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NHLGamers, Västerås IK is a Swedish ice hockey club with a very long history. At the moment, it is playing at the second highest tier of competition in Sweden. In their past also lies a 12-season stretch in the national top league between 1988 and 2000. With a long history in hockey, moving to console hockey was their great next step. Jimmy Gerdin, media officer at Västerås IK, commented on the club's decision to join console hockey. "From the club side, we thought it was time to try to get the team into esports. We have received a lot of requests in recent years to start a team, so we put the ball in the hands of our own fans, who had the opportunity to form a team that would represent Västerås IK." The pandemic situation around the world also affected the club's willingness to build a new console hockey team alongside their hockey team. Gerdin highlights the locality of the players and their passion for the club. "First of all, we see it as a fun initiative because it is a team made up of local players who are passionate about the club. When it comes to the situation with the pandemic and the economy, this is not a burden on the association either financially or in terms of workload. This is run entirely voluntarily by the dedicated supporters and players who are passionate about both VIK and esports. Moreover, this is a sport that is not affected by either crowd restrictions or the spread of infection among the players." Daniel @Gunde021 Gunstedt, who's the acting netminder of the Västerås IK console hockey team, commented on his interest in console hockey and his association with the club's colours: "We are all very passionate about console hockey and the fact that we will then get the chance to represent our favourite team Västerås IK setting up a team for esports is an absolutely amazing feeling. Hockey is a great sport and playing alongside teammates and competing is probably the best thing." Västerås IK is heading into the upcoming ECL 11 season with an experienced team, as there are several players who have previous experience in the ECL, among other leagues. "We are part of a team with previous experience competing in esports such as the ECL but we also have some players that are brand new to the competitive scene as well. Many have previously played club games and such, but simply haven't taken their game to the next level yet, so it's a little new for some." Expectations for the team are high, as several players are looking to up their level or get back to their prime: "The goal of the team is to get as far in the divisions framework as possible. Me and a few more of the team have previously played in the Pro and that's where you want to be again, preferably higher than that of course!" The players took initiative in starting up the esports club for Västerås IK in the offseason. Gunstedt opens up about the steps in building their squad. "It started with the gang deciding to leave the Xbox for Playstation and talking to some of the Swedish community on Facebook. In the recruitment process when we got to know each other I realized they were also supporters of Västerås, which made the selection rather smooth. The idea really took off and when connecting with the club we learned that also they were extremely interested in setting up an esports team." "As a team, we try to be hard to play against, focusing a lot on team play, where everyone has to do their part to succeed. As a goalkeeper, I want to say that I have a pretty good idea of the game, but there is still a lot of work to be done." - Gunstedt on their team strengths and his own play in net.

NHLGamers, As always, we look to bring you the most superior competitive gaming experience possible, and we're continuously looking to improve on previous iterations of our leagues. Nothing has changed in regards to that in our ECL, and therefore we assure you that ECL 11 will be run at the premium level you are used to. This time, we wanted to launch the signups as early as possible in order to allow entry for as many teams as possible, also minimizing the risk of someone simply missing the deadline. Without further ado - here you go: Signups will be open until Wednesday, 11.11 at 23:59 CET. Divisions framework The divisions framework for the ECL 11 will follow the same logic as for previous seasons. We will have a total of four divisions with the following team allocation: Elite 16 teams, Pro 32 teams, Lite 96-128 teams*, Neo 32+ teams. ECL Elite: 16 teams Sign up: ECL Elite eligible teams Regular season: One group Playoffs: 8 teams Best-of-7 ECL Pro: 32 teams Sign up: ECL Pro eligible teams Regular season: Two groups Playoffs: 16 teams Best-of-7 ECL Lite: 96-128 teams Sign up: Anyone can apply for ECL Lite Teams will be decided by Franchise history, Roster composition, and EASHL record ECL Lite registrants are also allowed to apply for a spot in ECL Pro Teams signing up for ECL Lite that don't make it into ECL Pro or ECL Lite will be automatically placed in ECL Neo Regular season: TBD Playoffs: TBD Best-of-7 ECL Neo: 32+ teams Sign up: Without restrictions Regular season: TBD Playoffs: TBD Best-of-5 *NHLGamer reserves the right to alter the team allocation to ECL 11 Lite depending on the number of total teams signing up. Preliminary schedule for the ECL 11 season: ECL 11 Neo: Start Wednesday, 18.11 ECL 11 Lite: Start Tuesday, 17.11 ECL 11 Pro: Start Monday, 23.11 ECL 11 Elite: Start Monday, 30.11 Stay tuned for more info dropping over the coming weeks, we'll be releasing more detailed information about the season and announcing the cover gamer for ECL 11! What is the ECL? The ECL is the pinnacle of European NHL esports. The abbreviation stands for the European Championship League and it features NHL 6v6 esports in four divisions aimed at various skill levels. League games are played in the EASHL mode and the platform is PlayStation 4. Basic information/requirements of ECL: Regional restrictions: ECL is a European tournament format, however, we do not necessarily exclude North American or Russian players. A European server will always be used. In case of severe connection issues, we reserve the right to exclude teams or players. 6v6 tournament: ECL is played 6 vs. 6 only, using the EASHL Challenge Club game mode in NHL 21. Individual requirements: Each player needs to have an account at NHLGamer.com and create their personal player card. Roster requirements: Teams in ECL Elite need to have at least 7 players to sign up. Teams in ECL Pro, ECL Lite and ECL Neo need to have at least 8 players to sign up. The roster cap is 14 players. ECL Elite license: Teams in ECL Elite will be required to pay for an ECL Elite license in order to play (more details to follow). Rules: The ECL 11 ruleset will follow the same foundation as in season 10. The updated rulebook will be available before the season. Don't have a team yet? Team looking for additions to your roster? If you are a free agent looking to be picked up, please head over here. If you are representing a team looking for players, please head over here.

