Big news from ESL and TEG Live today. IEM will be held in Melbourne in 2020 and will be headlining MEO (Melbourne Esports Open.) As previously reported, IEM will not be returning to Sydney in 2020. This was revealed by ESL Australia on Twitter, however, word of where the event is to be held in 2020 was not announced. Today, ESL Australia and TEG Live have confirmed the event’s move to Melbourne.
At the same time, ESL and TEG confirmed that the Melbourne Esports Open would again be held in 2020. As the headlining event at MEO, IEM 2020 is the first global tournament for Melbourne and the Melbourne Esports Open.
With a prize pool of $250,000 USD and the best CS:GO teams in the world, IEM 2020 is a great addition to the growing and expanding MEO. 2020 marks the fourth year IEM has been held in Australia and the first time it will be held in Melbourne.
IEM 2020 MEO
The Melbourne Esports Open is held at Melbourne & Olympic Parks and IEM 2020 will take place at Rod Laver Arena. The event is the Australia Masters stop as part of the ESL Pro Tour which includes global ESL and Dreamhack competitions. Overall, the global competition has a prize pool over $5 million USD.
IEM 2020 also gives competing teams the chance to win $1 million USD as part of the Intel Grand Slam.
ESL Vice President Pro Gaming Michal “CARMAC” Blicharz said;
Australian Counter-Strike fans are second to none, and when we had the opportunity to bring IEM to Melbourne, to headline the Melbourne Esports Open, it was a perfect fit.
Australians have always generated atmospheres that could not be matched by anything else. Coming back for 2020 was a top priority, and the Melbourne Esports Open was a natural match. It will open Intel Extreme Masters to a broader audience and provide CS:GO fans a richer event experience.
Victorian Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events Martin Pakula said;
We host major events of all shapes and colours in Victoria and it’s fantastic that we can be a leader in esports.
More than half of Australia’s digital games companies are based here, so the local jobs story is just as compelling as the on-screen action.
Tickets for both IEM 2020 and MEO 2020 go on sale on February 14, 2020. Tickets to IEM start at $69 AUD for a single day ticket, $139 AUD for a weekend, $229 AUD for a weekend premium and $999 AUD for Global Elite tickets.
All IEM 2020 tickets grant ground pass access to MEO 2020.
MEO tickets start at $25 AUD for a single day and $39 AUD for a weekend. MEO ticket holders “gain access to a first come, first serve unreserved general admission section of Rod Laver Arena to experience IEM Melbourne 2020.”
Tickets will be available from Ticketek at 10 am AEDT, February 14, 2020.
