Intel Extreme Masters Season XII – Oakland

Intel Extreme Masters Season XII – Oakland (IEM Oakland 2017 for short) was an esports event in Oakland, United States in November 2017. It was hosted by ESL as a part of Intel Extreme Masters Season 12. The event consist of two First-person shooter tournaments, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, and involved many invited and qualified teams from different regions of the world.

Venue
The main event of the tournament took take place at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California, United States. It is a multipurpose arena known as the home tenant of NBA team Golden State Warriors, with total capacity around 20,000. It is the second time for Oracle Arena to host the event, after it previously hosted the IEM Oakland 2016.

Direct invitees

 * Astralis
 * Cloud9
 * FaZe Clan
 * G2 Esports
 * Gambit Esports
 * Ninjas in Pyjamas
 * Renegades
 * SK Gaming
 * Team Liquid

Regional qualifier winners

 * OpTic Gaming (North America)
 * Team EnVyUs (Europe)
 * The MongolZ (East and Southeast Asia)

Format
The group matches were held in Intel Esports Arena in Burbank, California between November 15–16, 2017 and used round robin format, while the playoffs in Oakland used single elimination format with 2 allocated byes for each group winners in the quarterfinals. 12 participating teams were divided between 2 groups of six. All group matches are played with best-of-one format, while playoffs and grand finals are best-of-three and best-of-five respectively. Group standings are determined by points and rounds won-lost difference. A win in normal time resulted 3 points, while a win in overtime resulted in 2 points, also a loss in overtime resulted in 1 point. Each group winners went straight to semifinals, while first and second group runners-up faced each other in quarterfinals.

Winnings
The total prize money for the tournament was confirmed by ESL as US$300,000. The champions and runners-up were rewarded US$125,000 and US$50,000, respectively. In addition to the base prize pool, teams were awarded US$1,000 per group stage victory.

Direct invitees

 * Alliance
 * Cloud9
 * Evil Geniuses
 * FaZe Clan
 * Luminosity Gaming
 * Method
 * Ninjas in Pyjamas
 * Noble
 * Penta Sports
 * Team SoloMid
 * Team Liquid
 * Tempo Storm

Regional qualifier winners

 * *aAa* Gaming (Europe)
 * Corn Shuckers (North America)
 * Crimson Esports (Europe)
 * Digital Chaos (Europe)
 * Ghost Gaming (North America)
 * Miami Flamingos (North America)
 * Ronin Esports (North America)
 * Wind and Rain (Europe)

Format
The tournament used the battle royal format where all 20 teams, each consist of 4 players, were simultaneously battling and eliminating each other in 8 matches across both days of the event. Teams were awarded points based on both finishing points and accrued kills within each match. The winning team were decided by cumulative points received after all matches had been played.

Results
French team *aAa* Gaming won the tournament with the highest cumulative points at the end of the 8th match. Second and third place went to two American teams Tempo Storm and Ghost Gaming, respectively.