Shopify Rebellion vs Wildcard Gaming Prediction: The old guard is still strong

On January 15, Shopify Rebellion and Wildcard Gaming will play their next match in Dota Pro Circuit 2023 for North America. We'll find out which team will be stronger soon enough.

The former Evil Geniuses roster consists of a string of star players with a track record of consistently dominating the majors and The International in the last five years. At his age, Arteezy is still capable of strengthening any team in the world, Cr1t is recognized as a genius fourth-position player and Abed, at his best, will outshine any opponent on the center court.

In 2022, Fly and his teammates failed in the majors and were successful in the group stage of The International but did not stay in the playoffs for long. Cr1t noted that the organization then saw fit to end the partnership due to disproportionate demands and results. That said, the current Shopify Rebellion roster is always an unqualified favorite in North America to go into the majors due to a lack of real competition.

In the first match against Triuth Gaming, it took less than an hour to close the series in their favor. Arteezy racked up over 750 gold and 800 experience per minute, with Cr1t leading in average KDA (26). The team was the most active in frags at The International during the group stage and has now made 79 kills in two maps. Apparently, after parting ways with the renowned organization, the players are once again motivated to smash their rivals to pieces.

Wildcard Gaming has as many as three CIS players in its roster: Ark, babitych and Sunlight. The players have been trying their hand in North America for a long time now, so they are considered old-timers in the region. Until 2023 they used to play in the Second Division, but they were one step away from qualification for The International 11, and now they are one step away from making it to the Last Chance. Wildcard Gaming are now quoted 4-6 in the North American analyst rankings.

The best individual performance so far belongs to FLee. The American has a KDA of 2.5 and, by that measure, looks better than his opponents. It cannot be said that the team is on a level below its opponents. On the first map against Team SoloMid, Sunlight and company even gave battle to the opponent for 20 minutes. But all the phrases Wildcard Gaming committed on supports and Bryle, and could reach the main targets on rare occasions. Therefore, both maps were over in half an hour.

Theoretically, the team can give a decent fight to the Fly team.

Fly and company should have little difficulty in this series. Even if both squads approach in their best form, the former team has a lot of experience against tier-1 teams, geniuses in their positions, and diversity in their strategies. A clean win for Shopify Rebellion looks like the most obvious prediction. On the first map, they will easily win with a handicap (-15.5) frags. The odds on that outcome are 1.71.

On the second map, Total frags will be over 48.5. The odds on this outcome are 1.83.

Are there those who are ready to believe in a miracle? Wildcard Gaming can finish the series against their opponent with a handicap (+1.5) on the maps. The odds on that outcome are 4.50.