Winstrike and ViCi Gaming are the final teams to qualify for the IEM Katowice Major

Winstrike and ViCi Gaming officially became New Challengers today following the conclusion of the IEM Katowice qualifiers.

The Third Place Play-In event took place today as the final, last-chance route to the 14th Valve Major in history. Out of four teams, Winstrike and ViCi emerged as the first and second-place teams, respectively.

Related: Grayhound and Furia round out the IEM Katowice Minor qualifier lineup

Initial matches

• ViCi Gaming won Inferno 16-8 vs. North
• Winstrike won Overpass 16-4 vs. Team Envy

Elimination match

North vs. Team Envy

• North won Train 16-9
• North won Mirage 16-11

Winners match

Winstrike vs. ViCi Gaming

• Winstrike won Overpass 16-14

Decider match

ViCi Gaming vs. North

• ViCi won Dust II 16-12
• ViCi won Inferno 22-20

Winstrike and ViCi pulled off big upsets in the Play-In today, eliminating North and Team Envy in the process. North lost to ViCi twice, once in the initial match and another time in the decider match, which was a double-overtime nailbiter for the Danes. Winstrike, on the other hand, only had to win two best-of-ones to seal first place at the Play-In.

Below is a list of all of the Challenger teams that advanced to the IEM Katowice Major from the online and offline qualifier stages.

• Winstrike (Third Place Play-In, via CIS Minor)
• ViCi Gaming (Third Place Play-In, via Asia Minor)
• ENCE Esports (Europe Minor)
• Team Vitality (Europe Minor)
• AVANGAR (CIS Minor)
• Team Spirit (CIS Minor)
• NRG Esports (Americas Minor)
• Furia Esports (Americas Minor)
• Renegades (Asia Minor)
• Grayhound Gaming (Asia Minor)

The New Challenger stage of the IEM Katowice Major will commence on Feb. 13. Six returning challengers—Cloud9, Fnatic, Vega Squadron, G2 Esports, Ninjas in Pyjamas, and TyLoo—will go up against the 10 new challengers for spots in the New Legends stage.