NHLGamers, What a wild ride it's been, not only the FCL but the entire NHL 20 competitive season. We had an exceptionally long time with the game due to the delay of the NHL 21 release, but we sure took advantage of the time we had. This past weekend featured the finale of NHL 20 with the grand finals of the FCL. Alike our other leagues, also the FCL showed great growth by almost doubling the amount of participating teams from the first FCL season in 2019. Let's keep going and continue the growth into ECL 11! With the FCL and SCL championships being played for on consecutive weekends, we now also have some players that have secured a championship in both of those tournaments within the span of one week. Joel @jtorro1233 Tourunen played defense for both Vesa Pompa HC and FILADELPHIA, whereas Casper @ICappeI Lundgren has made history and set a record that will definitely be tough to break. The man secured a SCL championship on the left wing of Vesa Pompa HC first, after which he stopped pucks for FILADELPHIA, winning the FCL championship in net. Winning a championship by playing both in net and as a skater is something that legendary Hannes @Hansulinho Kettunen has previously accomplished back in ECL 4 with Laser HT, but doing so with two different teams on consecutive weekends is something that most likely won't be happening again for a while. Group stage With the large amount of teams participating and the restricted time to complete the tournament, the playoff picture this year was arguably rather unforgiving, with only four teams from each group and the three best fifth placed teams making it to the postseason. We'll be focusing on the advancing teams when taking a closer look at the playoff matchups, but let's take an overviews of some teams that didn't make it in this section. Group 1 saw two excellent teams face disappointment, as both HanaaHC and the recent Lite champions Sack Brothers didn't qualify for the postseason. Despite good performances throughout the season, especially Sack Brothers ended up dropping decisive points against lower seeded teams such as Kiekkonapalmi. HanaaHC ended up being the 5th placing team, which wasn't quite enough to put them through this time. HC Wildcard faced a similar end result to HanaaHC in their respective group. Despite putting up decent numbers and being just a point behind the 4th place Sulkavan Sudet, they fell short and wasn't seen in the postseason. We were pleasantly surprised to see Oulunsalon Pallo push through to the playoffs in group 3, overcoming experienced teams such as Mockba and the greatly improved HUIPPUPASSI. Group 4 showcased a tough three way battle for 4th place between Angry Cats, Cheers Hockey and We Kings. Those three teams eventually finished in that order based on tiebreakers, after which Cheers Hockey made the postseason as the 3rd best 5th placing team. In group 5, SJ Gaming was seen as a team that should advance, but they didn't do so without hickups, dropping important points against Hokurit right out of the gates and putting forth slightly shaky performances throughout the group stage. SJ managed to find their stride a bit later on and got into the playoffs as the best 5th placing team. The 5th place battle was up to Gotham Knights and Armada Hockey in group 6, where the Knights finally managed to gather enough points to make the postseason, but didn't do so without trouble as they lost some matchups that they wish they had back along the way. The 7th and final group featured the three way Mestis rivalry between SAWO, Frosty Kiekko-Vantaa and TuTo Esports out of which the two first pushed through to the playoffs. The experienced Murohoki came very close, but didn't find enough points to go through from their 5th place. Playoffs A bit under half of the participating teams qualified for the playoffs, making it a run to the finish line for only the very best clubs in the scene. Right out of the gates we saw some interesting matchups as some high level teams struggled in the group stage, putting them at lower seeds than perhaps expected. The most exciting first round matchups were definitely the unexpected clashes between FILADELPHIA and Gotham Knights, YMCA Esports and SJ Gaming and finally the Mestis rivalry vol. 2 between SAWO Esports and Frosty Kiekko-Vantaa, out of which all offered some juicy storylines. Actually, from the second round on it wasn't until the finals that a lower seeded team came away with the victory in a series. During round two, the lower seeded teams managed to extract only two wins, which are credited to the names of Nordic Stars and Kaupallinen Yhteistyo. Moving on, the quarterfinals were played in a similar manner except for JYP Jyvaskyla vs GHETTO FIREBIRDS, where the Birds came close to an upset, faltering only 3-2 to the strong JYP squad. The semifinals offered action in the form of a HAVU Gaming - JYP Jyvaskyla thriller and a high skill free-for-all between FILADELPHIA and hREDS. Now HAVU and JYP were extremely tightly matched and ended up going to an exciting fifth game where HAVU had to make a roster substitution when Eemil @Eemil Koski took the ice at an unfamiliar LW position in the place of HAVU's mainstay winger Ilmari @Buantso Lehkonen. The youngster put forth a convincing effort in a tough spot, ultimately securing the second consecutive FCL final spot for HAVU Gaming. Going into their series against FILADELPHIA, hREDS were looking sharp and had their offense firing on all cylinders, but ended up falling short against a FILA that looked stronger than eve Finals The finals were hyped up a lot this year and that was definitely for a reason. We've been calling it the El Clásico of NHL gaming and these two teams are yet to disappoint. It's always a joy to watch with the sheer overflow of skill that's present when HAVU Gaming and FILADELPHIA meet on the virtual ice. In this years iteration of the FCL playoffs, this classic featured a full five game series with lots of back and forth action. The scoring was kept low as expected, but we didn't have to extend for overtime in any of the games this year. Game five in the extremely tough series ended up being a thriller, having FILADELPHIA in a 3-1 lead until the dying seconds, when HAVU managed to push back, but being left just short putting the final score at 3-2 for FILA, as also the final score of the series. We crowned a new champion! If you happened to miss the broadcast, check it out here:

