Liquid & Heroic: Hugo's favourites & underdogs for Showdown

"I enjoy the cutthroat nature of Showdown. While typically teams are given two or even three chances to lose matches before they are eliminated in many tournaments, Showdown exacerbates the importance of starting AND finishing strong.

With only two spots available at the Spring Final in London, there are no second chances. Clean up your side of the bracket, or stay home disappointed. May the best teams win!" Hugo told BLAST.tv.

"After Heroic combusted at the end of 2023, I among others imagined there was no way this organisation would be able to field a roster as competitive as the full Danish lineup that appeared in so many playoffs over the last couple of years.

But with big money, invested well, Heroic have fielded a team that is not only strong on paper, but in a honeymoon period as well. With NertZ showing phenomenal firepower, kyxsan capable leadership, and the return of nicoodoz to Tier-1 CS, Heroic have managed to already qualify to the major all the way from the open qualifiers.

I'm very excited to see if they can keep this form up long-term."

"A lot of questions and high expectations are on Liquid with this new roster fielding a core from the Americas and under the proven leadership of cadiaN. With Yekindar's firepower to top it off, this should be a world beating team.

However Liquid have had some bumps in the road back in NA. Despite these teething issues I have faith that this second outing in EU will look better than the first, where they fell to a respectable FaZe and G2 back at BLAST groups. Liquid need to silence the doubters soon and qualifying to London would certainly start that conversation."

"Determination is one word that comes to mind when I think of veteran players such as MUTiRiS and roman, two of the oldest active Portuguese professional CS players.

Recently, this determination paid off. SAW finally qualified to the Copenhagen Major after years of trying, despite being 0-2 down in the RMR. Showcasing their resilience and map pool.

This makes SAW look like a tantalising prospect, hungry to upset. A combination of the older talent, and young players such as arrozdoce and story creates a potent mix."

"There is no doubt that OG have had a troubling time fielding a roster that can consistently compete at the highest level in Counter Strike. That being said, many talented players have come through this roster and their most recent acquisition has caught many eyes.

HeavyGod, since joining this roster has fielding a stunning 1.20 HLTV rating, mostly online in the run up to the RMR.

With him and young AWP talent Regali by his side. I wouldn't deem it impossible for OG to pick up a couple of scalps, depending on their side of the bracket here at Showdown. I don't expect OG to qualify to London but getting some much needed reps with this young roster could be very helpful in their trajectory for 2024."