M80 replace NRG in BLAST Fall Showdown

The American-majority team will get additional European playtime with newcomer Lake.

NRG have withdrawn from BLAST Premier Fall Showdown "due to Shanghai Major playing commitments and scheduling" and have been replaced by M80, the tournament organizer announced on Tuesday.

Elias "⁠s1n⁠" Stein's side received the invite due to finishing as the runners-up to NRG in Ace North America Masters, the NA qualifier for the Fall Showdown.

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NRG sign nitr0

BLAST Fall Showdown is scheduled to run from August 21-25, concluding just one day before the start of the Perfect World Shanghai Major North America RMR closed qualifier (scheduled for August 26-28).

NRG are currently ranked No. 16 on Valve's regional standings — last updated on June 18 —, which is enough to earn them a direct invite to the NA closed qualifier but not to the Americas RMR.

Although details for the Fall Showdown have not been announced, recent iterations of the tournament have been played online in Europe. As such, NRG could have been forced to fly overnight over the Atlantic and play the Major qualifier the next day if they made it to the final round of the Showdown.

The team that recently added Nick "⁠nitr0⁠" Cannella has no chance to earn a direct invite to the Americas RMR as the ranking cut-off is on August 7 before IEM Cologne. Esports World Cup and BLAST Premier Fall Groups are the only post-summer break tier-one events to provide ranking points toward Major qualification, and NRG only have ESL Challenger League Season 48 on their calendar, which won't conclude until October.

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Shanghai Major ranking cut-off set before IEM Cologne

M80 is on the cusp of the Americas RMR qualifying threshold in eighth place with a 43-point lead over RED Canids, which would narrowly snag them the final direct invite to the event as the standings are now.

However, RED Canids and several South American teams just below them on Valve's ranking are currently competing in CBCS Season 5, which will conclude on July 14 and impact the ranking before the cut-off.

M80 can also garner additional ranking points at EWC in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, but face a difficult challenge as they will be making their debut with newcomer Mason "⁠Lake⁠" Sanderson against Vitality.

Date	Matches
Esports World Cup 2024
17/07/2024	Vitality 16:55 M80	Match

The substantially higher level of teams at EWC and minimum $10,000 takeaway — the same as first place in CBCS Season 5 — should keep M80 above RED Canids, but their spot at the Americas RMR is not yet guaranteed.

The invite to the Fall Showdown offers M80 the opportunity to play additional practices and officials in Europe with Lake, who has zero international Counter-Strike experience.

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M80 sign Lake

Alongside M80, the team list for the event includes two European qualifier winners, Zero Tenacity and AMKAL, with the bottom-placing ten teams from BLAST Fall Groups and the winners of qualifiers in Asia and South America to join in the coming weeks.