The CS: GO Majors, one of the most historic events in the game's esports calendar, will set foot in Brazil for the first time ever this year. The Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) Rio 2022 will be the second Valve-sponsored Major of 2022 and will feature 24 of the best teams in the world as they compete for their share from a $1,250,000 prize pool.
Valve originally had plans to take the Majors to Brazil in 2020. However, with the global pandemic, the organization had to shift its plans for ESL One: Rio 2020 to a later date. After two years and two successful CS: GO Majors in between, Valve, along with ESL, is ready to bring the highly anticipated Majors to one of the most passionate Counter-Strike communities in the world.
CS: GO's IEM Rio Major 2022 will kick off with its Challengers Stage on October 31, 2022, with the tournament's Grand Finals scheduled for November 13. The Challengers and Legends stages of the tournament will be held live at Riocentro while the Champions Stage will be held at Jeunesse Arena.
Qualification for the upcoming IEM Rio Major 2022 was determined through a format similar to recent Majors. Teams had to succeed against their regional competition in various RMR events to secure their slot for the upcoming tournament. The slot distribution for each is as such:
Europe: 16 slots (3 Contenders, 6 Challengers, 7 Legends)
America: 6 slots (3 Contenders, 2 Challengers, 1 Legend)
Asia-Pacific: 2 slots (2 Contenders)
Upon qualification, all 24 teams have been split into 3 groups, Contenders, Challengers, and Legends, based on their performance in the RMR Qualifiers.
In their attempts to claim the IEM Rio Major 2022 trophy, teams will have to compete in three different stages.
The Challengers Stage
IEM Rio Major 2022
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