NHLGamers, SC Bern is a truly traditional and successful hockey club whose history dates back all the way to the 1930s. On the hockey side, success has come in the form of several championships and other trophies. However, they are now looking towards taking over a new kind of segment, as the traditional sports club joins esports and virtual hockey with NHL21. Esports has gained popularity among Swiss people quite quickly. 2009 was the last time Bern had an esports team represent the city. Sina Wymann, Marketing Manager of SC Bern says that the current situation spurred the club exploring opportunities with esports. "In Switzerland we are living in a huge crisis – considering economy but also society. Before Corona it was my job to investigate new business opportunities. Looking for chances in a crisis like this you must think about the isolated activities which remain even in times like these. So, gaming and eSports was the closest thought. Back in 2009 Bern already had an eSports team for a truly short amount of time. We were much ahead and not able to establish this team. SCB is very traditional as you mentioned, but we are always trying to be a pioneer in everything". Wymann states that getting the esports team to Bern was a very quick decision. Together with team captain Adrian @adu83 Siegenthaler, they went through the concept and common goals. "Our interests are of course driven by new target groups. If you want to reach generation Y, you must consider new ways – especially ways which are connected in the virtual world such as gaming. We’re also hoping for new sponsorships with less “traditional’’ partners." As stated, esports is gradually receiving increasing attention in Switzerland, and the population is accepting it as a form of culture alongside traditional sports. SC Bern and their newly signed esports roster see tremendous opportunities in developing their operations. "Well, almost a third of the Swiss population perceives esports as a real sport which shows that esports gained quite some popularity and is growing every day! We are clearly not the only club with the idea to build an eSports Team: Basel, Geneva and Fribourg are also in the middle of the building process. It is a great development because we are hoping for creation of an eNational League in the NHL", Wymann comments on the development of the scene. Upon talking to team captain @adu83, he's on the same page as Wymann. "The Swiss population is accepting eSports as a popular sport. Of course, NHL is not (yet) among the most popular games here, but we hope this will change in the future", says the captain. SC Bern's NHL team has been playing together for a long time. The club reports that Siegenthaler, who's the acting captain of the team, brought together some good players. The club did not participate in the team building, but the reigns were with the players entirely. "This was my job as captain from the team. A few players of the actual team have been playing NHL together for the past 10 years. I found the rest of the players through connections and tryouts. I was born in Bern and therefore it was an easy choice for me which team I will want to play for. A few of the other teammates are supporters of SC Bern too."

Hey NHLGamers, In what can only be described as the fastest patch on record for an NHL iteration, EA are going to release the 1.1 patch in just over one hour from now (19cet) on the 20th of October, 2020. To the surprise of no-one who has had the fortune of playing the game recently, the hallmark change in this patch is the improvement in the logic dicatating whether a defensive skill stick poke would trip someone or not. As this patch appears to be expedited due to complaints from the aforementioned issue, there are little to no other changes that are of major note. Of course, there are still some 'miscellaneous' changes, ranging from skating preview animations being fixed to general UI stability improvements. What's your experience with the game so far? Was this an anticipated patch? Anything else you'd like fixed? Let us know in the comments below.

