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NHLGamers, We're advancing on to the most exciting games of the season in our ECL Pro division. As we're down to four teams remaining, all of the teams left in the battle will earn a chance to fight for a promotion spot as the season comes to an end but the marching order still has to be determined and obviously the biggest price at stake is being crowned the ECL 10 Pro champion and being granted instant promotion. Here are the semifinal matchups of ECL 10 Pro: (1) Black Horse vs HanaaHC (14) Series score 2-0 Black Horse is a force to be reckoned with and seems to be absolutely unstoppable so far into the season. The team faced disappointment before the season when they were unable to advance trough the Elite Qualification Series but have bounced back nicely. @Tapparafan is leading the club from the front with solid backup from @Pasi Modry who recently made the switch over to the center position from his more familiar defensive post while @PCJP is a wall at the back end with an outstanding SV % of 85,11. Whereas Black Horse was considered a team able to qualify for Elite before the season, HanaaHC was among the group of Lite teams that were up for Pro consideration. After getting and proving a deserved promotion, the team has now risen out of nowhere into actual title contention. @Hazard-laser has proven to be a scoring weapon and is leading the team with his experience. Players to watch: @Pasi Modry (10+15=25) Black Horse @Hazard-laser (13+11=24) HanaaHC (9) Reality Check vs Enigma (10) Series score 0-2 Reality Check is a team that alike Black Horse that had to face disappointment before the season when being unable to advance in the Elite Qualification Series, but the consistently strong squad has been given second wind and are running with their chances. Their regular season performance granted the team a 9th seed into the playoffs, which has led them to going up against a very tough challenge in Enigma in these semifinals. Enigma is a group of guys with plenty of Elite experience both at the back end and in their forward department. Being one of the more high-scoring groups, Reality Check will have their work cut out for them. I'd keep an eye out for the battle between Enigma scoring leader @Nieppii and Reality Check goalie @Jann3_67_. Players to watch: @jorma2001 (12+10=22) Reality Check @Nieppii (11+13=24) Enigma Both series are already underway, but there's hopefully a whole lot of good hockey left to be played. As always , have fun - play hard!

NHLGamers, Some weeks ago, the IIHF announced their Esports Fan Championship, that is meant to be a replica of this years cancelled IIHF worlds, but taking place online on EA Sports NHL 20. At this point, the qualifiers for each nation have been held and a participant on both PS4 and Xbox have been chosen for each nation. The teams have been placed into a bracket and will play from a round of 16 onwards, starting May 29th. Here's a link to the tournament schedule & bracket. At NHLGamer, we're incredibly happy to see a strong community representation in the tournament as 13 (that we know of) out of the total 32 participants have earned their stripes in leagues organised by us. We're especially sending our good luck wishes to the following gamers representing their countries in the tournament: 🇱🇻 @PSchibra 🇱🇻@JLopatko 🇸🇪 @SebbeLarsen86 🇸🇪 @Eken45jr 🇮🇹 @Tron1x90 🇨🇿 pepcastachurcik 🇷🇺 @Serg1vratar 🇨🇭 @Original-SnuS 🇳🇴 @Larsto50 🇫🇮 @rottadee 🇫🇮 @Eki 🇬🇧 @MartindalexC 🇩🇪 @Timasy 🇩🇰 @vibholm10 Some exciting clashes in the round of 16 will obviously be the headline matchup between Canada and USA, but also some of the more non-traditional hockey markets have solid representation. The battle between Germany and Denmark will feature NHLGamers Tim @Timasy Hess and Martin @vibholm10 Vibholm in a heated battle on the PS4 side, whereas Swiss native