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NHLGamers, El Clásico, in the football world has been known for an eternity as the heated bout between the two Spanish giants FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. The two juggernauts have battled through a total of 277 official games since the 1902 Copa de la Coronacion and stand incredibly even in wins and competitive games are tied at 96 wins each. Currently, there's arguably no better rivalry in football - some might say in sports altogether. Some of you might already know where we're getting with this, and it's something that's been talked about before. The two greats of virtual hockey will be going at it once again as they have paved their way through the multitude of challengers in this years FCL. HAVU Gaming and FILADELPHIA perhaps do not possess the history and social status that their football counterparts do, but comparing the two matchups inside their respective sports isn't completely out of place and has been done before even here at NHLGamer. Above is an excerpt from the ECL 10 Preview by dear friend and occasional colleague Hampus @l-Furyan-l Duvefelt, who put it into beautiful words how dominant HAVU and FILA (then Linköping HC) have been in the past couple of years of NHL gaming. It is an undeniable fact that both HAVU and FILADELPHIA have dominated the playing field in virtual hockey over the course of the past few years, a reign that you could argue started with the ECL 6 Elite championship for Carlsberg HC and has extended through a multitude of competitive tournaments since. In fact, since the beginning of 2018, these two clubs have clashed 35 times in competitive games, out of which FILADELPHIA in various compositions have won 18 and HAVU during their history have taken home 17. These two teams have gone head-to-head in a total of five times in final series, at the end of which HAVU has hoisted the trophy three times. During these two years, both of these teams have won five trophies in various tournaments. The last time we saw competitive games between these two teams was in the ECL 10 Elite finals in June, when FILADELPHIA was heading for a surefire victory that HAVU stole from them in a dramatic game seven. We are without a doubt talking about the most successful teams in virtual hockey history to this point. (2) FILADELPHIA vs HAVU Gaming (1) TOP SCORER (Playoffs) Erik @Eki Tammenpää (16+17=33) vs Tuukka @FlyerKungen Kuha (11+21=32) GOALTENDER (Playoffs) Casper @ICappeI Lundgren (87.5 SV%, 1 GAA, 6 SO) vs Hannes @Hansulinho Kettunen (82.30 SV%, 1.43 GAA, 2 SO) Despite quite some time passing since the last time we saw HAVU and FILA take the ice simultaneously, not much has changed for these teams. We are expecting the exact same rosters to go to war and what better way to do so than in a final series once again. Just last weekend, a number of these players played in the SCL finals which could possibly have some effect on the readiness of going into such a high stakes game. Three out of four players that participated are on the FILADELPHIA side, however. That coupled with the fact that HAVU hasn't played an FCL group stage and has at least some time less in game over the last few weeks could also be an impactful factor heading into the weekend. We all know that the base level of these players is at an extremely high, and in these high stakes series, the winner is usually the one who can raise their ceiling even higher. Seeing the SCL finals last weekend, a player that really impressed was Joel @jtorro1233 Tourunen, who really came into his own and was on a completely different level with puck calmness and possession play. On HAVU's side, the one player that has seen the most action lately is captain Tuukka @FlyerKungen Kuha and as usual there is no doubt whatsoever that this guy wouldn't bring it come the decisive games. HAVU will however need their supporting cast to step up even more if they wish to retain their FCL title. Ilmari @Buantso Lehkonen is still one of the greatest wingers in the game, Risto @Dominointi Järvi is still one of the greatest centers in the game, but will they be able to elevate to championship level once again? The weekend will show who wants it more. Here's the community vote result for the series: In the bronze series (BO3) we will see two teams that are constantly improving and closing in on the two finalists - but had to settle for fighting for the bronze this Saturday. (5) JYP Jyvaskyla vs hREDS (4) TOP SCORER (Playoffs) Santeri @indi969 Pendolin (23+14=37) vs Perttu @Beniittto Kemppainen (18+26=44) GOALTENDER (Playoffs) Oskari @sibeelius Grönroos (81.63 SV%, 1.80 GAA, 3 SO) vs Niklas @uhNikke Nieminen (81.93 SV%, 1.50 GAA, 1 SO) Tune in for the finals on Saturday! The upcoming weekend will be an absolute NHL gaming carnival, with the FCL 1v1 finals coming up on Friday, we'll continue with the El Clásico of virtual hockey on Saturday! Make sure to tell your friends and tune in at twitch.tv/NHLGamer for some quality virtual hockey!

