Liquid and Renegades have both secured spots at IEM Katowice after finishing top two in the North American closed qualifier.

The first round of the single-elimination qualifier featured just two matches as NRG and Luminosity were handed walkover victories over 100 Thieves and Misfits - both of whom withdrew from the tournament due to roster issues.

With Lucas "⁠steel⁠" Lopes back on the roster, Liquid overturned a 1-0 map deficit against the Pujan "⁠FNS⁠" Mehta-led Complexity, with Jonathan "⁠EliGE⁠" Jablonowski putting in a 1.45 rating and a 100 ADR in the series. On the other side of the bracket, Renegades were also made to work hard to beat the new Splyce roster, running out 2-1 victors thanks to strong individual showings from Justin "⁠jks⁠" Savage and Keith "⁠NAF⁠" Markovic.

Liquid book spot at IEM Katowice

The opening semi-final, pitting Liquid against NRG, saw steel's men draw first blood by the narrowest of margins following two extremely close halves. Tsvetelin "⁠CeRq⁠" Dimitrov then inspired his team to level the series (1.84 Rating, +16KDD), but Josh "⁠jdm64⁠" Marzano made Train his playground as he led the charge for his team, who cruised to a 16-8 victory.

The other match was more straightforward, with Renegades requiring just two maps to beat Luminosity. With an in-form NAF, the Australian team ran out 16-11 winners on Cache after a dominant CT half in which they picked up ten rounds. The next map, Train, was a one-sided affair, as Renegades strolled to a 16-6 victory after another dominant defensive display.

The team list for IEM Katowice currently looks as follows:

IEM Katowice will span six days and culminate with the playoffs at the Spodek Arena, in Katowice, from March 2-4. A total of $500,000 will be on offer in this 16-team tournament, which will be played under the new format recently announced by ESL, with two double-elimination groups of eight teams leading to the playoffs.