CT Surgery Resident Showdown

What Is the Showdown?

Presented by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) and the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (EACTS), the CT Surgery Resident Showdown is a challenging cognitive skills competition held in both North America and Europe. The top three European teams will be invited to compete at the EACTS Annual Meeting and the top three North American teams will be invited to compete at the STS Annual Meeting.  

Two-person teams of cardiothoracic surgery residents face off against one another in a test of knowledge across five cardiothoracic surgery categories: cardiac, congenital, thoracic, history of the specialty, and decision making.  

The top three European teams will be invited to compete in the semi-finals at the EACTS Annual Meeting in October 2026. The top three North American teams will be invited to compete in the semi-finals at 2027 STS Annual Meeting in San Diego, California. The semi-finalist European and North American teams will then compete for the championship title at the 2027 STS Annual Meeting.

The CT Surgery Resident Showdown is sponsored by the STS Cardiothoracic Surgery Consult, the most complete and authoritative online and mobile resource for cardiothoracic surgery information in the world. 

Who Is Eligible to Participate?

The North American competition is for two-person teams of residents enrolled in an ACGME- or a Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada-approved thoracic surgery residency program. The European competition is for two-person teams enrolled in a cardiac, thoracic, or cardiothoracic trainee program, who will not complete formal training until February 2027 at the earliest (a formal of letter of status signed by the program director will be required upon registration for the qualifying exam).

Congenital and ICU residents/fellows, as well as past Jeopardy/Showdown finalists, are not eligible to participate. 
 

Important Dates

• Team Sign-ups: June 1-30, 2026
• Qualifying Exam: July 15-31, 2026
• European Showdown Semi-Finals: Oct. 7-10, 2026 (EACTS Annual Meeting, Barcelona, Spain)
  • The winning European team will receive paid airfare, travel expenses, and registration to STS 2027.
• North American Showdown Semi-Finals and the 2026-2027 Final Showdown: Jan. 28-31, 2027 (STS Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA)
  • The three NA semi-finalist teams will receive paid airfare, travel expenses, and registration to STS 2027.  
     

Qualifying Exam

Individuals will be given one attempt at answering 100 questions in 30 minutes. Individual scores will be combined for each team.

All competitors must have a profile created through the STS web portal to access the qualifying exam.
 

Prizes

Winners of the Final Showdown will receive a trophy, bragging rights, and be crowned the 2027 CT Surgery Resident Showdown Champions!