When the WePlay Academy league started in late August of 2021, it was an opportunity for the best of the next generation to prove themselves and battle it out for the elusive trophy and a lion’s share of $88,000. But since the Academy League’s inception, there has only been one team crowned champion, MOUZ NXT. It’s original line-up was announced on June 18th 2021, which included Jon “JDC” de Castro, and Ádám “torzi” Torzsás who both now play for the MOUZ main roster.
For four consecutive seasons there was only ever one competitor worthy of the prestigious title and due to becoming four-time consecutive champions they even briefly overtook the MOUZ first team in the HLTV rankings. However, as of two days ago, their reign has ended.
Going into season five of the WePlay Academy league there was, once again, only one team at the forefront of everyone’s mind in terms of who will take the title, but the journey for MOUZ NXT wasn’t so simple this time around. With the gap opening up between the competitors, one team shone brightly in the darkness, and that was Fnatic Rising with one of the UK’s own Sebastian “volt” Malos. The former Coalesce and FAMBIT player joined up with Fnatic in May and has been a stunning addition to a previously struggling line-up.
Coming off the back of a 4th place finish last season, Fnatic Rising were looking to improve and they delivered as their very fresh lineup was crowned the champions of the WePlay Academy League Season 5 with a 2-0 victory over Spirit Academy in the finals. This spectacular run netted them $45,000 of the $100,000 prize pool.
To top off a stunning victory volt also boasted an outstanding performance over the season. He put up a 1.12 HLTV rating, with a +24 KD leading him to being an integral part of Fnatic Rising’s success. For the finals specifically, volt served the UK scene proud with a stellar performance in a one sided affair finishing on a positive 1.04 rating across 2 maps including a 16-1 to take the crown.
