If you’re still mourning the indefinite hiatus of DreamHack Melbourne, good news, ESL has a soothing balm for the pain. ESL FACEIT Group (EFG) have announced Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) will be held in Melbourne in April 2025 (sorry Sydneysiders).
“We’ve always wanted to bring an IEM event to Melbourne, Australia’s historic home of sport, and after an attempt in 2020 that was thwarted by a global pandemic, we are excited to finally bring the tournament to the city” said Marc Winther, EFG’s Director of Game Ecosystems.
After previous IEM’s in Sydney, this is the first time the Counter-Strike 2 tournament will come to Melbourne. After 20,000 live attendees in 2023, ESL expects IEM Melbourne 2025 to be the biggest esports tournament ever in Australia.
Group stages will take place from the 21st to the 23rd of April, with Playoffs set for the 25-27th. 16 teams will be vying for both the title and USD $1,000,000 in winnings. Tickets will be available Thursday January 23rd at 2pm AEDT, with a 3-day pass costing $189.
Again, considering there are no plans for DreamHack Melbourne to return, it’s great to see a big event to give the Melbourne games community a chance to come together.
About the Author
Austin Gallagher
he/him
Austin enjoys long walks on the beach, sunsets, and games with turn-based tactical combat. If he isn't save-scumming in XCOM or a immersive sim, running a tabletop RPG, or climbing a rock wall... wait that's not Austin... what is that?
