Esports action will take gamescom by storm in not just one, but two gamescom halls. Whilst the ESL Arena (hall 9) prepares for competition across over fifteen games, hall 9 is set to welcome a never-before-seen Counter-Strike: Global Offensive invitational tournament system as part of the Intel Extreme Masters. Top teams are set to compete for US$85,000 in a “Last Team Standing” format, where they will have to pick opponents for one another, with fan inclusion and outside-of-the-game politics to be very strong influencing elements of the show.

Each team will start the event with four lives.  A match defeat will represent a lost life, whereas a victory allows the winning team to select the next two teams that play each other.  Play continues until only one team remains with lives left. Participating teams include: TEAM ENVYUS, Team SoloMid, Mousesports, Renegades, SK Gaming and Counter Logic Gaming.

This showcase format, developed by the ESL in 2009, is a “welcome back” for Counter-Strike to the Intel Extreme Masters.  The game will also feature at Intel Extreme Masters San Jose (November 2015) as well as the Intel Extreme Masters World Championship in Katowice in 2016.

“We are very proud of our Counter-Strike legacy, so it was a great pleasure to re-introduce this franchise to the Intel Extreme Masters,” said Michal Blicharz, Managing Director Pro Gaming at ESL. “This showcase format will hopefully be a great one time warmup for the rest of what’s to come this season.”