NHLGamers, The past weekend featured a worthy finale for NHL20 with the FCL finals with some of the worlds best talent for show in both 1v1 finals on Friday and 6v6 finals on Saturdays. Although we're tremendously happy to have some of the most dominant players and teams on our platform, we're excited to announce that we have crowned new champions on both the 1v1 and 6v6 sides! Friday featured a top 8 grand final, starting at the quarterfinal stage. We were certain that we would crown a new champ as the defending champion Kristian @kriketski17 Veijola was narrowly eliminated in the top 16 stage. Roni @MrNipsuli Kajan, Niklas @NikkeDangles Tukiainen, Erik @Eki Tammenpää, Arttu @Artuzio Mustila, Joona @Hullued Saarinen, Perttu @Beniittto Kemppainen, Sami @buranaburana Piiparinen and Roope @Pikkuroger Bergström all lined up and squared off in their respective best of three quarterfinals. We cut down to four gamers remaining, after which @Artuzio and @NikkeDangles were in the finals and @Eki would meet @MrNipsuli in the bronze game. Eventually, @Artuzio would be out new FCL 1v1 champion! Congratulations on behalf of the entire community. Group stage record: Invited straight to the finals stage Finals group stage record: 5-1-0 Quarterfinals: Aaro @xDoumi Ruuhinen 3-1 Semifinals: Roope @Pikkuroger Bergström 2-1 Finals: Niklas @NikkeDangles Tukiainen 2-0 Here is the top 3 of the FCL 1v1: 1. Arttu @Artuzio Mustila 2. Niklas @NikkeDangles Tukiainen 3. Roni @MrNipsuli Kajan If you missed the broadcast, you can rewatch it here: Once again, congratulations!

Hey NHLGamers, NHL 21 is finally upon us, albeit with the caveat that you'll need an EA Play subscription*, but nevertheless, it is here and so let's get straight down to business looking at what has changed! As you may remember EA was rather tight-lipped about gameplay details regarding NHL 21 from the technical test a while back and asked for people to submit their opinions of the game in order to gain an understanding of what needed to be changed or tweaked. Well, they have seemingly read through a lot of responses and one of the bigger change-logs seen for a while in the NHL series. Below you will find a general rundown of the 'main' changes (subjective of course) impacting 6v6. After that, the full change-log will be presented. Enjoy. Firstly, it appears that goalies are the ones to receive the most changes which is probably to be expected, thanks to goalies facing one of the biggest overhauls for NHL 21. In this, we see that animation tweaks and fixes make up the lion's share of entries, with there even being new save animations included. Outside of goalie changes however there are not that many 'major' changes, instead most entries look to make small-scale tweaks to existing systems. For instance, EA has apparently stopped players randomly launching the puck after picking it up and attempting a pass or shot, indeed the collision system as a whole will supposedly have fewer "phantom" collisions. *In order to attain an EA Play subscription, you will need to install the "EA Play Hub" app through the PSN store, from there NHL 21 should be visible as the banner screen. Once you've have clicked on "view game" for NHL 21, you should be prompted to download it assuming you already have a subscription, or asked to subscribe. EA Play is a monthly renewing subscription and as such, if you do not plan on making use of it beyond playing NHL 21, then please remember to cancel this subscription. In addition to the early access, EA Play will also grant you an automatically applied discount of 10% on any preorder of an EA game in the PSN store. What does everyone think about these changes? Are there any changes you think that have run under the radar? Let us know below!