The 14-team event has been whittled down, with just eight squads still in the running.
The WePlay Academy League Season 6 group stage has officially drawn to a close after two weeks of competition. The tournament is now set to transition into the play-in, which gets started on Sunday, October 30, from where just two teams will be able to clinch a playoff berth.
The reigning champions of WePlay Academy League, fnatic Rising, are still in contention to defend their crown. The European combine locked in their spot in the play-in after finishing Group A in third place with a 7-5 record.
fnatic Rising will be aiming to secure back-to-back first-place finishes
NAVI Junior, who continue to field the transfer-listed Daniil "headtr1ck" Valitov, and Spirit Academy had the most dominant runs through the opening round of play. The two teams put up 8-4 and 9-3 records in Group A and B, respectively, to bypass the play-in stage and advance directly to the playoffs. Their runs were far from easy, however, as both sides often had to break a sweat to get their much-needed victories on the board.
Read more fnatic Rising claim WePlay Academy League Season 5 title
MOUZ NXT are also in with a shot at taking home both the trophy and first-place prize of $45,000. The new-look roster, whose organisation are four-time WePlay Academy League winners, booked themselves a spot in the play-in after finishing Group A as the second seed with a 7-5 record. Jimi "Jimpphat" Salo was key in earning his team a slot in the next stage, averaging a tournament-high 1.32 rating throughout the groups.
A notable absence from the knockout portion of the competition is BIG Academy. The roster, who secured a podium finish in the last iteration of the tournament, struggled to get anything going this time around, and now head home in 9-10th place after putting up a modest 5-7 showing.
Teams who finished in 2-4th place of their respective group will now be thrown into the play-in, where just two spots for the playoffs are up for grabs. MOUZ NXT and Young Ninjas, who won the Group B third-place decider, will start the play-in from the second round thanks to their runners-up group-stage finishes. fnatic Rising, OG Academy, PROSPECTS, and Astralis Talent, meanwhile, will all start their quests for a place in the playoffs from the first round.
The final standings from the group stage are:
Group A TEAM M P NAVI Junior 12 24 MOUZ NXT 12 21 fnatic Rising 12 21 OG Academy 12 21 FURIA Academy 12 15 Flames Ascent 12 12 Apeks Rebels 12 12 Group B TEAM M P Spirit Academy 12 27 Young Ninjas 13 27 Astralis Talent 13 24 PROSPECTS 12 21 BIG Academy 12 15 ENCE Academy 12 12 MIBR Academy 12 3
The play-in kicks off on Sunday, October 30, and will feature the following matchups: