Where the top Counter-Strike: Global Offensive teams will compete at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney on May 4-6 for their share of a record prize pool of USD $250,000. Which is around $310,000 Aussie dollarydoos. This year's IEM Sydney follows on from the success of last year, which drew huge crowds and an online audience of close to 8 million.

“Last year’s IEM Sydney event marked a watershed moment for the landscape of Australian esports, proving that this region has a huge appetite for the best esports content,” said Nick Vanzetti, Managing Director at ESL Australia.

“Fans turned up in droves to experience the magic of the arena spectacle; the competition on stage was fierce and the crowd was electric. In Australia, the esports audience is growing exponentially year on year, and IEM Sydney 2018 hopes to raise the bar once again for fans and spectators the world over.”

“What happened at last year’s Intel Extreme Masters Sydney event completely blew us away,” said Michal Blicharz, VP Pro Gaming at ESL. “The Australian esports audience was extremely engaged in the event and became a part of the show. That type of atmosphere is very rare. They left us no choice but to come back and do it again.”

For more info head here. Tickets go on sale Friday.