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NHLGamers, A month ago we started ECL10 Lite with 64 teams. Now we have reached the point where we know the 32 teams that will continue to the playoffs. Congratulations, now the hard work begins. We'd like to extend a special mention to Sack Brothers for being the #1 team after an impressive regular season with the record of 28-1-1. We also want to thank the teams that didn't manage to reach the playoffs but still fought bravely and gave us an entertaining regular season all the way to the last rounds. Come back stronger next time! Let's refer to the rulebook for how our playoffs will commence: Here are the pairs for the first round of ECL 10 Lite playoffs : (1) Sack Brothers vs HockeyProfessorn HC (32) (2) EBR eSports Official vs DIKTATUURI (31) (3) HV71 eSHL vs Speedy Bros (30) (4) Powerhouse Hockey vs Empire (29) (5) Angry Cats vs Nordic Nosebleed (28) (6) Hokurit vs NOVA (27) (7) Ducktales BK vs Remparts de Tours Esport (26) (8) Piiraaka Osuus ja Nakki vs Tic Tac Toes (25) (9) Sjukstugan vs TanssiiTuhtienKansa (24) (10) HUIPPUPASSI vs Grenoble BDL Esport (23) (11) ECDC Memmingen eSports vs Fysical (22) (12) Saucer Hockey vs Old Farts (21) (13) Horror Hockey vs Storhamar IL Esport (20) (14) Suomen Sonnit vs The UnderRated (19) (15) Infamous vs GENESIS (18) (16) HC SKULL TOWN vs SOPPAJENGI (17) Due to a tight schedule and the sheer amount of teams included, we decided to leave a closer preview of teams and players to the next rounds. Fight hard, respect your opponents and enjoy the series. Nothing is guaranteed in the playoffs. Let the race begin!

NHLGamers, As discussed in last weeks recap, the battle for the top-seed was and is still running hot as the big trio JYP (50pts), HAVU Gaming (49 pts) and Linkoping HC (47 pts with two games in hand) are all within striking distance for that top spot. Based on point average, Linkoping is in the lead and the reigning champions still have matchups against Lulea Hockey and Gotham Knights to go this week - an expected four win run but you never know with these games. As you might expect, these three powerhouses have managed to pull away from the rest of the pack, but the battle for the rest of the playoff spots is still running fierce. Most notably, Unlucky Boys HC has been on a tear as of late, losing only single games against SJ Gaming and Checkmate in their last 12 bouts. The only team in the middle of the pack that has a notable amount of games in hand on others are hREDS, who are in 4th place with a mere 24 games played. At the moment of writing, 33 points would be required to secure a playoff spot and Roots together with BRAYCE Phantoms are close to that limit. In immediate proximity of the playoff line, we have an absolute free-for-all. Five teams in total all have four games left to go, and are within a 3-point range of each other. At the bottom of the standings, Vesa Pompa and Gotham Knights still technically have their playoff hopes intact although these teams would have to win a majority of their remaining games with some help from teams ahead in the standings. Vesa Pompa has shown some good form as of late an are still to play Unlucky Boys HC, Almost Famous and BRAYCE Phantoms which means that a cinderella story is not entirely out of the question, albeit unlikely. Almost Famous is in dead last with not much to cheer about, the club have solidified their position in no man's land for a few seasons now, but complete full-team defensive lapses have plagued their season leading to multiple vicious beatings despite putting forth solid efforts in singular matches. PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK Last week, we were close with 46, but now we've got a new record with 52 total goals in the name of Paul @PleeMaker Arontie. With four games still to go in the season, Plee has set the bar extremely high and rising for future superstars and scoring machines alike. FORWARD OF THE WEEK Antti @tbnantti Kuittinen, JYP Jyvaskyla JYP had a power week with a total of four scheduled matchups in which the team won 6/8 games. Centerman tbnantti played all of those games and picked up 22 points in the process. Having added a few last night, he is at 4th in scoring overall right now. DEFENDER OF THE WEEK Aaro @xDoumi Ruuhinen, JYP Jyvaskyla Doumi is has been one of the up and coming defensemen for a long time already, but this is the season he seals the deal and puts his name right up there with the best in the game. Eight games last week yielded the young defenseman 14 points. GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK Joonas @Jombb- Koivukoski, Gotham Knights Honestly, picking a goalie of the week wasn't easy this time. It would be a safe decision going with anyone stopping pucks for a team in the top three, but Jombb- has been doing a great job for an underdog team like Gotham Knights. Jombb dressed for four games last week in which he kept an average save percentage north of 85% and a GAA of 2.

NHLGamers, With the cancellation of the beloved hockey carnival that is the IIHF World Championships, we received news last week that an Esports Fan Championship will be hosted. It's an exciting way of involving fans around the world and putting the tournament in your hands - EA Sports NHL players from each country will represent their nation in an effort to take home the championship, in addition, IIHF have put some amazing prizes such as game tickets and pucks on the line for the competitors. What? The IIHF Esports Fan Championship is a virtual counterpart to the world championships. The tournament is played with a 1v1-format in the online versus game mode. Each of the participating nations will host open qualifiers to determine a player on PS4 and Xbox that will represent their respective nations. These qualifiers will kick off starting May 15th. After the online qualifiers are done and each nation has their participant on each console, the playoffs will commence on May 29th. The playoffs are played in a classic knock-out format, where one matchup is decided based on the result in four individual games (two on each console), out of which the aggregate score will serve as a final result in that respective matchup. For the playoffs, the IIHF have applied a special rule in order to ensure competitive integrity. The rule is a rotation rule, where players are only allowed to use each national team once over the course of the playoffs. This ensures diversity in the matchups and allows for some more strategy on this front too. When? The open national qualifiers start May 15th, but signups are open right now! Head over to https://esports.iihf.com/ in order to sign up for the qualifiers of your nation. Here's a full schedule for online qualifiers: Kazakhstan - PS4 & Xbox One - 15/5/2020 Belarus - PS4 & Xbox One - 15/5/2020 Denmark - PS4 & Xbox One - 16/5/2020 Latvia - PS4 & Xbox One - 16/5/2020 Czech Republic - PS4 & Xbox One - 17/5/2020 Italy - PS4 & Xbox One - 17/5/2020 Switzerland - PS4 & Xbox One - 18/5/2020 Slovakia - PS4 & Xbox One - 18/5/2020 Norway - PS4 & Xbox One - 19/5/2020 Finland - PS4 & Xbox One - 19/5/2020 Great Britain - PS4 & Xbox One - 20/5/2020 USA - PS4 & Xbox One - 21/5/2020 Germany - PS4 & Xbox One - 21/5/2020 Canada - PS4 & Xbox One - 22/5/2020 Sweden - PS4 & Xbox One - 22/5/2020 Russia - PS4 & Xbox One - 22/5/2020 How? The IIHF has released a short info video on what it's all about, also, check this page for all additional instructions.