nevertheless, Team Spirit managed to knock out a comfortable backlog, which, in theory, was enough for a comeback — 9:6. Nevertheless, in the second half the German team only strengthened its position, forcing the opponent to make mistakes. As a result, BIG confidently finished playing in attack and took the lead in the series — 16:10.

Next, the teams moved to the Mirage map, which turned out to be BIG's choice. Here gob b's wards again showed a confident start, continuing to crush the opponent. However, the “dragons” managed to pull themselves together to return under the curtain of the first half and get the minimum advantage — 8:7. However, after the side switch, Team Spirit quickly killed the intrigue, as they showed excellent defense and confidently led the series to the destroyer — 16:11.

Everything was decided on the Anubis map, where the Russian team continued to crush the opponent in attack. At the same time, BIG did not show anything in defense, actually signing their defeat — 13:2. After the side switch, the German team began to correct their position and almost broke the opponent. However, Team Spirit managed to take the most important round with pistols to close the comeback and knock BIG out of the tournament — 16:10.

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: $80,000
• 5th-6th place: $40,000
• 7th-8th place: $24,000
• 9th-12th place: $16,000
• 13th-16th place: BIG — $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