Intel Challenge Katowice returns; Dignitas fe invited
ESL have announced that the annual Intel Challenge Female CS:GO competition will be returning at this year's IEM Katowice. The tournament will feature eight teams, with only defending champions Dignitas receiving a direct invite.
$50,000 will be on offer at this year's event, matching last year's prize pool. With seven qualifier slots on offer, four slots are dedicated to Europe, with the final three spread evenly between Asia, North America and South America. The North America qualifier is set to take place on Saturday January 26th, and the South America qualifier to start on the following day on January 27th.
The short timeframe between the announcement and the qualifiers taking place, a gap of just three days, has caused controversy with the community. A further complication is that the North America qualifier overlaps with the upcoming GEX DC NCS Minor CS:GO, where some players have committed to attend.
Last year's tournament saw Dignitas take the title after defeating three-time winners RES, who's core had won each edition of the event since it began in 2015, in the semifinal and Squared Prospect in the final itself.
