The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word SHOWDOWN
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
S
H
O
W
D
O
W
N
More clues leading to the result SHOWDOWN
- Act as guide to NI county, provoking clash
- Escort to dungeon, perhaps, for final confrontation
- Face-to-face confrontation exposed about women’s party
- Doctor who’s on deck for decisive engagement
- Greeting in Cornwall leads to new confrontation
- Exhibition, something hairy bringing confrontation
- Guide unhappy in moment of truth
- Who’s terribly depressed in final confrontation?
- Escort to the ground for clash
- Confrontation resulting from blue movie maybe anticipated
Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "confrontation" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case confrontation = showdown.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does SHOWDOWN mean?
SHOWDOWN noun- The final battle between two nemeses, in which there can be but one victor.
- The final round in a poker match, where the all remaining players' cards have to be put down on the table and shown.