With the conclusion of week five of both the European and North American LCS, we can now confirm that SK Gaming and TSM will be attending the Intel Extreme Masters World Championship in Katowice this year! Both teams managed to secure the first LCS spot in their respective regions and thus received an invite to join the already qualified teams.

In addition to this, we can also confirm that, in order to ensure a the most balanced regional spread possible throughout all qualified teams, the eighth and final slot will go to the second-placed team in the LCK at the end of the first half of the season (14th February): CJ Entus, who have also accepted their invite.

CJ Entus is no stranger to Intel Extreme Masters and has a storied history of competition there, having won the Intel Extreme Masters trophy in 2013 when CJ Frost and CJ Blaze competed in a historic final in Hannover. Their current lineup includes veteran players such as Shy, Ambition, Space and MadLife, who were part of these two historic teams and now once again have a chance at lifting the Intel Extreme Masters trophy.

As such, the complete list of qualified teams for the Intel Extreme Masters World Championship is now finalized as: