ESL set for Brazil return with IEM Rio

Esports organiser ESL, which is a brand of ESL FACEIT Group, has announced that, after the IEM Rio Major in 2022, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) will be returning to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. IEM Rio will be a ESL Pro Tour Masters competition. 

IEM Rio 2023 will take place between April 17 and 23, 2023, and will have 16 of the best CS:GO teams around the world fight it out for a prize pool of US$250,000. The winner will also get a title secured in the Intel Grand Slam race and will have a spot secured in the IEM Cologne 2023 tournament, which will be held later in the year. 

The tournament will have eight teams put into two groups in the Group Stages, from which three teams from each group will proceed to the live Playoff Stage. The final will be held at the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro.

Shaun Clark, Senior Director Game Ecosystems – CS:GO at ESL FACEIT Group, said:

“Last year during the IEM Rio Major, the Brazilian crowd demonstrated such an enormous enthusiasm and passion as we have never before witnessed in esports. When we announced that we’d be returning to Brazil, we could already count on a lot of excitement from the community. IEM Rio 2023 is set for an intimate atmosphere and countless memorable moments. We can’t wait to enter the Jeunesse Arena again this year and do more in, and for, the region in the future.“

Tickets for IEM Rio 2023 will go on sale from March 6, 2023.