WePlay Academy League Season 6 Results

According to the results of the sixth season of the academic league, NAVI Junior took third place. This result was the best for our team after the creation of the actual format of the tournament.

The competition started well for the academics: four victories in a row ensured our team's leadership in the group. After a series of successful matches, the academics lost to one of the tournament favorites - Fnatic Rising (12 : 16 Vertigo). The team then alternated victories and defeats and finished the group stage with an 8-4 record, taking first place. The most unfavorable opponent for NAVI Junior was OG Academy: both matches against this team ended in defeat (12 : 16 Vertigo, 11 : 16 Dust 2).

Thanks to the superiority in group A, NAVI Junior advanced straight to the semi-finals, where they failed to prevail over the upcoming champions of the tournament - Young Ninjas (0 : 2). In the match for getting into the top 3, the academics outplayed MOUZ NXT in a difficult match (14 : 16 Overpass, 16 : 14 Mirage, 16 : 14 Vertigo), but then in the match for reaching the final, they lost to the NIP academy and finished the tournament in 3rd place.

To discuss the results of WAL S6 and assess the progress made by the team, we turned to NAVI Junior`s coach Ihor “crush” Shevchenko:

– What goals were set before this tournament? Have they been achieved?

– Firstly, the goal was to perform better than in the previous league, because this time we had more time to prepare. I think we managed it, although it was difficult amidst blackouts and with two new players.

– How do you assess the progress of the team in the context of the WePlay Academy League? It seems that the guys are getting stronger with each league and even frequent changes in this roster do not hinder them.

– The boys are really gaining momentum with each league, they play more confidently, and the league format allows us to see our weaknesses and fix mistakes after each game.

– Why were you having trouble specifically against OG Academy in the group stage?

– In my opinion, the games against OG Academy were so difficult because these were the last matches, in fact, they decided our position in the group, hence there were more mistakes and nerves.

– The knockout match against MOUZ NXT: after a positive result, it seemed that you could not be stopped. What were your emotions after such a game?

– The match with MOUZ NXT was very exhausting. In general, almost all the playoff matches we played were not in the optimal roster, but, nevertheless, there were a lot of positive emotions after the victory over the “mouzes”.

– How did you feel when you returned to the server as a player in the match against MOUZ? Can you assess the level of academic league players after such an experience?

– As a player, I felt that I had not played for a long time (laughs). In the first rounds, it was a bit difficult to fit into the game. I can’t assess the level of the players, it seemed that everyone was too nervous. MOUZ played too slowly, so we often managed to read their moves.

– Were Young Ninjas the biggest surprise of this season for you?

– Young Ninjas changed their roster a bit before the league and they were joined by eraa, who has been playing on a high level for a long time. In the group stage, it was already clear that they had good chances.