Towards the end of 2021, PUBG shared very exciting news with the fans. After a two-year hiatus, the PUBG Nations Cup, the PUBG equivalent of a World Cup, would return in 2022. While the location was not announced, that did not stop fans from speculating potential rosters.
While the fans have no control over the rosters, there is an overall sentiment of who should be on each country’s team. So, before any tournament happens in 2022, it is time to place an early region-by-region prediction on what the rosters will be. Why not start in Europe, arguably the region with the deepest talent pool top to bottom.
Finland: Pag3, curexi, SKUIJKE, Rustanmar
Finland has a history rich history in esports. They are home to the iconic ENCE organization. It is home to DOTA2 players like Topson and MATUMBAMAN. At PNC 2019 though, the team finished dead last. An influx of new talent is hoping to change that though.
That new blood for Team Finland comes from the home-favorite ENCE and the GC runners-up Heroic. The hometown favorite joining the cause is Rustanmar. Over the last two PGC events, Rustanmar finished at worst as one of the top two players on ENCE and one of the better players in the tournament. Then from Heroic, Pag3 and Curexi would lead the cause. Both players finished the 2022 PGC Grand Final top ten in player rating and top four in kills. Their performances were simply outstanding. Rounding out the roster, the Finnish legend SKUIJKE would lead this team into battle.
Russia: BatulinS, Lu, Xmpl, Alya
The reigning-PNC champs could return to the global stage with one of the most talented teams in the whole tournament. The roster will should be headlined by the combination of the two greatest CIS teams in PUBG: Virtus.Pro and NaVi.
When it comes to choosing players for PGC, NaVi brings firepower to Team Russia that any team would desire. Xmpl and Alya were key cogs to the NaVi engine that powered them to success in 2021. Both players were consistently at the top of the lobby stats-wise. That firepower would look even better paired with VP’s Russian duo. BatulinS is one of the best fragging IGLs in the world with a track record of success and Lu is an amazing fourth player who can perform as the best player at times. With this roster, Team Russia would be one of the favorites to win PGC.
UK: Fexx, Teabone, Vard, HoneyBadger
After a disappointing fifteenth-place finish at PNC 2019, Team UK looks primed to come back with a great performance this year. The core of this roster would be founded on talent around the top of the EU and NA scene.
The three most prominent names come from three of Europe’s top teams: Fexx from FaZe, Teabone from Heroic and Vard. At the end of 2021, Fexx became the driving force that pushed FaZe to PGC. Meanwhile, Vard was the top performer and an underperforming DA team and is now likely to end up on Team Liquid/ Lastly, there is one of the stars of PGC, Teabone. Teabone, behind Pag3, was a key cog on a team that nearly won PGC. That is a deadly trio of fraggers. Pair them with HoneyBadger and his wealth of experience, Team UK becomes a threat at PNC once again.
Turkey: Codemarco, Smash, xLyron, Thenderlost
Team Turkey finished 12th at PGC 2019, a two kills off of making the top ten. In the years since, Turkey has begun to flourish inside the FPS space with PUBG being no exception. Come PNC this year, Turkey will be looking to prove that improvement with a fresh roster.
If the roster was announced today, odds are Turkey’s roster would be a composition of both BBL and Galacticos. From BBL, the ideal pairing to join this roster would be Codemarco and Smash. Both players can single-handedly carry weekends or tournaments. Specifically, Smash finished PCS5 Europe as the second-highest-rated player in the entire event.
Paired with them, would be the Galacticos duo of xLyron and Thenderlost. The duo played a major part in the organizations surprise run at PCS5 Europe and would look to do the same for Team Turkey. xLyron finished fourth in kills and eighth in damage during the event, while Thenderlost was the strong second fiddle for the team. Both player would round out a dynamic, aggressive Turkish team.
Denmark: Beami, Clib, Gustav, Keano
With the German scene in a much weaker state than it was during PNC 2019, the country likely will not get a PNC slot. In its stead, however, a new country has risen to take its place. That country would be Denmark.
Since the last PNC, the strength of the Danish scene has grown. That growth, in large part, came on the back of a trio of players rising to prominence in the past two years. The best example of that growth is Clib from Team Liquid. When Clib joined TL during the back half of 2020, the team became a bigger threat on the global stage. Comparably, when Beami joined Heroic the team saw instant success. By the end of 2020, the team nearly won PGC. Add a hungry player like Keano from Bystanders to the mix and that is an aggressive roster. What the team is missing is veteran leadership, and that is where FaZe’s Gustav enters the picture. The tenured, veteran player can be a steadying force for a talented Danish roster.
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