Report: Wildcard set to completely overhaul roster with new core

Dust2.us understands from sources with knowledge of the negotiations that Wildcard is set to completely overhaul their roster, replacing four out of five members with the core of Forsaken. The move will see Keller "SLIGHT" Nilan as the sole remaining member of the former lineup as he is set to replace Jerric "wiz" Jiang on the AWP.

The shock move comes immediately off the back of Wildcard's roster returning from Europe after a three-week bootcamp where the squad competed in a number of European events, with the team reportedly blindsided by the news of their replacement.

Wildcard's sudden decision to chop and change their lineup will likely come as a surprise to many as the two squads are currently neck-and-neck on both HLTV and Dust2.us' rankings for North America. Likewise, while Forsaken are set to play in ESL Challenger League Season 47, Wildcard currently have a spot in Season 46 and look poised to make playoffs. Additionally, the team have a spot in the ESL Challenger Atlanta Closed Qualifier, where they will attempt to qualify for the $100k NA LAN.

A potential explanation for the swap is the experience Forsaken brings to the table. Peter "stanislaw" Jarguz is currently the most experienced NA IGL in free agency with a tenure that includes OpTic, Liquid, Complexity, NRG, and Evil Geniuses over the course of a lengthy career. Additionally, Danny "cxzi" Strzelczyk and Gage "Infinite" Green are tenured journeymen riflers in the NA, with careers dating back a number of years.

As for the decision to replace wiz with SLIGHT, while wiz is undoubtedly the more experienced AWPer, it is worth noting SLIGHT is an old teammate of cxzi's, with the duo notably winning Fragadelphia 16 together in early 2022.

The new Wildcard is expected to consist of:

• Peter "stanislaw" Jarguz

• Danny "cxzi" Strzelczyk

• Gage "Infinite" Green

• Josh "JBa" Barutt

• Keller "SLIGHT" Nilan

• Matt "Warden" Dickens (Coach)

The change is expected to be announced in short order, with the former Wildcard lineup planning on sticking together, with Dust2.us understanding they are sounding out a number of options to replace SLIGHT.

Update: Dust2.us now understands that João "horvy" Horvath is set to be retained on Wildcard alongside Matt "Warden" Dickens as the team pivots to two coaches.