Everything you need to know about both International Wildcard Tournaments
International events are the pinnacle of competition. They are all the more important for teams from regions who have less-developed infrastructure, are at a geographical disadvantage, and lack a direct ticket to the Worlds Group Stage.
For these regions, there are two separate international tournaments to determine which two teams will represent the Wildcard regions at the 2015 World Championship.
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And The Format Is . . .
Unlike the International Wildcard Invitational, the two Wildcard Regional Qualifiers will have a double round robin Group Stage, where each team will play each other twice. The top two teams will then face off in a best of five Final.
The first International Wildcard Qualifier takes place from August 26 to 29. The Group Stage will take begins on August 26-27, with the Final on August 29. The second International Wildcard Qualifier is broken up across two weekends. The Group Stages will be held at the Riot Brazil studios in São Paulo, Brazil on August 29-30. The Finals will be held in Santiago, Chile on September 5.
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Desafio Internacional
This International Wildcard Regional Qualifier includes Brazil's paiN Gaming: winners of the 2015 CBLoL Winter, CIS' Hard Random: winners of the SLTV StarSeries 2015 Summer, and Kaos Latin Gamers: winners of the 2015 Latin America Closing Cup.
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paiN Gaming
Easily the team with the largest fanbase in Brazil, paiN Gaming is no stranger to representing their region internationally. Unfortunately, in their last few showings at IEM San Jose and Gamescom 2013, paiN has fallen short of their goals. Their recent CBLoL victory gives them another chance at proving themselves outside of Brazil.
Their roster is packed with the veteran Brazilian players of Matheus "Mylon" Borges (top), Thúlio "SirT" Carlos (jungle), Gabriel "Kami" Santos (mid), and Felipe "brTT" Gonçalves (AD carry) along with French support player Hugo "Dioud" Padioleau. While previously known for their strong lanes and strong lanes alone, paiN's map movement has improved throughout their most recent split, but will need continued improvement before their next international stage.
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Hard Random
Reprising their role as the CIS invitee to an International Wildcard event, Hard Random hope for a stronger showing at their second international event this year. In April, they exited the IWCI Semifinals at the hands of the Brazilian INTZ e-Sports, and will take on another Brazilian team in paiN, along with one of the only teams to defeat them in the IWCI Group Stages: Kaos Latin Gamers.
Hard Random fields the same team that they brought to IWCI, composed of Dmitri "Smurf" Ivanov (top), Aleksei "Symphony" Tyunin (jungle), Mykhailo "Kira" Harmash (mid), Aleksei "LeX" Kisak (AD carry), and Dmitrii "Dimonko" Korovushkin (support). The star of Hard Random is indubitably Kira, who aggressively pushes and often out-duels his opponents.
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Kaos Latin Gamers
At April's International Wildcard Invitational, Kaos Latin Gamers represented Latin America, a role they'll reprise at the Desafio Internacional. Unlike the aforementioned Hard Random, KLG had a rough Group Stage at IWCI, winning only one game. KLG bring four members of their IWCI team to the regional qualifier: Felipe "Helior" Pastenes (top), Julio "Juliostito" Berríos (jungle), Juan "Regi" Cruz (mid), and Manuel "BearJew" Parrochia (support). Matías "WhiteLotus" Musso replaces Juan "zCro" Fierro in the AD carry position.
KLG are audacious to a fault, and sometimes chase for kills as opposed to simply taking objectives. However, their recent 3-1 victory over Lyon Gaming in the LACC Cup Grand Final also showcased solid dives with aggressive team fighting and flanking.
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International Wildcard Turkey
The Turkish International Wildcard tournament includes DetonatioN FocusMe: winner of Japan's LJL Season 2 Grand Final, The Chiefs eSports Club: winners of the OPL Split 2, Dark Passage: winners of the 2015 TCL Summer, and Bangkok Titans: winners of the 2015 SEA Regional Finals.
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DetonatioN FocusMe
Seeing DetonatioN FocusMe once again represent Japan is a bit of a surprise. Ozone Rampage owned the regular season LJL split, and were heavily-favored to beat DetFM in the LJL Grand Final. Meanwhile, DetFM had undergone constant roster changes throughout the Season and had been shaky, especially in comparison to their first Split dominance. In a close 3-2 Final, DetFM found the roster that worked for them, placing Kazuta "KazuXD" Suzuki back in the support position, swapping Young-dae "Rokenia" Jun to AD carry, and moving their star AD Yuta "Yutapon" Sugiura to the top lane.
Rounding out the rest of the roster are mid laner Kyohei "Ceros" Yoshida (mid), and Yuta "Astarore" Hiratsuka (jungle). DetFM struggled in their IWCI appearance, going 1-5 in the Group Stages. Facing a few familiar names in this International Qualifier, DetFM look to have a stronger international presence this time around.
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The Chiefs eSports Club
Remaining Australia's number one team, The Chiefs ran rampant through their region this Split, ending the regular season with a 14-0 record. They only dropped one game -- to Legacy eSports in the Oceanic Pro League Final -- all season, narrowly besting their 19-1 Split 1 record with a 20-1 overall Split 2 record (including Playoffs).
Like any team who is indisputably the top of their region, The Chiefs return to Turkey eager to prove themselves internationally. Composed of some of Oceania's most experienced pro players -- Brandon "Swip3rR" Holland (top), Samuel "Spookz" Broadley (jungle), Simon "Swiffer" Papamarkos (mid), and Derek "Raydere" Trang (AD carry) -- The Chiefs picked up former Legacy support Bryce "EGym" Paule and have continued to improve. Narrowly missing the Semifinals at April's IWCI with a 3-3 Group Stage record, The Chiefs will have to again go through the Turkish champion and the SEA champion to earn a spot on the Worlds stage.
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Dark Passage
This TCL Summer Final marks one of the few times that Dark Passage wasn't the heavy favorite in their region. In spite of a bumpy 3-2 victory over Team Turquality in the Semifinals, IWCI winners Beşiktaş e-Sports Club were still expected to take the Turkish title. However, as the final nexus fell, Dark Passage reclaimed their spot at the top team in Turkey, and now look to earn another chance in a World Championship Group Stage.
Dark Passage has undergone several roster changes this year, but are still led by captain Koray "Naru" Bıçak (mid), and jungler Atakan "Crystal" Aydın (jungle) who were both part of last year's Dark Passage worlds team. Rounding out the roster is top laner Kaan "Elwind" Atıcı, AD carry Berkay "Zeitnot" Aşıkuzun, and former Gamers2 and Giants Gaming support Fernando "Rydle" Soria.
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Bangkok Titans
At April's Invitational, the Bangkok Titans surprised those who doubted in the strength of Southeast Asia against other wildcard regions. Following their Semifinals loss to Beşiktaş, many suspected that, had SEA had their true representative -- the first place Saigon Fantastic Five, who were unable to attend due to visa issues -- SEA would have easily taken the tournament.
Bangkok Titans return to the international stage as the true winners of their region this time around. They not only won the 2015 GPL Summer, but additionally won a separate regional qualifier to earn their spot, showcasing previously unknown compositional and champion depth. The roster is composed of Pawat "WarL0ck" Ampaporn (top), Chayut "007x" Suebka (jungle), Nuttapong "G4" Menkasikan (mid), Juckkirsts "Lloyd" Kongubon (AD carry), and Sorawat "Moss" Boonphrom (support).
Where to Watch
The Group Stages and Finals of the Turkish International Wildcard Tournament will be broadcast in English and can be watched right here at Lolesports. The Desafio Internacional will be available in Portuguese and Spanish on Twitch and Azubu.
