MOUZ NXT were the undisputed best academy Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team throughout 2021 and early 2022, but their run of dominance came to a halt in August when they finished the fifth season of the WePlay Academy League in ninth-10th place. It marked the first WePlay Academy League that MOUZ NXT hadn’t won, but they’ve now found themselves in an excellent spot to claim the organization’s fifth trophy.

But before we can start talking about MOUZ NXT’s return to the throne, they first need to defeat Spirit Academy, who have looked incredible so far. The Russian squad finished the group stage (Group B) in first place with a 9-3 record and a +25 round difference.

Their only defeats came against Young Ninjas (10-16), BIG Academy (7-16), and 00Prospects (16-19). Still, Spirit Academy have won all reverse fixtures against the three squads. MOUZ NXT also had a solid run in the group stage, finishing second (Group A) with a 7-5 record, which includes two defeats against NaVi Junior (11-16, 2-16).

On paper, MOUZ NXT and Spirit Academy look fairly evenly matched, but Spirit Academy are in a much better spot form-wise. MOUZ NXT did enough to earn a direct bye into the playoffs, but they’ve also played close series against some of the weakest teams and didn’t look too convincing in some of their wins.

Spirit Academy to win outright is a solid bet, but you can’t go wrong with a smaller position on the map handicap ($3.25).

NaVi Junior have not achieved much this season, and even through their three appearances in WePlay Academy League competitions, the CIS squad left a lot to be desired. Their best finish came in the fifth season in August when NaVi Jr placed fifth-sixth.

On a more positive note, NaVi Jr. didn’t disappoint during the group stage, topping Group A with an 8-4 record and a +43 round difference. But their group wasn’t nearly as competitive as Group B, which Young Ninjas finished with the same 8-4 record, but placed second behind Spirit Academy.

Young Ninjas and NaVi Jr. have never met with their current lineups, but we don’t need past head-to-head results to understand why Young Ninjas are priced as favourites. Unlike NaVi Jr, Young Ninjas have been competing in B- and A-Tier tournaments this year, and even though trophies have eluded them, it’s the experience that counts.

Young Ninjas have also shown more during the group stage, and if they can keep their wheels spinning, the Swedes should come out ahead. NaVi Junior have proven to be fairly resilient, though, so while we expect Young Ninjas to win, there’s a good chance this match will go the distance.

?BIG Academy and Spirit Academy will clash in the first playoff match of WePlay Academy League Season 3. BIG Academy locked in a spot in the final four by topping Group A with a 5-3 record, while Spirit Academy had to fight through the play-in stage, where they beat VP-Prodigy 2-0.

But while BIG received a direct bye into the tournament’s final stage, they have won only five games, three of which by thin margins – against Young Ninjas (16-14, 16-14) and Astralis Talent (16-13). Since the group stage, the German squad have played 15 official matches and won nine, albeit they weren’t very impressive in either of them.

On the other side, Spirit Academy have played only three games since the WePlay Academy League Play-In and won two, which isn’t great, but it doesn’t suggest they’re in bad shape. Even though BIG have looked better and should be favoured to win, we don’t expect this to be a one-sided affair. Spirit Academy are good enough to put up a fight and force a close series.

?MOUZ NXT are the top favourites to win their third WePlay Academy League title, and there isn’t much that would suggest Astralis Talent can upset the top dogs. Although the Danes produced a miracle run in January when they defeated Fnatic Rising, Natus Vincere Junior, and Young Ninjas to book a spot in the playoffs, this is still a team that ended the group stage 2-6.

What’s more, Astralis Talent have not looked good over the last few weeks, going 3-4 in their last seven outings, with wins against AGF Esports, HeroC1ty and Alpha Gaming and defeats against Br?ndby eSports, 1shot, Linx Legacy eSport, and MASONIC.

MOUZ NXT are significantly stronger than any team at the tournament, and unless they shoot themselves in the foot, they should secure a comfortable win on Friday. At $1.73, MOUZ NXT are worth backing with a -1.5 map handicap.

Astralis Talent put up a solid fight against Young Ninjas in the second match on Monday, but like in the first one (8-16), the Danes couldn’t deliver and lost 14-16. Meanwhile, BIG Academy produced a very bizarre pair of results later that day, including a 4-16 defeat against a 16-5 win against Natus Vincere Junior.

Although you could say that Astralis Talent were more consistent with their performances, they haven’t really shown anything spectacular. At the same time, we haven’t seen enough from the German squad to evaluate them properly.

If we had to pick a team, we would side with BIG Academy, mainly because they were far more successful in the previous seasons. But they’re still a bit shaky on their feet, which is why we expect another open affair with both teams reaching double digits.

Natus Vincere Junior picked up a shock victory against BIG Academy (16-4) on Monday and have since added one more win against Astralis Talent (16-12) on Wednesday, which sets them up nicely to compete for a top-three finish. Still, they have yet to show any form of consistency.

