The ESL have announced that they will host the first CS:GO Major in Brazil, IEM Rio. The event will be in October.
There will be a $1,000,000 prize pool on offer at the event, with 24 of the best CS:GO teams in the world in action.
16 of those teams will have to qualify for the event through RMR events in the lead-up to it. The other eight spots will be taken up by the teams that contested the Champions stage of the Antwerp Major.
The Brazilian CS:GO community has long been wanting a CS:GO Major to be held in the country and they finally have their wish.
Their passion was unmatched in Antwerp. Over a million people watched Imperial play during the Legends stage of that event.
Popularity of esports in Brazil and South America in general seems to be a real untapped market that more esports should look at expanding to.
That popularity will get another chance to show off in the opening round of IEM Dallas, with a Brazilian derby between Imperial and FURIA set for the first round of action.
ESL Announcement
The ESL announcement of the event said: “It’s happening! From October 31st to November 13th in 2022, the highly anticipated IEM Rio Major Championship will finally take place in the heart of South America: Rio de Janeiro.
“24 teams will compete for the once-in-a-lifetime chance to be the winner of the first CS:GO Major in South America.
“There is no doubt [that] the crowd in the Jeunesse Arena will create a CS:GO’s fans most memorable experience.”
The event was originally supposed to be held in 2020 but the Covid-19 pandemic put a halt to those plans.
Finally fans have a rescheduled date for the event.
Tickets for IEM Rio go on sale tomorrow (May 25).
Photo via the ESL
Follow along with the Rotation’s journey:
Our Twitter: @_TheRotation
Buy our physical edition: therotation.uk/shop
Contact us: editor@therotation.uk
Buy us a coffee to support our work: The Rotation (buymeacoffee.com)