NHLGamers, What a journey it has once again been! A competitive tourney is a taxing experience for all parties involved - players, teams and staff. The end, however is always equally rewarding as we see the eventual champions hoist the cup. Unfortunately this time, the hoisting had to be done virtually, but that didn't take away from the excitement and integrity of the victory that Vesa Pompa HC claimed for the second year running. For the second year of Swedish competition, we're happy to have almost doubled the participating teams, which shows great initiative from our Swedish community and the increase in interest toward what we see as the pinnacle of virtual hockey - competitive 6v6 leagues. We're hoping to see all of these teams and even more in the upcoming ECL! Svenska Spel and Svenska Ishockeyförbundet has decided to award caster Adam @esdor Ericson as the fair player of the tournament. Adam has showed an exemplary attitude throughout the duration of the season and has met the audience and his peers with respect, warmth and humor each day. He also competed in the 1v1 tourney, narrowly being eliminated form the top 8 due to tiebreakers. Adam is a role model in the community and has done great work to grow the sport. The 2020 fair player award consists of a 5000 SEK cheque and an official Tre Kronor jersey. Congrats Adam! Group stage The SCL group stage featured four groups with 9-10 teams each this season. As usual, the teams faced each other in double-headers, being awarded a maximum of two points for each win. Out of each group, three teams would advance directly to the playoffs, whereas the teams placed 4-5 in each group would meet in a play-in round to determine the fourth and final playoff spot. The defending champion and therefore invitee Vesa Pompa HC decided to reject a direct invitation to the playoffs in favor of participating in the groupstage and building chemistry throughout the tournament. The defending champions passed with flying colors, being the only undefeated team and dominating their group 1 like only a champion could. Overall, group 1 featured a multitude of talented teams but it seemed like experience really prevailed, as Sjukstugan managed to snag second place and SSK Esports came in third leaving Almtuna IS eSport and HockeyProfessorn HC to battle in the play-in round. Group 2 featured two clear favorites with more established rosters in comparison to the competition. Northern Ascendancy and Djurgarden Hockey fought for the first place, with NOR eventually claiming the spot. Bask Nation came in third with their exciting ensemble of players from various backgrounds and levels of experience - only three losses and a victory stolen against NOR shows that they are a team to be taken seriously. Viper HC and Rogle BK were left to fight in the play-in round. We saw an eSHL-dominant group 3, also including a total of six teams representing traditional Swedish clubs. Clear favorites were Farjestad BK and Leksands IF, who also finished in that order, but HV71 eSHL is never a team to be counted out and managed to challenge the top adequately. Places 4-6 were a tight three way battle between Orebro eHockey, Unwanted and Hammarby Hockey, out of which the last eventually was the odd team out. Group 4 was Vaxjo's for the taking, and the clear favorites ran away with the victory leaving Company of Geeks and Studspoikarna SWC to battle for second place with an eventual one point differential. IK Oskarshamn showed a great improvement since their last competitive run, coming in 4th ahead of the experienced Nordic Nosebleed. Play-in round The play-in round was something new in NHLGamer leagues and added to some more excitement to the final battles for the last places in the postseason. By playing each other already in the group stage, these teams were able to build some minor rivalries, going up against one another in a high-stakes best of five to start the playoffs. These were the play-in series and their respective results: (4) Almtuna IS eSports vs HockeyProfessorn HC (5) 1-3 (4) Viper HC vs Rogle BK (5) 0-3 (4) Orebro eHockey vs Unwanted (5) 3-1 (4) IK Oskarshamn vs Nordic Nosebleed (5) 0-3 Playoffs Once the playoffs commenced, we were left with the 16 top teams in Sweden who all believed in their chances at a title shot - at least to some extent. Obviously, there were favorites who should have advanced throughout the rounds unwaivered and that is to a large degree what we saw. The first round offered little in terms of surprises, but number one seed Vesa Pompa HC suffered their first loss in the tournament at the hands of Nordic Nosebleed, after which the champs ran away with the series. Some lower seeds that managed to push through were HV71 eSHL who went up as a 12th seed against Djurgarden Hockey at seed 5 and SSK Esports, who as seed 11 won seed 6 - Company of Geeks. The quarterfinals didn't feature too much in terms of surprises either with one major exception. Despite being close in terms of seeding, Farjestad BK was coming into the SCL with an upwards trajectory after a successful run in the ECL and some time to practice even more in between tournaments, whereas Leksands IF was expected to have fallen out of their prime a bit after peaking early spring. Perhaps the oldest team in the tournament - Leksands showed us that not all can be predicted, when they beat the favorite surprisingly easily with a score of 4-2. By upsetting FBK in the quarters, Leksands punched their ticket to go up against Vesa Pompa in the semifinals - a task that proved to be all too much. Four straight losses put LIF's run to a rather anticlimactic end and sent Vesa Pompa to the finals. The other semifinal matchup showed us more action that we could've wished for as Vaxjo Lakers HC and Northern Ascendancy took it all the way to a game seven that ended in a gruelling way for VLH, who after an immense pressure in the last five minutes came just short this time. Finals Vesa Pompa HC and Northern Ascendancy were the ones going at it in the finals this year. The biggest share of 100 000 SEK on the line and the right to call yourself a Swedish Champion for the next year was at stake and these two did not disappoint. Throughout the day of the finals, Vesa Pompa and NOR traded blows, going back and forth in both flow of game and series leads, until we eventually reached the inevitable - a game seven decision. Game seven brought the drama and everything we could ever wish for in a hockey game, if you're doubtful just check in at the six hour mark of the broadcast below! The last minute of game seven featured two goals, but eventually the game winner came from the stick of Casper @ICappeI Lundgren at 59:06. Vesa Pompa was able to hold off the strong attack of NOR and secured their back-to-back title run! If you missed the finals, you can check in on the broadcast here:

NHLGamers, On Saturday, we showcased the El Clásico of NHL gaming between HAVU Gaming and FILADELPHIA. It's a final series we've been treated to on several occasions before, and got to see once again. The defending champions HAVU Gaming took the ice in great form after having been tested hard by JYP in the semifinals. FILA on the other hand joined the finals on a run that took off after a difficult start. Joonas @swagx88 Kuossari is known for stopping pucks but took the community by storm hopping into the booth with Julius Sorjonen and passing that test with flying colors. The final series between the two juggernauts was definitely up to par with what we expected as we saw some back and forth action and eventually an exciting new champion that regains the throne as a winner between the two. Congratulations to FILADELPHIA! Here's FILADELPHIA's road to the championship: Group stage record: 20-0-0 Round 1: vs Gotham Knights 3-2 Round 2: vs Frosty Kiekko-Vantaa 3-0 Quarterfinals: vs Tunnel Vision 3-1 Semifinals: vs hREDS 3-1 Finals: vs HAVU Gaming 3-2 The winning roster: GOALTENDERS #71 Casper @ICappeI Lundgren DEFENSEMEN #27 Aleksi @loimmu Loimuvirta #40 Joel @jtorro1233 Tourunen FORWARDS #25 Erik @Eki Tammenpää #44 Paul @PleeMaker Arontie #86 Joonas @Patzlaf Paatiala Congratulations to the champions on behalf of the entire community, and a warm thank you to all participants. See you in NHL 21! If you missed the broadcast, you can rewatch it here:

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!

