NXT’s – formerly known as PERPLEXITY – tale over the last few months has been one of changes. From roster moves to not having an organisation, NXT were in flux for a while, but one thing that has remained true is their regional dominance. Now with a short-term deal secured, can that translate to longer stability and strengthen their reign of terror on UK CS?
The lead-up to the final
Perplexity continues their domestic success with frightening ease; they’re not infallible, as evidenced by their two losses in the group stage, but they always show up when it counts. Besides, despite those two losses, their head-to-heads against BOXED and Glitchtech placed them comfortably at the top of the UKIC Season 6 Division 1 table. Their league phase dominance propelled them straight into the semi-finals, where they faced 8Sins, who many consider NXT’s main rivals of late.
This semi-final match would not be the first time these two teams have collided in this iteration of UKIC, as every team faces each other in the league phase. 8Sins were actually able to take the best of one-off NXT and hand them one of the two losses they suffered. Their other loss was to 28AvgAge, who now await them in the grand finals.
8Sins always give NXT a run for their money. Save for an Upper-Bracket final upset at EPIC.LAN 44, where 8Sins won 2-1, every best-of-three between these two teams was a three-map affair in 2025, going the way of NXT, including the EPIC.LAN 44 and UKIC Season 5 Division 1 finals. This semi-final was a continuation of that trend, NXT 2-1 8Sins.
NXT’s tenacity under pressure is something to be admired and desired by their domestic competition, and if this sixth season of UKIC Division 1 is anything to go by, they’re not slowing down. NXT’s cruise through the UK scene has one final stop, the grand finals against 28AvgAge, set to take place at the Red Bull Gaming Sphere on the 17th of June at 3 pm BST.
PERPLEXITY, then under ALASKA, posing with their UKIC season 5 trophy
The hardships on the outside
All the trophies lifted in 2025, that’s the good bit, the light side of the yin and yang, so to speak. Outside the server is a different kettle of fish. Despite being the best team in the British Isles by a country mile, until the 14th of June, Tom “arTisT” Clarke and crew were org-less for the entirety of 2025, and might well be without an organisation once again come the end of EPIC.LAN 45.
Despite finding an organisation to cover expenses for the upcoming UKIC finals and EPIC.LAN 45, NXT remain without a salary and without a long-term solution. UKCSGO understands that the contract with NXT is just a short-term plan for the roster to represent the org for just the two events.
Ever since leaving Verdant back in December of last year, the core has yet to lose a domestic competition. Even when signed to Verdant, their dominance could not be understated, winning all LAN finals they were a part of since the start of 2024. The core of Verdant, including the ALASKA and NXT rosters, has won eight UK events and one international event, the European Pro League Season 23: Division 2.
UKIC Season 5: Division 1 Final Overview: The Last Dance Ends in Immortality
The lack of backing outside the server seems to have made little difference inside. However, being signed would go a long way to stabilise the tumultuous roster. NXT’s roster has been ever-changing, since leaving Verdant, arTisT has returned to awping alongside in-game leading. Ex-GamerLegion Academy rifler, Jamie “Tree60” Callan, joined in place of French AWPer Remi “Diviiii” Alexandre.
To round it out after the UKIC Season 5 Division 1 Finals, coach Ciaran “biscu” King stepped down, and Callum “Girafffe” Jones departed, as Jacob “Rezst” Hemming eventually filled the spot. They even played with William “dobbo” Dobson for a short time instead of Tree60 after they won the UKIC finals. All of this chaos occurred over the space of about six months.
It’s impressive that despite those changes, the core of Matas “Extinct” Strumila, Mason “Vacancy” Haines, and arTisT have remained so competitive despite so many moving pieces around them. But it’s surprising to see this roster, one with hopes of competing in European competition, have so many changes, but it can be easily put down to the lack of an organisation to fund their Counter-Strike endeavours.
Keeping this core intact makes sense to retain those all-important VRS points, and time will tell how long this NXT roster will stay together. With the changes to UKIC next season, retaining a core becomes more enticing as it gives UK grassroots a better chance at progressing past the UK scene and into the more competitive realms of tier three and tier two.
Furthermore, in the era of the VRS, a lack of financial backing becomes even more of a death sentence for players trying to climb their way to the upper echelons of Counter-Strike. With little to no support, playing can quickly become a chore as the time invested doesn’t yield the results desired.
The final hurdle
Ultimately, the question of an organisation is something that remains in limbo, and in the meantime, NXT will be keeping their attention on the UKIC Season 6 Division 1 final on the 17th. NXT will be coming in as heavy favourites, not just because of the last year of UK dominance, but also on paper, NXT is just stronger.
28AvgAge consists of players who departed from Belfast Storm at the start of this season of UKIC, and even retired in the case of Luke “Nem” Mear. That being said, 28AvgAge has already beaten NXT once in this iteration of UKIC, granted in a best-of-one.
This won’t be the first time these two cores face off against each other in a UKIC Division 1 final, either. At the end of last year, in Season 4, Belfast Storm took NXT, then Verdant, all the way to a triple overtime on map three. Unfortunately, the effort was futile as they couldn’t get it across the line.
NXT will be thrilled with another UK title and will definitely be seen as a silver lining, considering the lack of long-term support the roster has. But nothing ever is free in competition, and they will have to be ready when they set foot in the Red Bull gaming sphere to defend their title.
