MOUZ NXT in danger as WePlay Academy League groups pass halfway point

The playoff chances of four-time champions MOUZ NXT are in doubt after they lost five of their first nine matches.

WePlay Academy League Season 5 started on July 25, with 13 teams battling it out for the title and the lion’s share of the $100,000 prize pool. The field consists of young academy rosters, filled with players looking to make their mark on the world stage.

The fifth iteration of the tournament has recently passed the halfway point of the group stage, with some surprising outcomes happening so far, the most notable of which are the struggles of the MOUZ NXT team.

The four-time champions were massive favorites coming into the event, but now find themselves in joint-fourth place of Group A alongside fnatic Rising after losing their last three matches. Considering only four teams make it out of the group, the Kamil "⁠siuhy⁠" Szkaradek-led side are under heavy pressure going into their last three matches, in which they'll face Spirit Academy, fnatic Rising, and NAVI Junior.

MOUZ NXT's title defence has gotten off to a bad start

Group A of the tournament is a relatively closely contested one, as six out of the eight teams are still in with a realistic chance of qualifying for the next stage. Astralis Talent are sitting at the top of the pile with six wins from ten matches and look almost certain to make it out of the group stage alive. Frederik "⁠Fessor⁠" Sørensen is having a great tournament for the Danish roster, as the rifler is currently averaging a 1.28 rating in the tournament so far. Another team in a very strong position is NAVI Junior, who have lost just two times in their seven matches up to this point and will hope to continue their form.

The other teams in with a chance to qualify for group A are Spirit Academy, who currently sit in third place, the previously mentioned MOUZ NXT team who are just one win behind the CIS squad, and fnatic Rising, who have so far played only four games due to starting the season at a later date than their competition.

Read more Can anyone stop MOUZ NXT's Academy League reign?

Group B is a much closer one to call, a fact that is also helped by the disbanding of the Young Gods roster, meaning only six teams are taking part.

BIG Academy are currently positioned at the top of the group, with an unbeaten 7-0 record so far. The player stats also tell the story of their domination, as three of their players are among the four highest rated in the tournament.

Read more GODSENT release academy roster *

The next three teams in the group are Young Ninjas, OG Academy and FURIA Academy, who have all collected enough points to put them in a favored position to advance, or simply have more matches left to play than their opponents and therefore find themselves in a stronger position.

The last two teams, both with an outside chance to qualify are ENCE Academy and Apeks Rebels, who are both sitting on a record of four wins and six losses, and will have to hope for an upturn in form to hope to snatch one of the playoff spots.

Group A TEAM M P Astralis Talent 10 18 NAVI Junior 8 15 Spirit Academy 9 15 fnatic Rising 5 12 MOUZ NXT 9 12 Eternal Fire Academy 7 6 PROSPECTS 8 6 Group B TEAM M P BIG Academy 7 21 Young Ninjas 10 21 OG Academy 7 15 FURIA Academy 6 12 ENCE Academy 10 12 Apeks Rebels 10 12 Young Gods 12 0

The schedule and any other information about the tournament can be found on the event page.

