In 2024, Dallas hosted the 100th IEM event. The milestone counted tournaments across an international series that began in 2006, connecting one edition in Texas with a much longer history.
Esports puts video games into organised competition, with teams and players taking part in scheduled events. IEM developed through Intel’s backing, ESL’s tournament organisation, and editions held in cities across several continents. Its history combines that continuing collaboration with the individual tournaments that brought it into arenas.
A Joint Launch in 2006
Intel and ESL started the series together in 2006. ESL FACEIT Group, or EFG, describes it as the world’s longest-running global professional esports tournament circuit. IEM’s history follows both the partnership behind it and the individual events through which it developed.
The Intel Extreme Masters series places Intel’s name alongside tournaments organised by ESL. The chipmaker is a founding partner, while ESL brings specialist competition organisation. Individual editions have their own locations and champions, but remain connected through the shared series. Its name identifies a recurring collaboration, with the competition taking shape through each event’s field of teams, schedule, and venue.
Intel And ESL Had Different Roles
The collaboration was already established when IEM began. GamesBeat’s February 2025 report on the partnership renewal described a relationship that predated the circuit’s 2006 launch, but the tournament gave that existing partnership a named series to build together. Intel’s association with competitive gaming therefore extends beyond the date when IEM itself began.
Intel’s involvement connects the competition directly with the PC industry. ESL’s role is to organise esports events, and it operates within EFG. IEM is part of ESL’s portfolio, alongside the wider ESL Pro Tour. These names identify the tournament series, its organiser, and the parent group, helping distinguish the competition from the companies involved in supporting and running it.
The renewed agreement covered IEM and the ESL Pro Tour, continuing their collaboration around Counter-Strike competition. It was announced ahead of the 2025 Katowice finals. By then, the relationship had a record of events behind it and another period of backing ahead. The renewal documents continuity without making sponsorship the sole explanation for the circuit’s longevity.
One Name Across Several Continents
The 2024 events offer a concrete snapshot of the international series. GamesBeat identified stops in Cologne, Dallas, Katowice, Rio de Janeiro, and Chengdu. Those locations put IEM in Europe, North America, South America and Asia within one year. The cities form a representative view of that year’s circuit, rather than an exhaustive account of its history.
GamesBeat reported sold-out events in Cologne, Dallas, and Katowice, with packed arenas in Rio and Chengdu. The series therefore had a physical presence across those destinations, as well as a broadcast audience. Each city hosted a distinct gathering within the larger tour, giving the same competition name a local setting.
The report recorded 162 million hours watched across the year’s IEM broadcasts. The figure describes the time audiences spent following the competition remotely; arena attendance describes its live setting. Together, they show two ways the geographically dispersed events could be experienced.
Australia’s Chapter Took Several Turns
The Australian chapter shows how a stop developed over several years. In January 2025, EFG announced plans for Melbourne’s first edition, featuring Counter-Strike 2. It also recalled an earlier attempt to bring IEM to the city in 2020, disrupted by the pandemic. The announcement returned to a previously pursued destination, giving Melbourne’s introduction its own history within the tour.
The announcement also looked back to Sydney’s sold-out 2023 edition, reporting attendance of 20,000 across three days. It presented Melbourne as the series’ fifth Australian visit and its first edition in that city.
The Melbourne plan separated the full competition from the arena weekend. EFG scheduled the tournament for April 21–27, 2025, with the group stage on April 21–23, and playoffs at Rod Laver Arena on April 25–27.
The arena program was the closing part of the event, following matches that determined which teams would reach it. ESL also planned broadcasts from April 21, covering the group stage before the arena playoffs were scheduled to begin.
Sixteen teams were to enter through global and regional standings: 10 through the global list and two each through Europe, the Americas, and Asia. The group stage would reduce that field to six playoff teams. Quarterfinals and semifinals were planned as best-of-three matches, with a best-of-five final. The announced structure connected international team selection with competition culminating in the arena.
A Hundred Events and Continued Backing
The Dallas milestone coincided with an audience record for that stop. GamesBeat reported 22.3 million hours watched and peak global viewership above 1.8 million, describing the 2024 tournament as the most-viewed IEM Dallas edition. The two measurements capture different things: accumulated time spent watching and the largest simultaneous audience.
The event’s place in the series’ history was therefore accompanied by a documented result for its broadcasts.
IEM’s history combines continuing Intel backing with ESL’s tournament organisation and a circuit that can return to established destinations while introducing new cities. The 2006 launch, Dallas’s 100th event, and Melbourne’s announced arrival describe different stages of that development. The partnership connects them; the individual competitions give the series its international history.
