Upon conclusion of the New Legends stage, IEM Katowice action now transfers to the Spodek Arena for the New Champions stage, kicking off on Thursday.

Only eight of 24 initial participants remain in Katowice as contenders, following the conclusion of the New Legends stage. Hosted at The International Congress Center in Katowice, Poland, the stage decided the eight rosters that would not only continue their run in Katowice, but also receive a direct invite to the last-16 phase of the recently-announced StarLadder Major, which will be held in Berlin after the player break.

Included in the list of remaining contenders are both a handful of established squads, including Astralis, Liquid and Natus Vincere, as well as two teams who have secured their first-ever Legends status, ENCE and Renegades.

Below are all participants of the New Champions stage:

As of the playoffs, gone is the Swiss ELO system, replaced by a more cut-throat single-elimination, best-of-3 bracket that aims to determine the sole squad to walk away with half of the $1,000,000 prize and a trophy to treasure for years to come.

The matches will run from Thursday to Sunday featuring two best-of-three series per day, barring March 3, which will see a single series in the form of the grand final.

Following is a comprehensive schedule for upcoming matches:

Thursday, February 28
16:00 - Natus Vincere vs. FaZe | BO3
19:50 - Liquid vs. ENCE | BO3

Friday, March 1
16:00 - MIBR vs. Renegades | BO3
19:50 - Astralis vs. Ninjas in Pyjamas | BO3

Saturday, March 2
16:00 - Semi-final #1 | BO3
19:50 - Semi-final #2 | BO3

Sunday, March 3
19:00 - Grand final | BO3

In regards to broadcasting talent, the final stage will see the addition of O. J. Borg as stage host, with all other members of the on-air team remaining the same.

Here is a list of on-air talent for the final stage of the Major:

O. J. Borg - Stage host

Tres "stunna"Saranthus - Desk host
Alex "Machine"Richardson - Desk host

Chad "SPUNJ"Burchill - Analyst
Jacob "Pimp"Winneche - Analyst
Sean "seang@res"Gares - Analyst

Henry "HenryG"Greer - Commentator
Matthew "Sadokist"Trivett - Commentator
Jason "moses"O'Toole - Commentator
Vince Hill - Commentator

Frankie Ward - Reporter

The $1,000,000 prize pool will be distributed in the following way:

1. $500,000 + Legends status
2. $150,000 + Legends status
3-4. $70,000 + Legends status
5-8. $35,000 + Legends status
9-11. Cloud9 - $8,750 + Challengers status
9-11. AVANGAR - $8,750 + Challengers status
9-11. Vitality - $8,750 + Challengers status
12-14. Complexity - $8,750 + Challengers status
12-14. HellRaisers - $8,750 + Challengers status
12-14. G2 - $8,750 + Challengers status
15-16. NRG - $8,750
15-16. BIG - $8,750