On August 21st, the tournament for the underdogs on the professional Counter-Strike 2 scene, BLAST Premier: Fall Showdown 2024, will begin. Sixteen teams will compete for two spots at the BLAST Premier: Fall Final 2024, which they previously failed to qualify for, and a prize pool of $135,000.
Most of the teams participating in the event have had a rough start to the second half of 2024 and are not in the best playing condition. There's no room for retreat, and it's time to pull themselves together — the battle for the last two slots for the LAN in Copenhagen will begin very soon. So, there's no choice but to start giving it their all right now.
Teams from Which No Results Should Be Expected
Cloud9's management is performing one of the worst jobs on the professional CS2 scene in recent years. Their blind faith in a roster of Russian players continues, as do their failures in championships. The new roster of young unknowns looks like a tier-2 team at best. It seems their maximum potential is just successfully overcoming qualifications and nothing more. High achievements with the current lineup are out of the question, as their recent results have proven.
Another team that shouldn't be expected to make it to the BLAST Premier: Fall Final 2024 is Virtus.pro. The roster changes and the coaching staff reshuffle haven't gone unnoticed. The team is in a state of disarray, and the results are getting worse and worse from tournament to tournament. The team currently lacks any structure in their game, and the players' actions on the server are simply chaotic. The situation in VP is such that it’s completely unclear what development plan the club's management has for the roster, or if they have one at all.
They Can Compete for the Slots
Since Artyom "r1nkle" Moroz joined Ninjas in Pyjamas, the team’s firepower and game dynamics have significantly improved. Before the summer break, matches against NiP were quite easy for tier-1 teams, but now that's not the case. In the BLAST Premier: Fall Groups 2024, they defeated Cloud9 and FaZe Clan and also put up a fight against G2 Esports. The team still has a lot of work ahead, but they are already capable of securing a slot for the LAN.
Team Falcons is a project that raises many questions. When the star lineup was being assembled, the team's goal was to win a Major, but now the success of the team is simply making it through the Play-In stage at IEM Cologne 2024. Not a bad change of priorities, right? Previously, Falcons would lose to just about anyone, but after a bootcamp during the summer break, the team looks like a solid mid-tier contender. This is largely due to the improvement in individual player performance, which has led to better results. In the upcoming tournament, with the right circumstances, they are quite capable of earning a spot at the BLAST Premier: Fall Final 2024.
The Main Favorites
Undoubtedly, the main favorite in the upper bracket of the BLAST Premier: Fall Showdown 2024 is FaZe Clan. Yes, the team is going through tough times, but the upcoming championship is a great chance to redeem themselves for their failure at IEM Cologne. Individually, the players are in excellent form, but the team still seems to be missing something. This trend has been ongoing since the beginning of the year, but it has reached its peak right now. Most likely, the FaZe Clan players are facing mental issues, and the sooner they can resolve them, the quicker the team will return to the top positions in the professional CS2 scene.
Complexity Gaming is one of the most inconsistent teams on the CS2 pro scene at the moment. Today, they can play incredibly well and beat anyone, but tomorrow, they might lose aimlessly to the main underdog of the tournament. There’s a high probability that they, like FaZe Clan, have mental issues. Complexity is in the lower bracket of the upcoming tournament, and the opponents there are such that they can only lose to themselves.
The matches of BLAST Premier: Fall Showdown 2024 will take place from August 21 to 25 online. Sixteen teams will compete for a prize pool of $135,000 and two slots at the BLAST Premier: Fall Final 2024. You can follow the news, schedule, and results of the tournament via the provided link.
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