Ahead of IEM Sydney in May, our home teams are in the midst of qualifying tournaments to determine who will be playing against the best in the world.
The Oceanic qualifier will see 8 Aussie teams competing for a place in the IEM group stage. The finals will conclude on Sunday the 14th of April where the winning team will earn the qualifying spot. Aussie favourites including Grayhounds, ORDER and Chiefs will be battling it out for the win this weekend.
Even though the Oceanic qualifiers only have one spot, that doesn't mean the other teams are out of the running. For the first time, a local championship will also be offering up a qualifying spot. The ESL AUS & NZ Championship will be hosting the IEM Sydney Derby on the 18th of April where the winner will also be heading to the group stage of IEM Sydney.
Qualifying teams will then be up against the world's best for a chance to play on the IEM stage. The Oceanic teams will be the last to be added to the 16 attending teams. Currently of which, fellow Aussies Renegades and previous champions FaZe Clan will also be competing.
Our Aussie teams certainly welcome the IEM event a bit closer to home and the chance to show the world what they're made of.
“Not being jet-lagged is bloody fantastic,” said DickStacy of Grayhound Gaming. “IEM Sydney is a one of a kind event for Australia, we're looking forward to versing the big boys again on home soil”.
"We've been working hard to ensure that we perform to our standards for IEM, after some close losses at the event last year. The Oceanic region is the strongest I've seen it - I'm certainly optimistic about seeing some deeper runs from us this year" said emagine from ORDER.
The Oceanic qualifier will be live on Twitch from this afternoon. The IEM Sydney Derby will also be broadcast on Twitch on April 18th. IEM Sydney will be held from May 3-5 and tickets are still available.