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, This weekend it's time for the grande finale of the NHL 20 year. With the release of the new game closing in, we're capping off the season with the FCL finals! Eight of the best Finnish 1v1 players will fight for the title and the cash during Friday and two of the best teams will do the same on Saturday. It is now also clear that we will have a shift in power on the 1v1 side, as reigning champion Kristian @kriketski17 Veijola was eliminated based on tiebreakers in the finals group stage. Out of the two invitees, Arttu @Artuzio Mustila still continues in the quarterfinals. Still at this point of the tournament, both Roni @MrNipsuli Kajan and Erik @Eki Tammenpää continue undefeated, looking to be on unstoppable runs so far. Who's the immovable object - who's the unstoppable force? Friday evening will be featuring a number of quarterfinal games, both semifinal series, a bronze game and a best-of-three final series. There's a lot on the line and at the end of the night - we'll crown a new Finnish champion. Here are the quarterfinal matchups: (1) Roni @MrNipsuli Kajan vs Joona @Hullued Saarinen (13) (2) Niklas @NikkeDangles Tukiainen vs Perttu @Beniittto Kemppainen (12) (3) Erik @Eki Tammenpää vs Sami @buranaburana Piiparinen (10) (6) Arttu @Artuzio Mustila vs Roope @Pikkuroger Bergström (9) Tune in for the finals on Friday! The broadcast on Friday will commence at 18:20 EEST and will feature your very own Arttu @OLVARI Hämäläinen and Julius Sorjonen in the booth! You can find the broadcast on twitch.tv/NHLGamer. Here's the preliminary schedule for the night: 18:20 Broadcast start 18:30 Quarterfinals (BO3) 19:30 Semifinal 1 (BO3) 20:30 Semifinal 2 (BO3) ——— SHORT BREAK ——— 21:45 Bronze Game (BO1) 22:30 Finals (BO3)

NHLGamers, With the events of the long SCL season and a whole seven game final series in the rearview, we are happy to announce that Vesa Pompa HC is your SCL champion! After seeing superstar winger Henrik @Eken45jr Eklund going back-to-back last night, also the club was determined to pull off a similar feat. Vesa Pompa HC's road to the championship: Group stage: 16-0-0 Round 1: vs Nordic Nosebleed 4-1 Quarterfinals: vs HV71 eSHL 4-1 Semifinals: vs Leksands IF 4-0 Finals: vs Northern Ascendancy 4-3 The winning roster: GOALTENDERS #27 Philip @Pippo Johansson #93 Edvin @Thunborg5 Thunborg DEFENSEMEN #26 Sebastian @SebbeLarsen86 Larsen #40 Joel @jtorro1233 Tourunen #50 Johan @Lehmannens Lehmann FORWARDS #19 Henrik @Eken45jr Eklund #71 Casper @ICappeI Lundgren #91 Tuukka @FlyerKungen Kuha Congratulations to the champions on behalf of the entire community, and a warm thank you to all participants! If you missed the broadcast, you can rewatch it here:

NHLGamers, Semifinals! Only four teams remain and all want their spot in the finals. This news story will be a tightly wrapped info package about the semis: (1) HAVU Gaming vs JYP Jyvaskyla (5) TOP SCORER (Playoffs) Risto @Dominointi Järvi (9+13=22) vs Santeri @indi969 Pendolin (19+11=30) GOALTENDER (Playoffs) Hannes @Hansulinho Kettunen (84.62 SV%, 1.11 GAA, 1 SO) vs Oskari @sibeelius Grönroos (82.43 SV%, 1.30 GAA, 3 SO) (2) FILADELPHIA vs hREDS (4) TOP SCORER (Playoffs) Erik @Eki Tammenpää 10+17=27) vs Perttu @Beniittto Kemppainen (15+23=38) GOALTENDER (Playoffs) Casper @ICappeI Lundgren (87.95 SV%, 0.83 GAA, 6 SO) vs Niklas @uhNikke Nieminen (80.56 SV%, 1.17 GAA, 1 SO) Tune in for the playoffs tonight! The semifinals start tonight as we'll see the starts of both series on the broadcast commentated by Julius Sorjonen, Kenneth @Kenu Lehtinen and Jani @Janikka Tuominen, starting at 19:50 CEST on twitch.tv/NHLGamer.

