IEM Sydney 2017 Announces All The CSGO Teams

Gaming tour Intel Extreme Masters has announced the six professional teams that will compete in this May's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament in Sydney, Australia.

The teams are Renegades, Astralis, Optic Gaming, SK Gaming, Faze Clan, and North. Collectively, they have won more than $3.8 million from CSGO tournaments over the years, with Astralis ($1.4 million) leading the way, organizers said in a news release.

The IEM Masters Sydney serves as the kickoff for the 12th season of IEM's global circuit. Other stops this year are at venues in China, the US, South Korea, and Poland.

The Sydney event takes place May 6 and 7 at the Qudos Bank Arena. The prize pool is AUD $260,000, making it the largest professional gaming tournament ever in Australia.

The May 6 semifinals matches will be best-of-three, with the May 7 Grand Final operating in a best-of-five format. Group stage play takes place earlier in the week to determine who makes the cut.

There will actually be eight teams competing in the event, as qualifiers will be held on April 9 for local teams to earn a spot to challenge the pro teams. One winner each will emerge from Australia/New Zealand and China.

You can attend IEM Masters Sydney 2017 in person or watch online. Single-day tickets for Saturday go for AUD $59, with Sunday tickets for the Grand Final available for AUD $89. Two-day packages, meanwhile, start at AUD $119. You can order tickets here.

IEM Masters Sydney 2017 Teams (with career CSGO earnings in parenthesis):

• Renegades ($183,878)
• Astralis ($1,421,785)
• Optic Gaming ($844,200)
• SK Gaming ($1,172,813)
• Faze Clan ($386,599)
• North ($578,000)

For more on the IEM Masters Sydney 2017 tournament, you can visit the event's website here.