Apeks Rebels #173 Ådne 'sense' FredriksenViktor 'vhw' WadmanTobias 'berzerk' BertelsenPatrik 'Brave' KarlsenSindre 'Tapewaare' Ellefsen Torbjørn 'mithR' Nyborg MOUZ NXT #41 Kamil 'siuhy' SzkaradekMiłosz 'mhL' KnasiakHubert 'szejn' ŚwiatłyJimi 'Jimpphat' SaloDorian 'xertioN' Berman Eternal Fire Academy #141 Can 'Cizzx' ParsAhmet 'cyber' AkpınarEmrecan 'EMSTAR' ÇalışkanAli 'Wicadia' Haydar YalçınSamet 'jottAAA' Köklü Kadir 'ElPrincipe' Sivri Spirit Academy #86 Mykhailo 'OWNER' LymarMyroslav 'zont1x' PlakhotiaDanil 'donk' KryshkovetsArtem 'ArtFr0st' KharitonovVladislav 'H4SAN4TOR' Tuchin Dmitry 'S0tF1k' Forostyanko Frederik 'Fessor' Sørensen Age: 21 Team: Astralis Talent Rating 1.0: 1.01 Maps played: 277 KPR: 0.71 DPR: 0.70 OG Academy #80 Blagoi 'oxygeN' DimitrovArbnor 'Dementor' PacolliAlexandru 's0und' ȘtefanMax 'Marix' KugenerKaloyan 'shaiK' Borisov Christian 'crisby' Schmitt Apeks Rebels #173 Ådne 'sense' FredriksenViktor 'vhw' WadmanTobias 'berzerk' BertelsenPatrik 'Brave' KarlsenSindre 'Tapewaare' Ellefsen FURIA Academy #75 Leonardo 'zmb' ToledoKaue 'kauez' KaschukLucas 'decenty' BacelarBruno 'Bruninho' RodriguesJoão 'koala' Pfeffer Young Ninjas #73 Erik 'ztr' GustafssonLinus 'LNZ' HoltängAdam 'adamb' ÅngströmMax 'maxster' JanssonJack 'Jackinho' Ström Mattsson PROSPECTS #132 Alexander 'AlekS' AnderssonGustav 'FRANSSON' FranssonOlle 'spooke' GrundströmJohan 'hype' EngblomJonatan 'bobeksde' Persson Dennis 'Rytter' Rytter MOUZ NXT #41 Kamil 'siuhy' SzkaradekMiłosz 'mhL' KnasiakHubert 'szejn' ŚwiatłyJimi 'Jimpphat' SaloDorian 'xertioN' Berman Tobias 'TOBIZ' Theo Astralis Talent #78 Alexander 'Altekz' GivskovFrederik 'Fessor' SørensenVictor 'vigg0' BisgaardBenjamin 'brzer' JensenMikkel 'MistR' Thomsen Andreas 'MODDII' Fridh Young Gods John 'lineko' LineckJoão 'snow' ViniciusCarlos 'venomzera' EduardoLeonardo 'n9xtz' SantosBruno 'brn$' de Araújo Spirit Academy #86 Mykhailo 'OWNER' LymarMyroslav 'zont1x' PlakhotiaDanil 'donk' KryshkovetsArtem 'ArtFr0st' KharitonovVladislav 'H4SAN4TOR' Tuchin Astralis Talent #78 Alexander 'Altekz' GivskovFrederik 'Fessor' SørensenVictor 'vigg0' BisgaardBenjamin 'brzer' JensenMikkel 'MistR' Thomsen fnatic Rising #82 Peppe 'Peppzor' BorakFilip 'DEPRESHN' JarkićMikkel 'Maze' SparvathSebastian 'volt' MaloșMatias 'Banjo' Kivistö Mikael 'sheddaN' Mellström Young Ninjas #73 Erik 'ztr' GustafssonSean 'eraa' KnutssonLinus 'LNZ' HoltängAdam 'adamb' ÅngströmMax 'maxster' Jansson Young Gods OG Academy #80 Blagoi 'oxygeN' DimitrovArbnor 'Dementor' PacolliAlexandru 's0und' ȘtefanMax 'Marix' KugenerKaloyan 'shaiK' Borisov fnatic Rising #82 Peppe 'Peppzor' BorakFilip 'DEPRESHN' JarkićMikkel 'Maze' SparvathSebastian 'volt' MaloșMatias 'Banjo' Kivistö FURIA Academy #75 Leonardo 'zmb' ToledoKaue 'kauez' KaschukLucas 'decenty' BacelarBruno 'Bruninho' RodriguesJoão 'koala' Pfeffer Leonardo 'msr' Caixeta ENCE Academy #136 Veeti 'S1rva' SirvaHenri 'HENU' YlilehtoYoussef 'juissi' AdamVille 'myltsi' VilkmanPaavo 'podi' Heiskanen George 'Whitey' White Kamil 'siuhy' Szkaradek Age: 19 Team: MOUZ NXT Rating 1.0: 1.01 Maps played: 523 KPR: 0.70 DPR: 0.70 BIG Academy #53 David 'prosus' HesseElias 's1n' SteinTom 'skyye' HagedornNico 'Aqua' KembitzkyMarcel 'hyped' Köhn ENCE Academy #136 Veeti 'S1rva' SirvaHenri 'HENU' YlilehtoYoussef 'juissi' AdamVille 'myltsi' VilkmanPaavo 'podi' Heiskanen BIG Academy #53 David 'prosus' HesseElias 's1n' SteinTom 'skyye' HagedornNico 'Aqua' KembitzkyMarcel 'hyped' Köhn Markus 'Anhuin' Paeseler NAVI Junior #105 Daniil 'headtr1ck' ValitovDmytro 'dem0n' MyroshnychenkoAdam 'froz1k' NahornyiMark 'UNBR0KEN' VarakutaAndrii 'npl' Kukharskyi