NHLGamers, We've arrived! A long season has now reached terminus, as we're still left with four great teams out of which two will be battling for the title and a hefty slice of cash in the grande finale whereas the others will be going for what they can salvage in a bronze game. Ultimately, we've got the four most skilled teams in Sweden showing up tonight and we hope you do too! (1) Vesa Pompa HC vs Northern Ascendancy (3) TOP SCORER (playoffs) Casper @ICappeI Lundgren (28+23=51) vs Erik @Eki Tammenpää (29+27=56) GOALTENDER (playoffs) Edvin @Thunborg5 Thunborg (82,22 SV%, 1.14 GAA, 3 SO) vs Jonas @poliskontroll Lindström (80.8 SV%, 1.5 GAA, 2 SO) These are the two best teams in Sweden right now and all that remains is to determine an order in a gruesome best-of-seven final series. Both of these teams have gone through somewhat similar paths on their way to the final, although Vesa Pompa has came through with arguably an easier effort so far, which naturally is justified for a #1 seed. To go through some background, last year Vesa Pompa HC secured the title as the first ever 6v6 Swedish champion and are eagerly defending that throne whereas Northern Ascendancy faced defeat in the semifinals and finally also in the bronze game leading to utter disappointment. So, we've got two tremendously skilled teams heading into battle with similar, but also very different starting points. Simply looking a few rows up at the top scorers of these teams is telling me this is going to be a legendary series. On Vesa Pompa we've got do-it-all superstar Casper @ICappeI Lundgren, whose capability of playing bigger games on the wing I somewhat doubted in the semifinal writeup, but the man proved all doubters wrong continuing his run and scoring cold-blooded snipes such as the one below in the process. While @ICappeI looks to keep sniping, we're sure that his long-time teammate now playing on the other side, Erik @Eki Tammenpää looks to do just the same for his Northern Ascendancy. @Eki has been enjoying the legendary dishes of comeback kid Andre @Foppatofflan Liljegren who is once again proving his worth and elevating the game of his dear club, together with a partially renewed roster including lots of old acquaintances. Despite the immense star power that both of these clubs have an abundance of, we cannot forget the supporting cast that has played an important role in the success of both of these clubs this season. Besides the scorers and superstars, also players doing the work that's not as quantifiable in statistics will play an important role in the finals. Johan @Lehmannens Lehmann is the long time leader and captain of Vesa Pompa and has played through a multitude of situations, possessing experience from a variety of situations on both the 6v6 and 1v1 sides of the game. The captain has a balancing role to counter his superstar d-partner Joel @jtorro1233 Tourunen and is doing that work extremely well. On the Northern Ascendancy side we've also got an interesting character on defense - Mattias @iSvamp Björck has been in the community for what seems to be an eternity and has compiled an impressive amount of titles in that timespan, granted that the last time the man hoisted a trophy is quite a while ago. The defensively exceptional right defenseman of NOR looks to get back in his winning ways and doing so with an incredibly strong squad that has all the possibilities of taking a title. Here's the community vote of the final series: (2) Vaxjo Lakers HC vs Leksands IF (7) TOP SCORER (playoffs) Anton @antoniomannen004 Svensander (17+21=38) vs Johan @Isindar Jonsson (15+16=31) GOALTENDER (playoffs) Filip @Fcoy_faze Azri (85.29 SV%, 1.56 GAA, 4 SO) vs Kimmo @DUNZA Sunnari (75.31 SV%, 2.5 GAA, 1 SO) Before we get going with the final games of the season, we're in store for some additional top tier hockey shown in the bronze game, which is played as a best-of-three series between Vaxjo Lakers HC and Leksands IF. Despite facing disappointment in the semifinals, both of these squads will be coming to play when the puck drops and are looking to secure that 3rd spot and some hardware in their closets. Vaxjo is coming into the bronze game in good form after losing to Northern Ascendancy in a game seven in which they arguably outplayed their opposition at times, but the result has to be respected nevertheless. If their most recent performances are any indication, I'm predicting a tough time for Leksands IF who had a tough time getting their game going against Vesa Pompa in their semifinal matchup. Tune in for the finals tonight! We'll be broadcasting all the action during the day, with your favorites Adam @esdor Ericson and Johan @Zalaz Nilsson in the booth as usual. The stream will be going live at 17:30 CEST and we'll kick off with the BO3 bronze game series. Make sure to tell your friends and tune in at twitch.tv/NHLGamer for some quality virtual hockey! Here's a preliminary schedule for the night: 17:30 Broadcast start 17:40 Puck drop for VLH-LIF 19:10 Bronze winner interview and recap 19:15 Finals intro 19:30 Game 1-3 of finals ------BREAK------ 21:15 Game 4-5 of finals ----- SHORT BREAK ---- 22:30 Game 6-7 of finals See you in the chat, gamers!

NHLGamers, After a gruelling Friday night we're able to present to you the new SCL 1vs1 Champion Henrik @Eken45jr Eklund! Let's take a look back at @Eken45jr's road to the championship: Group stage record: Invited straight to the finals stage Finals group stage record: 6-0-0 Quarterfinals vs @Rubituss 2-0 SemiFinals vs @JoeeelOD 2-0 Finals vs @SebbeLarsen86 2-0 The top 3 of SCL 1vs1 are: 1. Henrik Eklund @Eken45jr 2. Sebastian Larsen @SebbeLarsen86 3. Anton Svensander @antoniomannen004 NHLGamer would like to congratulate Eken on a tremendous tournament and the championship! If you wish to relive the broadcast, you can do so here:

