IEM Sydney’s schedule has undergone a revamp. ESL, the event’s organizer, has extended the time allocated for best-of-one matches to one hour and best-of-three matches to three and a half hours. This adjustment means that the opening matches on October 16 will now commence at 01:30, a 90-minute delay from the original 00:00 start time.
The final schedule for the second day will be determined based on the outcomes of day one, with the tentative start time being 02:30. This shift in timings is strategic. It ensures that the latter half of the tournament days remain accessible to European viewers.
The average map duration during these tournaments hovered around the one-hour mark. However, there were variations, with times ranging from 35 minutes in the BO1s at ESL Challenger Jönköping’s open qualifier to 51 minutes in the BO3s at the event’s closed qualifier. While this data might not be wholly indicative of high-stakes LAN Counter-Strike events, it provided ESL with enough information to justify the schedule changes, allowing for potential mid-tournament adjustments.
Star-studded Talent Lineup
IEM Sydney 2023 won’t just be about the games. ESL has unveiled an impressive talent lineup for the event. This includes renowned hosts like Tres “stunna” Saranthus and Freya “Freya” Spiers, analysts such as Janko “YNk” Paunović and Sudhen “Bleh” Wahengbam, and a team of casters featuring names like Chad “SPUNJ” Burchill and James “BARDOLPH” Bardolph, among others.
Let’s take a look at the full talent lineup:
Hosts
- United States Tres “stunna” Saranthus
- United Kingdom Freya “Freya” Spiers
Analysts
- Serbia Janko “YNk” Paunović
- Serbia Aleksandar “kassad” Trifunović
- India Sudhen “Bleh” Wahengbam
Casters
- Australia Chad “SPUNJ” Burchill
- United Kingdom Alex “Machine” Richardson
- United Kingdom James “BARDOLPH” Bardolph
- United Kingdom Alex “hawka” Hawkins
- Australia Jordan “Elfishguy” Mays
- Australia Mitchell “pilski” Pilipowski
- Australia Geordie “Mac” McAleer
- Australia James “jimNeso” Cowan
Arena
- Australia Mitch “Conky” Concanen
- Latvia Anastasija “Heccu” Tolmačeva
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