In a global esport where five major regions -- North America, Europe, China, South Korea and Taiwan -- seemingly take up all the spotlight, it can be hard to find any praise for the regions on the sidelines. Ever since their first appearance in 2013 for Season 3, the teams from international Wildcard regions have been popular topics of debate when it comes to the World Championship in League of Legends, where there is always at least one slot reserved for qualifying Wildcard rosters. Hailing from minor, up-and-coming scenes with weaker competition and fewer resources, these Wildcard teams often exit Worlds with abysmal records, losing every game except for maybe one or two.Because of this pattern, many hardcore fans have argued from the start that Wildcard teams shouldnt be allowed to compete at Worlds as they drag the level of competition down and can harm stronger favorites chances of making it out of the group stages. But the Wildcard teams havent been satisfied with last place; they are slowly on the rise from bottom-tier tourists to true dark horses.Here is their story.Season 3 (2013)GamingGear.eu (Lithuania) -- group stage GamingGear.eu lost every game in the group stages except for one, finishing at a W-L record of 1-7. Their only win was off of Team SoloMid who by that point were already knocked out and captained by a player who decided he was retiring. Having absolutely no intention of winning, TSM picked a joke team composition during draft so that Reginald could have fun for his last competitive game and gave a free win to the Wildcard squad. Theres no real special story behind GamingGear.eus disappointing performance; they were out of their depth, especially being in the same group as powerhouses like SK Telecom T1.The competitive landscape of the Wildcard regions back in 2013 is difficult to describe, since so many regions were saplings with new servers compared to the broad oaks in the rest of the world. This lack of development meant it was impossible to make an argument that a Wildcard team in 2013 had any potential against the major regions. Ultimately, all five players of GamingGear.eu would soon retire after renaming themselves to Team Ultra Vires in the wake of Worlds that year.Season 4 (2014)KaBum! e-Sports (Brazil) -- group stageDark Passage (Turkey) -- group stageDuring Season 4, An?l HolyPhoenix I??k was the AD carry for Dark Passage and is well known for his aggressive play and skill, and was even considered to be a possible import for LCS teams from time to time. Despite HolyPhoenixs skill, DP was too behind as a team to pull out wins at Worlds. This Turkish team would consistently become one of the stronger teams in the Wildcard scene, often placing around third or fourth place in future Wildcard tournaments as it continually fine-tuned its roster.KaBum!s name is an accurate depiction of its impact on both the tournament itself as well as how Wildcards would be perceived. They won one game only, but that game was against the number one European seed, Alliance. It was a pivotal win that helped seal the coffin and send Alliance home while simultaneously sending Cloud9 out of the group stages to advance at Worlds that year. While its widely thought that the upset happened during the game itself, KaBum! showed strategic foresight by dismantling Alliance during the draft phase, crippling Mike Wickd Petersens champion pool and forcing the rest of Alliance onto questionable picks more suited for solo queue rather a cohesive team composition.Players like KaBum!s Thiago TinOwns Sartori from Brazil were certainly talented, but talent alone wasnt what had been holding Wildcard teams back; rather, it was a wider understanding of macro game. KaBum!s macro-oriented victory over Alliance certainly put Brazil on the map, which would help the region grow in coming years.Season 5 (2015)paiN Gaming (Brazil) -- group stageBangkok Titans (Thailand) -- group stageHailing from Thailand, the Bangkok Titans were Titans not only by name but by reputation as well. During Season 5, BKT were incredibly dominant within the Thailand Pro League, allowing them to qualify for Southeast Asias much larger Garena Pro League. Led by captain Pawat WarL0cK Ampaporn and mid-lane carry Nuttapong G4 Menkasikan, they were able to overthrow several of the Vietnamese teams that held a tight grip over the region, go nearly undefeated, and qualify for Worlds. Unfortunately, they crashed and burned there, losing every game in a tough group with teams like SK Telecom T1, EDward Gaming, and H2k-Gaming. BKT grew a lot that year, from playing recklessly to learning macro strategy and breaking free of the GPL, but the competition wasnt hard enough to push them anywhere near world-class.Fueled by KaBum!s meaningful win against Alliance, Brazil continued to be the hotspot of IWC speculation about how close they might be to being at the same level as North American or European LCS teams. One team, INTZ, was deemed to be comparable to a number of NA League Championship Series teams at the time by the likes of Team SoloMids S?ren Bjergsen Bjerg and Team Liquids Christian IWillDominate Rivera. However, it was fellow Brazilian team paiN Gaming who defeated INTZ domestically and