SK Gaming are the first team confirmed for IEM Sydney 2018, ESL has announced.

The Brazilian giants will return to Sydney looking to defend their title, having won last year's tournament after defeating FaZe 3-1 in the grand final.

IEM Sydney will run from May 1-6, with the knockout stages being held at the Qudos Bank Arena in front of a live audience on the last three days of the event.

SK won IEM Sydney 2017 with felps still on the roster

The tournament will have $250,000 up for grabs - a $50,000 increase when compared to the 2017 edition -, and the number of participating teams has been doubled to 16. It is believed that the competition will use the new format introduced by ESL, with two eight-team double-elimination groups leading to the single-elimination playoffs.

Tickets to the Australian event are already on sale on Ticketek's website, with prices ranging from 39 AUD ($30) to 1,199 AUD ($940).

They came. They saw. They conquered.

They're back for more.

ANNOUNCING OUR FIRST INVITED TEAM TO #IEM SYDNEY 2018, @SKGAMING! 🇧🇷🏆 pic.twitter.com/4t6GRbfBwS

— ESL Australia (@ESLAustralia) February 26, 2018

FaZe #1 Finn 'karrigan' AndersenAleksi 'allu' JalliNikola 'NiKo' KovačFabien 'kioShiMa' FieyHåvard 'rain' Nygaard