BLAST consolidates Showdown structure, Liquid to participate

This morning, BLAST announced that the North American showdown will be restructured as the "Rest of the World" Showdown and will include teams like Complexity, Evil Geniuses, Liquid, Mongolz, and other international competitors. FURIA and Imperial were also given invites to the event and they will join Fake Natty, formerly of 00 Nation, and one more North American team.

As BLAST explains, Liquid were invited to the Fall Showdown prior to their switch to a European-majority team. As a result, they are participating in the Rest of the World Showdown as they are considered a BLAST North American partner team, however heading into 2024 that is subject to change.

The change in Showdown format comes as North America has suffered blow after blow of organizational divestment due to an increasingly challenging economic environment within the space. As Counter-Strike continues to move more towards a eurocentric competition, North American organizations have found it challenging to maintain a team within the region.

While the name has changed, Dust2.us has confirmed that the Showdown will still be hosted in North America, with Mongolz bootcamping in the region specifically for the competition.

The following teams will take part in the Rest of The World Showdown October 4th through October 10th: