by Kia KahaThe draw for the group stage of IEM Oakland has been made, with the participating teams having been drawn into two groups.
After hosting two Intel Extreme Masters events in San Jose, ESL takes the prestigious competition to Oakland, where the Oracle Arena, home of NBA franchise Golden State Warriors, will stage from November 19-20 a $300,000 tournament featuring 12 teams from all over the world.
Eight spots have been filled through invites, while the remaining four places will be determined by iBUYPOWER Masters, a $100,000 tournament scheduled for November 12-13 that will serve as a qualifier for the IEM event.
IEM returns to the Bay Area with an event in Oakland
IEM Oakland will kick off with two groups of six teams, who will face each other in a round robin stage. The group winners will advance to the semi-finals, while the second and the third placed teams will move on to the quarter-finals. The first two rounds of the playoffs will feature a best-of-three format, while the title decider will be a best-of-five clash.
Below you can find the group draw in full:
| Group A | Group B |
 Liquid |
 Virtus.pro |
 Natus Vincere |
 SK |
 G2 |
 NiP |
 Astralis |
 mousesports |
 iBP Masters Seed B1 |
iBP Masters Seed A1 |
| iBP Masters Seed A2 |
iBP Masters Seed B2 |
