The International Wildcard kicks off this week at Gamescom in Cologne, Germany starting August 21. The qualifier represents the only chance for teams outside of the five major All-Star regions to participate in the World Championship. Competitors from Turkey, Oceania, Brazil, Latin America and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) will compete for one spot to Worlds.

Teams will play a round robin to eliminate one team from contention, and then the remaining teams will play in a single elimination bracket to determine who’s heading to the World Playoffs in Los Angeles.

Team Immunity – Oceania

• Swip3rR – Top
• Elysia – Jungle
• Heavenz – Mid
• raydere – AD
• Rosey – Support

Team Immunity qualified through the Oceanic Season 3 Championships at PAX Australia, where they bested 845 other teams to win the tournament while only dropping a single game. They won the finals in style winning with Heavenz playing AD Lulu in mid lane. Several Immunity players are veterans of the North American server, including Heavens who achieved 2800 Elo by the end of Season 2.

With strong teamfight mechanics and adept playmakers at both mid and AD, Team Immunity looks like a contender to take down the qualifier and could even make some noise at Worlds.

paiN Gaming – Brazil

• Venon – Top
• SirT – Jungle
• Kami – Mid
• BrTT – AD
• Espeon – Support

paiN Gaming went into the Brazilian Qualifier as one of the favorite teams to advance and they didn’t disappoint throughout the tournament. Though they lost out to fan favorite CNB in the group stages, they were able to get revenge in the grand finals with a 3-1 victory on the backs of Kami’s inspiring Gragas play.

With the passionate Brazilian League fan base behind them, paiN gaming is one of the favorites to advance to the World Championship.

Dark Passage – Turkey

• Fabulous – Top
• ResostA – Jungle
• Naru – Mid
• Holyphoenix – AD
• Holythoth – Support

Dark Passage qualified through the Turkish Season 3. They finished the winters, spring and summer seasonal tournaments undefeated while only dropping a single game the entire year. Dark Passage is perhaps most famous for their mid player Fabulous who is beloved in the Turkish scene, even among those who don’t follow his team.

While their global ult compositions have proved to be effective, the team will be without their AD carry player Holyphoenix because he’s too young to participate at Gamescom. This situation is especially problematic for Dark Passage as Holyphoenix is the consensus best AD player in Turkey. Only time will tell if Dark Passage can advance to Worlds in spite of being down their best player.

GamingGear.eu – CIS

• Nbs – Top
• Alunir – Jungle
• Mazzerin – Mid
• DeadlyBrother – AD
• Inspirro – Support

Gaming Gear.eu qualified by winning the Regional CIS Championship over Instruments of Surrender, another very strong team from Eastern Europe. Rather than setting up with a certain team composition or playstyle, Gaming Gear.eu attempts to counter their opponent’s plan, which leads them to play both early aggressive compositions or defensive compositions depending on the situation.

With strong individual skill in several positions, and members who have played with each other for over a year, Gaming Gear’s teamwork could prove just what they need to find their way to the World Championship.

Lyon Gaming – Latin America

• Porky – Top
• h4ckerv2 – Jungle
• Uri – Mid
• Seeiya – AD
• NerzhuL – Support

Lyon Gaming qualified by winning the Latin America North Qualifiers, and then defeating the Latin America South champions LoL Cave. They won the tournament in dominant fashion without dropping a single game. Lyon Gaming players cite Korean players and teams as a source of inspiration, and it’s evident in their playstyle, particularly on Lee Sin and Gragas. Lyon focuses on a mid game, objective-based strategy, evident by no match lasting more than 25 minutes on their way to qualifying. Lyon’s AD player Seeiya has had an incredible run in recent competition, suffering only three deaths in the entirety of the finals.

Lyon may end up relying on their individual skill as well, as nearly all members have been near the top of Challenger on North America, as well as both Latin America servers.