NHLGamers, We're now at the stage of the SCL 1v1 where only the best remain. Last year, we saw 16 of the best Swedish players show up at the LAN finals in Uppsala, but this time we're taking things online due to the pandemic and restrictions coming with it. The goal of this article is to give an idea of how the tournament has went and who the remaining players are. We're also taking a shot at overviewing who has the best shot at advancing to the finals. Anyways, here's a quick rundown of the tournament structure: Group stage - around 90 participants 9 groups with 10 players One game against each opponent Six players from each group advance together with the six best 7th placed players (60 players in total) 2nd round - BO5 playoffs (60 players left) players were seeded into the playoffs based on the following tiebreakers: group stage placement, head-to-head result, goal differential, goals for and wins in regulation. Third round - BO5 playoffs (30 players left) Fourth round - Finals group stage (16 players left) <--- WE ARE HERE! Invitee Henrik @Eken45jr Eklund joins the tournament at seed #1 Players are placed into four groups with four players each Two games against each opponent Two players from each group advance into the top 8 Finals - 2nd of October @ twitch.tv/NHLGamer (8 players left) Who's still in? Lots of familiar names are in competition at this stage, but we've also got some fresh faces like @lidman1 and @Henka0009, who somewhat surprisingly are pushing through to the top 16 after upsetting @Frompa- and @Foppatofflan respectively in the 2nd playoff round. The reigning and defending champion Henrik @Eken45jr Eklund joins the competition at this stage and immediately jumps into action in a tough group 1 together with none other than dear teammate Johan @Lehmannens Lehmann. Above: SCL 1v1 Champion 2019: Henrik "eken45jr" Eklund We talked with the defending champion @Eken45jr to get an understanding of his mindset going into this tournament at this stage: How do you feel about joining at this stage when the others are already warmed up, do you think it adds to the difficulty? - It feels great to get going with competitive games once again, especially when joining the top 16. Watching the others play really got my itch to compete going. I don't think they have an advantage, I'm usually good to jump right into the thick of things. What's your usual routine for keeping up the form? - The recipe is simple, really. I just try to play some games every day against the best opposition I can get. Which players would you suggest keeping an eye on in the tournament? Is there any player that you wouldn't want to face moving forward? - I feel that especially Sebastian @SebbeLarsen86 Larsen, who showed off his talent at the IIHF tourney earlier this year is an interesting name in the tournament, he is really good. Anton @antoniomannen004 Svensander has also looked great this year but has struggled in tournaments so it'll be nice to see if he can make it this time. Naturally we also have the usual suspects Robin @Rubituss Söderqvist and @Lehmannens who aren't to be counted out. I don't think theres any players I wouldn't want to face, if I can reach my highest level, I'll beat anyone! Once again, due to my very limited knowledge of the versus-scene, I turned to a fellow gamer and community favorite caster Adam @esdor Ericson for some insight into who to keep an eye on: Note that the predictions were made in the afternoon of September 29th before any games were played. Group 1: Advancing: @Eken45jr The players fighting for 2nd place are @Lehmannens and @Tmybror, unfortunately for @lidman1 the group is too tough for him. Group 2: Advancing: @Rubituss Obviously, this is Esdors own group and he would like to advance himself, but if the other guys were to be evaluated, @Henka0009 is slightly ahead of @amadee21. Group 3: Advancing: @SebbeLarsen86 Behind the clear winner, the group is wide open. @Thunborg5 has some skill but is prone to letting his emotions get the best of him. @JoeeelOD flies a bit under the radar and can surprise. @xwirran isn't one to be counted out, he completed a reverse sweep against @Kingen_86 before the top 16. Group 4: Advancing: @antoniomannen004 All the press is on Ante to take the 1st place but he has struggled in tournaments this year. @Hockeyjohannes or @oggezed is the pick for the 2nd spot. Who is your favorite to win it all this year? The finals are on already tomorrow, so don't forget to tune in for that event!

