More than 600 competitors from 88 countries are registered for the event, and it is a high-quality field boasting all the defending Grand Winners and all the current world champions, with the exception of Ryo Kiyuna.

The points at stake during the Salzburg round of the Karate 1-Premier League will help determine those who qualify for Tokyo 2020 based on the standings. 

Competitors taking gold in Salzburg will receive between 870 and 990 points, depending on the category and the number of bouts.

As well as Olympic qualification spots, the event at Sporthalle Alpenstraße also counts towards deciding the Grand Winners at the end of the season, awarded to the leader of the Karate 1 standings in each category.

Following the first two rounds of the season in France and the United Arab Emirates only two women's fighters have won both events - Sandra Sanchez of Spain, who competes in the Female Kata and Serap Ozcelik Arapoglu of Turkey, who competes in the Female Kumite -50kg.

The other leaders in the women's categories are Anzhelika Terliuga of Ukraine who competes in the Kumite -55kg, Xiaoyan Yin of China who competes in the Kumite -61kg, Irina Zaretska of Ukraine who competes in the Kumite -68kg and Meltem Hocaoglu Akyol of Turkey in the Kumite +68kg category.

The only male karateka who has won both the first two rounds is Steven Dacosta of France who competes in the Kumite -67kg category.

Other leaders in the men's categories are Damian Quintero of Spain (Male Kata), Darkhan Assadilov of Kazakhstan (Kumite -60kg), Bahman Asgari Ghoncheh of Iran (Kumite -75kg), Zabiollah Poorshab of Iran (Kumite -84kg) and Gogita Arkania of Georgia (Kumite +84kg).

The competition runs for three days with elimination rounds on Friday and Saturday followed by bronze medal bouts and finals on Sunday.