Wildcard Gaming vs nouns Prediction: This is where the region top 3 is defined

Wildcard Gaming and nouns will play their next match in Dota Pro Circuit 2023 for North America on January 29. We'll find out which team will be stronger soon enough.

Team Ark once again didn't have any luck in North America. The team was purposefully going to play in a weaker region hoping for a miracle, but favorites Team SoloMid and Shopify Rebellion effortlessly dropped Wildcard Gaming into contention for the top 3 of the North American top division.

The team simultaneously played in the DPC League and a third-party tournament, the EPL World Series. For the latter, it was invited straight into the playoff stage, but after two defeats, it had already left the competition. In the DPC league, Wildcard Gaming has a balance of 3 wins to 2 losses. Let's focus on the defeats: they are defeats without a hint of a fight. And by drafts, Ark and company can impose a fight, but in fact, all the action is stifled at the stage of the first rotation on the map.

The former KBU.US squad was one step away from making the Last Chance at The International 11 last year, and in January, they are fighting for the top 3 of North America with nouns. But you have to understand that it's as if players are hitting their ceiling, and in all likelihood, the middle of North America's top division is the perfect place for Wildcard Gaming.

Unlike Wildcard Gaming, the nouns created an intriguing outcome in the division. In the match against Team SoloMid, the team won on the second card and dropped in a couple of team fights. If Gunnar and their teammates had played cooler, they could have prayed for a direct entry into the majors. But the result was three wins, two losses, and most likely another third-place finish.

Gunnar had another good tournament: top in kills (5th place, 8.2) in every map, he does a lot of damage, and his playmaking keeps nouns in play. Lelis help him. Before the match against Shopify Rebellion, the Brazilian fourth-place finisher was the only representative in the top 5 for KDA among players from the top two teams.

Nouns plays from pressure early in the mid-game. Yamsun looks to be the weak spot on the team: he can shine in matches against tier-3 opponents, but in the series against Team SoloMid and Shopify Rebellion, he crumbled under pressure from enemy players. The more interesting thing is that if he plays greedy Sven, Lina, who can step back into the woods and gain economy, he fails to do so and gets lost on the map. His progress will probably determine the future results of the nouns.

Both squads have the same league record but different backgrounds to the encounter. Wildcard Gaming have allowed themselves mistakes against lesser opponents, nouns have passed them with a clean sheet. Wildcard Gaming were no different to conventional ALPHA for the division favorites, while nouns put up a fight against one and tried to look decent against the other. All factors lead to nouns being the favourite in this match.