Sven @Original-SnuS Julmi will go head-to-head with Norwegian Lars Petter @Larsto50 Stø. We reached out to some of the gamers for comments about the tournament: Sven @Original-SnuS Julmi, Swiss player on PS4, captain of ZSC Esports First of all, what does it mean for you personally to represent your country in a historic tournament like this? - It's an awesome feeling. I went into this tournament without any ambitions whatsoever. Having a versus record of 2-0-0 going in, I definitely wasn't expecting to go all the way in the qualifiers. Now I'm training hard to represent Switzerland to the best of my abilities in the tournament. A lot of new names are getting a shot at the big stage in this tournament. Do you know the players well and would you like to highlight any underdogs? - I know a few players from seeing them on the ECL ice. I think a great underdog would be Mirco @Tron1x90 Salvi, who is playing for Italy - Sweden better watch out in the first round! Also I think @PSchibra had a great qualification run for Latvia. What do you think about the tournament format and did you know your teammate from before? - I Think it's a great format and highlights the teamwork aspect in hockey. Reto @Haldeem Haldemann was playing on Xbox and the goal was to have two ZSC players represent our country, but Marco came out of the blue and won the finals against Reto on that side. I didn't know him from before but I'm confident in his talents. Sergei @Serg1vratar Filippov, Russian player on PS4, Captain of Blackdawgs What are your thoughts on the tournament format and did you know your teammate from before? - I really enjoy the format and it's cool that the IIHF was bold enough to bring something new to the competitive community. The thing i dislike a bit is that several top players from PS4 are switching over to Xbox just for the sake of these kinds of tournaments, making the contest less balanced. I didn't know my teammate from before, but from a short discussion we had I understood that he's a quite casual player. As there's a lot of new exciting names in the tournament, who would you want to highlight with the potential to cause an upset? - I have to say Czech Republic looks promising and I think they could have a real chance to compete. Also Switzerland has one of the strongest squads in the tournament. If we're looking at exciting players, I'd keep an eye on Sebastian @SebbeLarsen86 Larsen representing Sweden. He's already put his name on the map from performances in Linkoping and Vesa Pompa though. @rottadee for Finland is an exciting name too, he's overcome the likes of @Artuzio and @Hansulinho, which shows that there is a high level of talent there. Finally, I'd point out that the Czech pepcastachurcik is a talented guy with extremely good puck skills that have impressed me. We're excited about the tournament moving forward and will be following the progress of our community members. More info about the tournament can be found on the IIHF Esports Fan Championship website.

NHLGamers, As in all of our divisions, the playoffs are also underway in our entry level Neo division, and have been for a while already. We're currently in the third round with 16 teams remaining. It's a long way that these teams have come and there's still a good part left to push, purely looking at the effort in terms of games played in order to win it all - Neo is one of the divisions that require the most consistent effort and we all respect the teams who are able to grind through it. Here are your third round matchups: Ringette HC (1) - EIS Force Hockey (43) Pahat Pommittajat (2) - Evolution HC (41) Taavetin Starat (3) - Beastie Boys (32) Jarnkaminerna (4) - MAXIMUM EFFECT (31) ScandinavianFishingGroup (6) - Masiina (21) Suomen Dynamo (9) - Wisby Islanders (20) Veikkolan Veikot (10) - NHL4you Gaming (18) Polarbears HC (11) - Otukset (12) As always, play hard - have fun!