then qualified for Worlds through the Wildcard Qualifier that year.PaiN would be called the best Wildcard team to attend Worlds after it was over. Brazil has certainly grown leaps and bounds, as paiN was the first Wildcard team to win more than one game at the annual event. They looked great in some of their losses and their second game against the Flash Wolves, who were the winners of their group, lasted almost an hour and went back and forth several times. This paiN roster had several star players including jungler Thúlio SirT Carlos, mid-laner Gabriel Kami Santos, and famous AD carry Felipe brTT Gon?alves. From here, Brazil can only hope to go even higher as INTZ will represent the country at Worlds this year. Custom Buffalo Sabres Jerseys . -- Charlie Graham stopped 67 shots as the Belleville Bulls edged the visiting Guelph Storm 6-5 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. 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Last in the game, Di Vaio and Romero got into a shoving match with several Houston players. Romero appeared to elbow and kick Houston defender Kofi Sarkodie.England begin another summer of Test cricket at Headingley next week and the squad for the first Test against Sri Lanka has been announced with Jake Ball the standout inclusion. The Nottinghamshire paceman becomes Englands fourth seam option, joining James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Steven Finn in the 12-man squad. But who is he and how did he force his way in Trevor Bayliss thoughts? Heres what you need to know…Age: 25Born: Mansfield, NottinghamshireTwitter: @JakeBall30Loves: Golf & Everton Why is he in the squad? Ball impressed in Notts draw with Yorkshire in early May Ball has been in fantastic form for Nottinghamshire in the early part of the season, taking 23 wickets at 19.04 in five first-class games this season. Most notable perhaps was his performance against Yorkshire at Trent Bridge, live on Sky Sports. The 25-year-old bowled with real pace and took seven wickets in the match, including the prize scalps of Joe Root, Gary Ballance, Adam Lyth and Jonny Bairstow.Is he just a flash in the pan?In a word: no. Ball is still in the early stages of his career and after a broken foot disrupted his 2014 it was only last year that he really got a run in the Notts four-day side, having impressed in white-ball cricket since his debut in 2009. He certainly took his chance, taking 39 County Championship wickets with a first class average of 29.51 for the season. Since then he looks to have added a yard or two of pace to his bowling over the winter and it is undoubtedly paying off, he is already well on his way to improving on his wicket haul from 2015.What do they say about him? England batsman Joe Root is sure Jake Ball can mmake an impact in Test cricket.dddddddddddd Nottinghamshire team-mate Stuart Broad: Jake has developed so quickly in the last 18 months. Hes tall, hes got good pace and hes a guy that takes big wickets - he gets top-order batsmen out. He was the best bowler on show [against Yorkshire] and its a good sign when players perform well on TV against good players.Yorkshire coach Jason Gillespie: He bowled well against us in Abu Dhabi in pre-season and then again in our recent Championship match. He can move the ball off the surface and swing it through the air, while he bowls a good length and invites the batsmen to come forward. If he gets an opportunity, I think he will do well.Sky Sports Nasser Hussain: He has been very impressive. On a pretty decent Trent Bridge pitch, he bowled really well and got Root out twice. He looked sharp, fit and in-form and when you speak to guys around County Championship Division One, they say he has been doing well for some time.What does he say?Jake Ball, to Nottinghamshires official website: I havent met (coach) Trevor Bayliss yet, so Im looking forward to seeing what hes about - and obviously meeting up with a few of the players I havent played against or met. Its going to be a really exciting time, I really cant wait to get going.First class bowling recordMatches: 26Wickets: 84Average: 25.13Best innings figures: 6-49Best match figures: 9-67 Ball took 39 County Championship wickets in 2015 Is he new to the England set up?Again, no. While this may be Balls first call-up to the Test side, he is no stranger to representing England. The seamer was an Under-19 international, playing a starring role in two U19 Tests in 2010 against Sri Lanka, and was rewarded for his fine county form in 2015 with a call to the England Development Programme fast bowling camp and a place in the England Lions squad for their tour of Pakistan. There he impressed once more both with the red and the white ball.Any other business?Ball does have another England connection in the form of his uncle, and former Nottinghamshire and England wicketkeeper, Bruce French, who also had a spell as Englands wicketkeeping coach where he worked closely with Matt Prior, in particular. You can see whether Ball makes his Test debut as England take on Sri Lanka from 10am next Thursday, May 19, live on Sky Sports 2 HD. Also See: Vince, Ball get England call England fixtures/results Sri Lanka fixtures/results Sky Cricket on Twitter ' ' '