ESL have announced that IEM Katowice will now become IEM Krakow after moving the iconic tournament to the bigger city after 2025.

There was significant evidence for many months that this would occur with PGL missing out on their Krakow Major for 2026, when it was discovered that ESL had already booked the stadium for those days for the move from Katowice to Krakow. This comes after the expansion of the game and competitive scene. For over a decade, IEM/ESL Katowice has been played in the Spodek Arena, but because of the popularity and size of the city, ESL has decided to move it to a more appealing city and a much larger arena. The new arena in Krakow allows for almost double the amount of spectators that Katowice had to offer. In Katowice, the arena can house around 8,000 people when the stage is set up, but for Krakow they reckon they could almost squeeze double that. It is a no brainer for the tournament organisers and the expanding fan base.