NHLGamers, You've worked hard and come all this way. Now it's only time to work harder. "If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs.. Then you'll be a man, my son.". The iconic poem If by Rudyard Kipling addresses the reader in an attempt to build faith. If you believe, then you will also more likely succeed - all four remaining teams will want the trophy in a few weeks time. In the upcoming semifinals, we'll be in for some interesting battles and some exciting storylines, as both Swedish and Finnish esports fans will have something to cheer for as one matchup showcases SHL teams Linköping HC and Färjestad BK, whereas the other one is a clash between finish esports organisations HAVU Gaming and hREDS. Here are the matchups for the ECL 10 Elite semifinals: (2) Linkoping HC vs Farjestad BK (8) PLAYOFF RECORD 4-0 (Roots) vs 4-1 (JYP Jyvaskyla) TOP SCORER Erik @Eki Tammenpää (3+7=10) vs Andreas @affelj96 Ljungberg (6+2=8) GOALTENDER Casper @ICappeI Lundgren (4 W, 87,88 SV%, 1 GAA, 1 SO) vs Johan @Rundqviiist Rundqvist (4 W, 86,44 SV%, 1,6 GAA, 0 SO) Let's start off by acknowledging the incredible feat of upsetting the number 1 seed that Farjestad BK pulled off to start the playoffs. It's something out of the ordinary and has last happened back in ECL 4 in a matchup between #1 seed MUKIMIEHET and #8 seed Limitless, a series in which now dear teammates in Linköping, Erik @Eki Tammenpää (MUKIMIEHET) & Paul @PleeMaker Arontie (Limitless) took part on opposing sides of the ice. Having such an upset occur at an early stage can throw off the playoff picture a bit, which it has in this case too. Linkoping is a tremendously consistent team, which is easily proven by the fact that they've been either title holders or contenders ever since surfacing at the Elite level in ECL 7. This season, the team has been on a record-setting streak with both a forward (Plee) and a defenseman (Aleksi @loimmu Loimuvirta) setting all-time scoring records. In the quarters, the white lions laid a beating on Roots by sweeping the 7th seed in convincing manner. Now, in comparison Roots and FBK are two very different opponents. Actually FBK entertains a playing style unlike any other at this level. The team has been looking for stretch passes up the boards and the coined "Pelimies"-play up the middle all season long, and have seemingly found space to create other plays due to the constant threat of a stretch pass. That combined with a solid defense and goaltender Johan @Rundqviiist Rundqvist making a solid case for being among the top goaltenders in the world is what led to the team overcoming heavy favorite JYP and now being a solid contender. (3) HAVU Gaming vs hREDS (4) PLAYOFF RECORD 4-0 (BRAYCE Phantoms) vs 4-3 (Unlucky Boys HC) TOP SCORER Tuukka @FlyerKungen Kuha (4+8=12) vs Niklas @NikkeDangles Tukiainen (5+11=16) GOALTENDER Hannes @Hansulinho Kettunen (4 W, 90 SV%, 1 GAA, 2 SO) vs Niklas @uhNikke Nieminen (4 W, 83,91 SV%, 2 GAA, 1 SO) HAVU Gaming and hREDS are a somewhat expected pairing at this point of the season, as both of these powerhouses were predicted to finish among the top teams in the standings. HAVU is the more established team and obviously some heavy expectations rest on those shoulders - nothing the guys aren't used to. On the other side, hREDS is the home to some of the most exciting talent in the game right now, but the team being more of a combination of talent from various sources isn't as coherent of a unit - at least yet. We've seen a number of surprises in the playoffs over the years and this season has been no exception to that, so maybe hREDS can overcome the odds? With certainty we can say that this battle will determine who is the greatest gaming org in the ECL at the moment, and a victory will surely provide the prevailing side with some social media ammo for the foreseeable future. For HAVU, the team has been led from the back by Hannes @Hansulinho Kettunen, who as usual has been a beast in net and will continue to pain the forwards facing him. The REDS have the offensive tools to match HAVU with Niklas @NikkeDangles Tukiainen leading the way over the course of the season, but they need to focus on staying out of the box, 5 on 5 hockey is what they need as much as possible of if they want to walk away as winners. How to watch? The games will be broadcasted at NHLGamer's Twitch-channel according to the schedule below: Monday, May 25th 20:00 CEST Series 1: Games 1-2 (puck drop around 20:20) Farjestad BK vs Linkoping HC 21:30 CEST Series 2: Games 1-2 (puck drop around 21:30-22:00 - but only after the above games are finished) hREDS vs HAVU Gaming Wednesday, May 27th 20:00 CEST Series 3: Games 3-4 (puck drop around 20:20) Farjestad BK vs Linkoping HC 21:30 CEST Series 4: Games 3-4 (puck drop around 21:30-22:00 - but only after the above games are finished) hREDS vs HAVU Gaming Thursday, May 28th 20:00 CEST Series x: Games 5-7 (puck drop around 20:20) AFTER THAT Series y: Games 5-7 (only after the above games are finished)

