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73 teams down, two remain standing. It's been a wild ECL 7 in 'The Jungle' formally known as ECL Lite. As we know, the Lite regular season is probably not as tightly contested as in our other divisions simply due to the fact that a vast majority of teams will make the playoffs. The playoffs, however, are an absolute free-for-all. With 64 teams making the playoffs, we've now weeded through five rounds in order to make it to the finals, that's a lot of games right there. Number one seed The Next Gen has played a total of 25 playoff games so far and the opposing number 3 seed The Black Jacks have fought through a total of 26 playoff battles. Here's what our ECL 7 Lite Final matchup looks like: (1) The Next Gen vs The Black Jacks (3) As previously stated, both teams have fought a long way to make it to the final. There's still a lot of hockey left to play, so let's hope their tanks don't run empty and there is some hunger left to claim the very top spot of ECL 7 Lite. Seeding first into the playoffs, we have the favourite from Finland, The Next Gen. The offensively strong team started off with a 'bang', sweeping Bombers Hockey in the first round. After this, they've ran through their opponents at a rather steady pace (Pink Panthers HC 4-2, Rukoilevat Hinkkaajat 4-0, Supremacy 4-2 and Supernatural 4-2). You could see that the opponents were getting tougher as the games went on, but the playoff favourites still managed to engine their way on. By advancing to the semifinals The Next Gen gets to enjoy a promotion to ECL Pro for season 8. On the opposing side is a team from small Switzerland, The Black Jacks. TBJ has had a similar playoff run as their final opponents, but they ended up with a close scare in round 2 against Lehmannen Badboyz. Their round 2 went into overtime of game seven until captain and center @julmi21 (Original-SnuS) scored the decisive goal. This is the complete run of TBJ: HC Keskikalja 4-0, Lehmannen Badboyz 4-3, Infinity 4-0, Dubnation Gaming, 4-2, Mentula SKA 4-1. Alike their final opponents, TBJ has secured promotion to ECL Pro for season 8 by advancing to the semifinals. It'll be interesting to see these teams go at it, as we without a doubt have two highly skilled opponents going head-to-head. The Next Gen packs a massive amount of individual skill and holds several young and potential players, whereas The Black Jacks are probably more reliant on their routine and some set plays in their game. Both teams like to use their center as a target player to set up their game, so it'll be a battle of who can execute said strategy better. My personal opinion is that TnG has a slight advantage in skill level but TBJ is a more coherent unit. Margins are small and I expect a tightly contested series. My prediction is TnG in 7. Head-to-head The Next Gen The Black Jacks C NikkeDangles C Original-SnuS LW Ninjawiq LW Krinke RW thounidinho RW Freeman7187 LD koppipelaaja LD Bille1990 RD lambu89 RD Cami__7 G ramseyyy2 G Afc_Tschitsch TOP SCORER Thounidinho (25GP, 22+23=45) vs Krinke (26GP, 34+39=73) GOALTENDERS Ramseyy2 (25GP, 19W, 91.75 SV%, 1.24 GAA) vs Afc_Tschitsch (12GP, 11W, 87.57 SV%, 1.66 GAA) Schedule for the finals: Game 1: Wednesday, 12th of December 20:15 CET The Next Gen vs The Black Jacks 6-7 Game 2: Wednesday, 12th of December 20:45 CET The Black Jacks vs The Next Gen 2-3 Game 3: Wednesday, 12th of December 21:15 CET The Next Gen vs The Black Jacks 3-2 Game 4: Wednesday, 12th of December 21:45 CET The Black Jacks vs The Next Gen 2-1 Game 5: Monday, 17th of December 20:15 CET The Next Gen vs The Black Jacks Game 6: Monday, 17th of December 20:45 CET The Black Jacks vs The Next Gen Game 7: Monday, 17th of December 21:15 CET The Next Gen vs The Black Jacks The games will be streamed on: twitch.tv/gameturniertv and twitch.tv/tbj_hockey unless otherwise informed. Good luck in the finals for both teams! Thank you to @julmi21 for reaching out and assisting with this article. All opinions are my own. Your NHLGamer Editor

Hello NHLGamers, It's 'final-ly' time for the Pro Finals! After yet another exciting season full of interesting events and lots of surprises, the time to crown a winner is nigh. The playoffs have certainly left us gasping for air at times, with surprises like ECL 6 Lite silver-medalist Cowabunga winning their group, seeding in second place into the playoffs only to be eliminated in the first round by 16th seed Pata Hellalla. Bucketeers, another newly promoted team also seemed to find their stride this season, pushing far into the playoffs and reaching the semifinals for a shot to make Elite through a relegation battle. Our final two isn't maybe the most predictable matchup, but certainly two well-rounded teams that have been strong performers all season long. Here's how our final matchup stacks up: (1) Deadly Phantoms HC vs Synergy Hockey (4) In this iteration of the ECL Pro Finals, we'll have a somewhat rare sighting as neither finalist is Finnish. I even believe neither team has any Finnish colour in their roster. Refreshing, to say the least! After a great semi-final round against Bucketeers in a thrilling and even series, the deadliest of Phantoms have yet again stated their claim for an Elite spot and are looking to get that big trophy as well. They've been one of the great storylines this postseason, as they've had to overcome adversity not many teams in the community has faced. From having their play style under scrutiny in the first round to switching up the lineup throughout the playoffs, they have prevailed every time. Synergy Hockey has really gone back to their roots and found the strong play we're so used to seeing from the veteran Swedes. They're a strong defensive unit that doesn't put on a show on the ice, but is tremendously effective at everything they do. The team has had everything go their way this season, starting all the way from the back end, where the marvelled @DUNZA has been taunting forwards on a nightly basis. Synergy has had a rather convincing playoff run so far, as they've dropped only two games in the three series played so far. Prediction: Deadly Phantoms HC in 7. Head-to-head: TOP SCORER The_Rayman80 (17GP, 17+11=28) vs Isindar (14GP, 9+13=22) GOALTENDERS RPH_31 (17GP, 12W, 83.81 SV%, 1.64 GAA) vs DUNZA (14GP, 12W, 91.00 SV%, 0.64 GAA) Schedule for the finals: Game 1: Monday, 10th of December 21:00 CET Deadly Phantoms HC vs Synergy Hockey (1-2 OT) Game 2: Monday, 10th of December 21:30 CET Synergy Hockey vs Deadly Phantoms HC (2-3 OT) Game 3: Thursday, 13th of December TBA Deadly Phantoms HC vs Synergy Hockey Game 4: Thursday, 13th of December TBA Synergy Hockey vs Deadly Phantoms HC Game 5: Thursday, 13th of December TBA Deadly Phantoms HC vs Synergy Hockey Game 6: Thursday, 13th of December TBA Synergy Hockey vs Deadly Phantoms HC Game 7: Thursday, 13th of December TBA Deadly Phantoms HC vs Synergy Hockey That's all for now gamers and as always, be sure to check out our twitch channel for streams on these games and from our other leagues, that's got some exciting playoff action for yall. PS: Stay on the lookout for our ECL 7 Pro Season Recap article, it might be posted sooner than you think... Pro Writing Team @jahajaha93 & @Panarinz