Wild card (sports)

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A wild card (also wildcard or wild-card and also known as an at-large berth or at-large bid) is a tournament or playoff berth awarded to a team or individual that fails to qualify the normal way; for example, by having a high ranking, winning a qualifying stage, or winning a division or conference. In some events, wildcards are chosen freely by the organizers. Other events have fixed rules. Some North American professional sports leagues compare the records of teams which did not qualify directly by winning a division or conference.