IEM Sydney 2023 to be first Counter-Strike 2 LAN tournament

Tournament operator ESL has officially announced that all future Counter-Strike events will be held in the new version of the shooter. Thus, the upcoming LAN tournament IEM Sydney 2023 will be played in CS2.

According to the press release, ESL tournaments, including the ongoing ESL Challenger League Season 46 and ESL Impact League Season 4, will fully transition to CS2 in the coming days. At the same time, the match format will be changed to MR12.

It had been previously reported that ESL Pro League Season 18, which takes place from August 30 to October 1, will conclude in CS:GO. The organizers refused to transition to the new version of the game to uphold the integrity of the prestigious tournament.

Notably, IEM Sydney 2023 is scheduled to take place from October 16 to 22 in Sydney, Australia. As the nearest LAN tournament on the Counter-Strike pro scene calendar, it will be the first event, at which top teams will compete in CS2.

Origin: pro.eslgaming.com