IEM Season VIII - Cologne

League Information

Series:

IEM

Organizer:

Electronic Sports League

Sponsor(s):

Intel
BenQ
Kingston HyperX

Game Version:

Heart of the Swarm
Patch 2.1 BU|Patch 2.1#Balance_Update|Patch 2.1 BU

Server:

Europe

Type:

Offline

Location:

Cologne

Format:

Group stages
Single elimination bracket

Prize Pool:

$25,000 USD

Start Date:

2014-02-13

End Date:

2014-02-16

Liquipedia Tier:

S-Tier

Links

Participants

Number of Players:

28

13

7

8

Maps

Alterzim Stronghold • Daedalus Point • Frost • Habitation Station • Heavy Rain • Polar Night • Yeonsu

Chronology

Sao Paulo

World Championship

Tournament Information[edit]

IEM Season VIII - Cologne is the fifth event of IEM Season VIII, organized by ESL and held at the ESL studios in Cologne that also host WCS Europe. It is a Tier 2 event, giving 4000 WCS points for the 2014 WCS Global Finals.^[1] ReDeYe returns as host, while ESL casting regulars Apollo, Kaelaris and ToD are joined by Ret.

Format[edit]

Qualifier[edit]

There are 8 spots for players from all over the world divided to regions as follows:

4 spots for the europeans
- 3 spots in the European and African Qualifier.
- 1 spot in the German ESL Pro Series.
2 spots in the American Qualifier.
2 spots in the Asian Qualifiers.

Main Tournament[edit]

Three Stages:

Stage 1:
- Two double-elimination brackets of eight players each.
- Top 2 of each bracket advance to Stage 2.
Stage 2:
- Four groups of four players played out in dual tournament format, consisting of the 4 Stage 1 winners, 8 qualifiers and 4 invites based on the WCS Ranking.
- Top 2 of each group advance to Stage 3.
Stage 3:
- Single-elimination bracket of eight players.
- Quarterfinals and Semifinals are played in best of 5
- Grand Finals is played in best of 7

Talents[edit]

Host:
- ReDeYe (Paul Chaloner)

Commentators:
- Apollo (Shaun Clark)
- Kaelaris (James Carrol)
- Ret (Joseph de Kroon)
- ToD (Yoan Merlo)

Other Language Commentator:
- NarutO (Silvano Bovo)

Map Pool[edit]

Prize Pool[edit]

$25,000 and 4,000 WCS Points are spread among the players as seen below:

IEM director Carmac and winner HerO with the trophy

* Players must advance one round in order to claim WCS points for that placement. Being seeded through qualifiers counts as advancing one round.^[2] The German ESL Pro Series did not count as a Qualifier.

Trivia[edit]

The tournament was delayed during the finals because of Blizzard server maintenance, pushing play into the wee hours of the morning (the conclusion came at about 3 AM local time), making stamina more of a factor.
The quality and variety of gameplay showcased in this tournament, especially at the semifinals stage, were regarded by many as the highest of all Heart of the Swarm tournaments to date.