The final chance for teams to qualify for the IEM Katowice 2019 Major begins on January 16th when the CIS and EU Minors begin. The top two teams from the European, CIS, Americas, and Asian Minors will qualify for the New Challengers stage of the IEM Katowice Major.

Following the Minors, the four teams that place third in their respective brackets will compete head to head in a last chance play-in match where the two winners will advance to the New Challengers stage. Watch the matches live on ESL’s pair of Twitch channels, here and here.

The full Minors schedule can be found below:

CIS: January 16th – 20th

EU: January 16th – 20th

Americas: January 22nd – 26th

Asia: January 22nd – 26th

Minor Play-in: January 27th

Format:

Each Minor will begin with two groups of four teams each in a double elimination format. Opening matches will be bo1, with the following Decider, Elimination and Winners’ matches decided on a bo3 basis. The use of a bo3 for the Winners’ Match is a new addition for 2019. The top two teams from each group will progress to the playoffs.

Playoffs will consist of four teams in a double elimination bo3 bracket. This year, there will not be a Grand Final at the Minors; the winner of the upper bracket will be placed 1st and the winner of the lower bracket 2nd. The top two teams from each region will qualify for the Challenger Stage of the IEM Katowice 2019 CS:GO Major.

The Minor Play-in

The team that places 3rd at each Minor will qualify for The Minor Playoff, a last chance to qualify for the Major. All four teams will be placed in a double elimination bracket with the following pre-established seeding for the opening round: 3rd EU Minor vs. 3rd Asia Minor, 3rd CIS Minor vs. 3rd Americas Minor.

Opening and Winners’ matches will be played as bo1, Elimination and Decider matches will be bo3. The top two teams will qualify for the Challenger Stage of the IEM Katowice 2019 CS:GO Major.