First photos: IEM Katowice kicks off in new ‘hall of heroes’

IEM Katowice is ready to begin with the Play-in stage and HLTV has arrived at the venue to bring you full coverage of the $1 million spectacle.

A new ‘hall of heroes’ setup featuring former champions hosts the studio portion of the event (the play-in and group stage), in which ESL emulates BLAST’s setting with teams facing each other.

We’ve captured a few shots of the new setup and the teams warming up for the first best-of-one matches of the opening round. Cloud9 are one of those teams, about to debut with their newest addition Timur “⁠buster⁠” Tulepov in a clash against IHC. Here he is in his new jersey, along with a look at the new studio setting:

More pictures will start rolling into the day one gallery once the matches begin.

While you wait, you can read our preview of the event “A fierce fight dawns for 2023’s first trophy.” Everything else you need to know to watch the tournament can be found in our viewer’s guide.