Best photos from IEM Katowice playoffs

Relive the action from the playoffs of the first Big Event of 2023.

The year of Counter-Strike began in earnest with IEM Katowice 2023, and the playoffs brought together six titans to battle it out for the trophy. The hottest team of the moment G2 led the pack but superlative individual performances from HEROIC made them a force to be reckoned with, and the other teams all had their part to play in the pageantry of the action in Poland.

We have collated the best moments that HLTV.org's photographers Josip "brcho" Brtan and Radoslaw "MAKKU" Makuch captured on camera during the playoffs, so you can relieve the trials and tribulations of the race for the IEM Katowice trophy.

Twistzz brings the trophy onstage, having been eliminated from the tournament The stage is set for the playoffs of the first Big Event of the year apEX laments after Vitality are eliminated at the hands of Liquid NAF celebrates with a loved one after securing a semi-final berth Heroic and NAVI clash for a spot in the final cadiaN soaks up the atmosphere after his men triumph over NAVI G2 secure their own place in the final by defeating Liquid huNter- celebrates with his family The Spodek arena awaits an anticipated grand final matchup between Heroic and G2... ... the two hottest teams in the world... ... and it is G2 who emerge triumphant, banishing the demons of their finals loss in 2022 The victory is an emotional one for NiKo, who had fallen in the final three times before in Katowice jks is joyous as he hoists the second of back-to-back Katowice trophies huNter- raises his fist high having secured not only a trophy but also a HLTV MVP medal for his efforts

You can find the individual galleries for each day of IEM Katowice below:

- Playoffs day 3
- Playoffs day 2
- Playoffs day 1

- HLTV Confirmed live show

- Group stage day 4
- Group stage day 3
- Group stage day 2
- Group stage day 1

- Top 20 medals

- Play-In day 3
- Play-In day 2
- Play-In day 1

HEROIC #2 Casper 'cadiaN' MøllerMartin 'stavn' LundRené 'TeSeS' MadsenRasmus 'sjuush' BeckJakob 'jabbi' Nygaard Richard 'Xizt' Landström G2 #1 Nikola 'NiKo' KovačNemanja 'huNter-' KovačJustin 'jks' SavageRasmus 'HooXi' NielsenIlya 'm0NESY' Osipov Jan 'Swani' Müller