Kick off: BLAST Premier Fall Showdown day one preview

BLAST Premier Fall Showdown 2023 begins today and we have three best-of-threes to bring you as sixteen teams set out to decide who will be the final teams to feature at BLAST Premier Fall Final in November.

With two games in our European Showdown and one from our Americas Showdown to light up our screens today, let us give you a rundown of what to expect.

A single-elimination bracket for both events, it's do-or-die time for all involved if they want to be at one of the biggest events of the year.

BIG vs 9INE

A lot has changed since these two sides faced each other at BLAST Premier Spring Showdown. BIG were the victors then, but 9INE now have far more experience at a tier one level.

Photo: Michal Konkol

The Germans of BIG have been in decent form since the additions of s1n, prosus, and mantuu to their lineup. A win at CCT North Europe Series 7 showed their potential, while wins against Monte and Heroic at ESL Pro League Season 18 showed their ceiling. They're well-equipped for the challenge ahead of them.

As for 9INE, their 81.7% win rate on Vertigo puts them firmly as one of the best teams in the world on the map, and their 71.4% win rate on Nuke is nothing to slouch at either. Having now played at the BLAST.tv Paris Major, IEM Cologne, and ESL Pro League Season 18, facing tier-one opposition has become a formality for the Polish side.

A series that required all three maps to find a victor back in the Spring Showdown, much of the responsibility to find the win will fall on the star AWPers of each team. With hades putting up a 1.09 HLTV rating and mantuu clocking in a 1.07 HLTV rating in the last three months, their battle will be the one to watch in this matchup.

ENCE vs Alliance

The first meeting between the two teams, the recently signed Alliance will have to pull off a huge upset to get the best of ENCE.

IEM Dallas winners ENCE have once again established themselves as one of the very best teams in the world since the signing of Nertz, and having just secured their place at BLAST Premier World Final, they will be keen to book a spot in Copenhagen for Fall Final too.

Photo: Michal Konkol

Alliance were very recently known as 4160lsk, and together, they look to bring pride back to Sweden's national scene. A lineup featuring veterans like twist, robiin, and PlesseN, their difference maker may just be their least experienced player, avid.

On HLTV ranking alone, ENCE come into this match as huge favourites with their position being 58 places higher than their opponents, but this is Counter-Strike, and to suggest that means this match is a foregone conclusion would be more than unwise.

Imperial vs Party Astronauts

The last time these two organisations faced each other was at the RMR event for the PGL Antwerp Major, only two players remained from that game for either team, but every player in the server will understand the significance this game could have for them in the long run.

Imperial's Brazilian squadron will be playing with a stand-in in the showdown.

Photo: Stephanie Lindgren

AWPer HEN1's twin brother LUCAS1 will feature following the benching of JOTA. It's LUCAS1's first outing since March 2022, and fans will be keen to see whether he can help the team win Fall Showdown just as they won Spring Showdown.

Party Astronauts are only in the Showdown thanks to VISA issues for TheMongolz, so they'll be sure not to let their place go to waste. PwnAlone and ben1337 are veterans of the NA scene, and their experience will be vital as they try to guide their young teammates to an international LAN.

With the field in the Americas Showdown, both of these teams are likely to be considered underdogs, but both teams have enough magic in them to pull off upsets and qualify for Fall Final, and that magic should give us a thrilling game to close out day one.