Written by Austyn W.
Fnatic and MAD Lions face each other in the BLAST Premier: Spring 2020 European Showdown tournament. The BLAST Premier: Spring 2020 European Showdown is a ten-team online European tournament. The event has a prize pool of $182,500 and the top three teams will qualify for the BLAST European finals. The first-place team gets $37,500 in the prize pool, but more importantly to some, it also contributes 800 BLAST Premier points.
Each group has five teams and they compete in best-of-one matches. The teams receive three points for a win and one point for a tie. The top four teams from each group advance to the playoffs. The playoffs take place from June 5 -15th, 2020. The playoffs feature two single-elimination gauntlets. No grand finals match is played, but there will be a third-place match. The top three teams advance to the European finals.
Fnatic has been on a losing streak, having lost four of its last five matches. The Swedish roster started 2020 on a strong note, consistently defeating the best CS:GO teams. They were also the best CS:GO teams, according to the HLTV rankings for a brief period of time. However, Fnatic’s sudden loss of form has also coincided with the CS:GO esports scene moving online. Their performance online has been inconsistent and they have not been able to replicate much of their success.
The MAD Lions roster rose to prominence in late 2019 as they nearly reached the top ten CS:GO teams. However, just before they could move any further the team made a roster change that would see them catapult further in the CSGO rankings. The aim of this roster move was for the team to improve its rankings and improve its performance. The team also recently defeated Mousesports, one of the best CS:GO teams in the game.