Fnatic Rising have so far played only two maps against Young Ninjas (11-16, 16-3) on Wednesday. And while they could only manage one win, we wouldn’t hold it against them for losing their first official map in a month.

There is a world where Fnatic Rising slip and lose the first map, but we wouldn’t count on that happening, so at $1.91, we have to take Fnatic Rising to win with at least three rounds to spare. Alternatively, a bet on under 26.5 rounds is worth a shot at $1.90 or better with the top esports betting sites.

?Young Ninjas enter this bout as $1.33 favourites, which isn’t that surprising given the Swedes won this matchup twice in July and August. A lot of time has passed since these rosters last met, but it’s not like Young Ninjas have become any worse, nor have BIG Academy improved.

One major difference between these two sides is that Ninjas have been competing in tier-two tournaments, including Elisa Invitational Fall 2021 and the Malta Vibes Knockout Series #3 last month. While they have not won anything, they’ve been putting up solid results against teams stronger than BIG Academy.

While there is a world where BIG’s star players, namely Nico “Aqua” Kembitzky, step up and make Ninjas’ life tougher, there is little that would suggest BIG can defeat the Swedish lineup.

?This bout presents us with the same situation as the opening match of the day. We have an academy team with experience playing at proper tournaments and a roster that has been playing mostly against other academy squads.

MOUZ NXT are arguably the strongest CS:GO academy team at the tournament. They are the reigning champions and enter the WePlay Academy Season 2 playoffs on the back of consecutive top-four finishes at Malta Vibes Knockout Series #3 and Pinnacle Fall Series #2.

On the other side, Natus Vincere Junior’s most notable success of late was a third-place finish during the WePlay S2 online stage. What’s more, NaVi Jr’s last official match happened over a month ago, so they might be a bit ring-rusty.

We’re getting $2.10 on MOUZ NXT to win in straight maps, which is too good to pass on. While this is still an academy team, MOUZ NXT are ranked no.39 in the world, while NaVi Jr are no.98.

?Mouz NXT and FURIA Academy last met on Tuesday, July 20, when the Brazilians won with 16-12. It’s important to note that mouz NXT had to play with a stand-in Frederik “Fessor” S?rensen, who replaced Hubert “szejn” ?wiat?y in the 24th round.

Although replacing a player mid-game obviously isn’t ideal, it’s not like mouz NXT lost that match because of Fessor since they were already 9-15 down at that point. Mouz NXT added another loss against BIG Academy (13-16) the following day but have since won four in a row and now seem to be in great shape.

FURIA Academy looked very solid early into the tournament but soon started to struggle, losing against VP.Prodigy (14-16), BIG Academy (14-16), Young Ninjas (6-16), and NAVI Junior, who stomped them 16-3 on Sunday.

FURIA Academy have had a few solid showings early, but their most recent outings were anything but convincing. Mouz NXT should win this match with ease.

?Astralis Talent have not lived up to the expectations with their performances throughout the first week of play in the WePlayAcademy League; however, it wouldn’t be fair to criticise them too much. The Danes have managed double digits in all of their games but one – against Young Ninjas (3-16) – and are showing improvement with each passing day.

BIG Academy are one of the hottest teams at the tournament, but as mentioned last week, they rely way too much on their star player, Nico “Aqua” Kembitzky, to do all the heavy lifting. BIG Academy and Astralis Talent last met on Tuesday, when Aqua averaged a 2.04 rating with 39 kills and 140.9 Average Damage Per Round (ADR).

If he can replicate that performance, BIG Academy will win with ease; however, we wouldn’t underestimate Astralis Talent’s ability to force a close series.

?BIG Academy have emerged as one of the best CS:GO academy teams at the tournament, largely thanks to Nico “Aqua” Kembitzky. The young CS:GO star has been averaging 1.40 rating across four maps and is the second-highest rated player at the tournament.

VP.Prodigy had a slow start to the tournament, with losses against Young Ninjas (14-16), Fnatic Rising (17-16), and NAVI Junior (1-16). However, the Russians showed some life on Thursday, when they bounced back with a 16-14 victory against FURIA Academy.

Even though VP.Prodigy played well against the Brazillian squad on Thursday; it’s hard to side with them for this match. BIG Academy are beatable, but with the form Aqua has been showing, the German squad should secure a comfortable win on Saturday.

?Astralis Talent entered WePlay Academy League as one of the most hyped-up teams, but they soon fell flat. The Danes lost all three of their tournament openers; however, they showed some improvement in their win against NAVI Junior (16-8) on Thursday.

Mouz NXT are 2-2 on the tournament with losses against FURIA Academy (12-16) and BIG Academy (13-16) and two wins against Fnatic Rising (22-18), and Young Ninjas (16-11), who they beat on Thursday.

Mouz NXT are short-priced favourites, which makes sense; however, the round handicap is too high to look past. Esports betting sites have Astralis Talent priced as high as $1.89 with a 6.5 round advantage, which is a very generous offer considering the Danes need to win only 10 rounds to cover that line.