NHLGamers, All of us surely appreciate the progress our beloved NHLGamer platform has made. Recently, before the start of ECL 10, quite a few longtime squads got signed by team/Esports organizations, which obviously is a big step forward on that front. The battle at the top of Elite has been tremendous this season, with JYP Jyväskylä and hREDS challenging top teams Linköping HC and HAVU Gaming, but there are quite a lot of good teams and players in the shadow of those powerhouse clubs, creating a extremely tight playoff battle. Today, we want to take a closer look. Now it’s time to get to know the ECL’s Elite. It’s been a while since the first time we did one of our Player Profile-articles, which had Lauri @Lamsa Lämsä in the starring role. The former Rusty Blades winger will now be succeeded by Simon @PlaymakerSJ Junker. You probably know that name already, and if not, that’s on you. Simon has been around since ECL1, where he played for UKnighted HC and finished Top Five in scoring with 66 points in 23 games. The left-handed Center then put up 34 points in 13 playoff contests, but UKnighted couldn’t get past well known Synergy Hockey in the quarterfinals. Simon didn’t participate in ECL2 and ECL3 due to scheduling issues, but then came back for the fourth season and he’s been active ever since. After having stints with Germany’s Finest and Inter Iceland, he ultimately joined Deadly Phantoms HC. The german team formed by @Rayman just got promoted to ECL Pro at the time and Playmaker immediately raised the level of play. His calming presence lead the team to a playoff spot in their inaugural Pro season, where the team lost to powerhouse FILADELPHIA (now Linköping) in the second round of the postseason. The team made a couple new additions for ECL7, Playmaker stayed. He led his club in scoring once again and this time the Phantoms were actually deadly and secured the Pro title as well as the promotion to ECL Elite. He then cemented his status as the best german center in the scene, torching the national opposition in GCL3 with 120 points in only 23 matches. Especially in the german scene Simon created his special wraparound and well known move called "Der Junker“ – (Junker is his last name). The Phantoms then became the first ever german team to participate in ECL Elite and surprised quite a lot of people with their fourth-place finish. This time around, Playmaker was the second best scorer on the Phantoms while maintaining his ridiculously strong Two-Way-Game. "I think that I have a good understanding of the game. I have been playing at a high level for a few years now and I demand a lot from myself. In addition, I have already played with many different wingers, which allows me to adapt to almost all types of players“, the 25 year-old explained his success. "...And I am very strong at the push-faceoff. Connor @MartindalexC Martindale can confirm that“, he added. A while ago, as you may have noticed, the Deadly Phantoms became the BRAYCE Phantoms after agreeing to a cooperation with the sports merchandising company. PlaymakerSJ played a big role in that development with his consistent play over the last few years. Phantoms-Captain Mannheimer said: "Simon raised our level of play and our creativity. With his patience, he is an absloute weapon in the offensive zone and still great defensively.“ After a tough go in ECL 9, where the club actually got relegated in a hard-fought-series over seven games against Vesa Pompa, but later retained their Elite-spot in the qualification series, the roster has changed quite a bit. Long-time member Maximilian @gzell60 Käsmaier announced his retirement , which lead to Niklas @xXPsykoSkillsXx Schmitz stepping up in a bigger role. Also new addition Stephan @Krinke Krinke has emerged into a capable goalscorer in his inaugural season in Europes top division after a spot in the offense opened up. Simon is still there, leading the team to a solid bounce back season - right now, the Phantoms are fighting in the playoffs after reaching the playoffs for the second time in their third ECL Elite campaign. And after years of being disadvantaged, they finally have the servers on their side as well! Personally, the Neuss-native is still living in that area, working in Dusseldorfs District Government of Market Surveillance. Unlike his stats on NHLGamer, that sounds extremely boring. With 350 goals, 516 assists and 866 points, Playmaker currently sits in sixth place of NHLGamers All-Time-Points list across all competitions, and there is still more to come.