NHLGamers, The versus sides of our leagues are equally important compared to the 6v6 games that our community is more known for, but unfortunately are rarely covered in news stories and articles as much, due to the enormous amount of players and the quicker pace of the tournaments. Therefore, it's now suitable to take a moment to overview where we're currently at in the FCL 1v1 tourney. This years FCL 1v1 started off with around 200 participants, and it's a joy to see so many eager to challenge for the biggest prize in Finnish 1v1 NHL. Naturally, such a big number of players calls for some infrastructure in order to weed out the eventual top contenders. Here's an overview of how that was done this year: Group stage - around 200 participants 15 groups with 13-14 players One game against each opponent Eight players from each group advance (120 players in total) 2nd round - BO5 playoffs (120 players left) players were seeded into the playoffs based on the following tiebreakers: group stage placement, head-to-head result, goal differential, goals for and wins in regulation. Third round - BO5 playoffs (60 players left) Fourth round - Finals group stage (32 players left) <--- WE ARE HERE! Invitees Kristian @kriketski17 Veijola and Arttu @Artuzio Mustila join the tournament Players are placed into eight groups with four players each Two games against each opponent Two players from each group advance into the top 16 Fifth round - BO5 playoffs (16 players left) players are seeded into the playoffs based on the following tiebreakers: group stage placement, head-to-head result, goal differential, goals for and wins in regulation. FINALS - Friday, 9th of October @ twitch.tv/NHLGamer - BO3 playoffs (8 players left) The tournament structure was changed from a top 4 final event to top 8 - the finals will be online and streamed through NHLGamers Twitch-channel. Who's still in? I'm not going to make intricate predictions of the tournament simply due to the fact that I have no clue about how the 6v6 skill of some of these guys translates to the versus-side and I personally haven't touched that game mode since NHL 19 or 18. Despite that, We're going to be able to highlight the performances of some probable contenders based on their runs so far in the tournament. Obviously we need to note that the defending champion @kriketski17 and the European GWC champion @Artuzio are now joining the competition to fill out the remaining player pool to the full 32 players. I'm unaware of how much these guys have played, but at least Artuzio has recently also qualified for the top 16 in the eLiiga Näytön Paikka-tounament, beating some solid opposition such as Vainö @Pikkardz Pikkarainen and Eemil @Sokkelo__ Soikkeli along the way. I caught up with invitee @Artuzio for some quick questions about entering the tournament at this stage: Is entering the tournament midway more difficult in some way and how did you stay in form when the others played their FCL group stage games? - I don't think it's harder at all, maybe even the opposite. I kept up my form by playing wagers against other top players after my GWC run. I think that's a good way to practice since you have something to play for that will spur you to give your best. You started off good with two wins, is there someone you wouldn't want to face moving on and who is your biggest challenger? - There's no one I'm really worried about facing, but the biggest challenger in this tournament is definitely @Eki. This far into the tournament, we've also got two players who remain undefeated throughout the group stage and the playoffs. To no surprise one of these guys is Erik @Eki Tammenpää and the other one is equally skilled Roni @MrNipsuli Kajan. Players who have pushed through to the top 32 against some heavy odds are Tuomas @Tumpp1A Aaltonen after finishing 6th in the group stage and going into the playoffs with seed 81. Also Niko @Naikou88 Heikkilä can be seen as making a surprise run so far, placing 5th in the group stage and entering the playoffs at seed 70. Due to my limited knowledge, I decided to consult someone who's actually played these guys in order to get an understanding of who could be the guys to look out for and who are some black horses. Here are the predictions for the finals group stage by Jiska @jorma2001 Näppä: Note that predictions were made in the afternoon of the 29th of September, before a majority of games were played/reported. Group 1 Advancing: @kriketski17, @Oxdogolli (Dementoitunu) @Pikkuroger stands a good chance at surprising. Group 2: Advancing: @Artuzio @buranaburana, @Emppa988 and @Xteemuz are fighting for the second spot with equal chances. Group 3: Advancing: @Kemppane_ @OsquuG and @JesseL2002 are both solid players who can take the second spot, whereas @Wpaanane has the skill but needs to be consistent. Group 4: Advancing: @MrNipsuli, @Spearzz_ @Hullued has been in great form as of late and has a shot at advancing. Group 5: Advancing: @Eki No clear favorites to take the 2nd spot. Group 6: Advancing: @xDoumi, @Krisutus @Limu95 and @Borjendahlen are good players that are skilled enough to advance, but the favorites are clear nevertheless. Group 7: Advancing: @NikkeDangles and @Beniittto are favorites. @luosttin is more of a wild card than @viba2008, but the youngster stands the chance of a total upset. Group 8: Advancing: @Vattu__ has been in great form as of late and should advance. The remaining three players share equal chances of taking the 2nd spot. Above: Last year's TOP3: #2 Erik "Eki" Tammenpää, #1: Kristian "kriketsi17" Veijola & Tuukka "@FlyerKungen" Kuha | Photo credit: SEUL ry / Arttu Kokkonen What are your thoughts on the remaining players? Do you think @kriketski17 will be able to defend his title or will we see a shift in power?

NHLGamers, We're getting into the real important games of the SCL and with the play-in round being over, we're now down to the best 16 teams in Sweden to battle it out for the title - and the cash. According to the above excerpt from the SCL 6v6 rulebook, the first round of the playoffs is to be played between 17.9 and 20.9. The playoffs will be played in a best-of-seven manner. (1) Vesa Pompa HC vs Nordic Nosebleed (16) The reigning champions decided to reject a direct invitation to the first round of playoffs in favour of playing through the group stage and building chemistry with their somewhat overhauled talent arsenal. In the first round we'll see an undefeated, seemingly championship-ready Vesa Pompa face an experienced and resilient Nordic Nosebleed. (2) Vaxjo Lakers HC vs Rogle BK (15) In this matchup we'll see two dear enemies face off, Vaxjo paving their way through the group stage as clear winners of their arguably slightly easier group whereas Rogle struggled through the play-ins as clear winners over Viper HC. Vaxjo has a major advantage going into the series. (3) Northern Ascendancy vs HockeyProfessorn HC (14) NOR was the second highest scoring team throughout the league during the group stage and to no surprise - just looking at their lineup you'd think we'd be talking about a hall of fame of some sorts! HockeyProfessorn is in for a massive challenge and will need to think defense first if they want to get a whiff of a victory in the series. (4) Farjestad BK vs Orebro eHockey (13) FBK is known for being a tough team to play against - knocking out JYP in the ECL 10 playoffs was a major surprise and this team looks to continue their good run of form. Solid defenders combined with their multiple offensive weapons will pose a challenge for Orebro, who need to bring top level focus and next level luck if they want to advance. (5) Djurgarden Hockey vs HV71 eSHL (12) DIF has skill up front and a solid defensive core - but so does HV71. This series is going to be a tough battle that's up for grabs for either team. Despite gelling well over time, HV71 still relies heavily on captain Daniel @Demski13 Gadd to provide, so DIF should target him in order to shut the opposing offense down. (6) Company of Geeks vs SSK Esports (11) The legendary CoG proved to be a serious force in the group stage, even challenging Vaxjo for the group win but falling just short. On the other side, SSK is built around the former Syndicate base and possess a tremendous amount of skill, but will need to tighten up defensively if they wish to advance further into the playoffs. (7) Leksands IF vs Studspoikarna SWC (10) Leksands IF has proven to be a tough team to beat when they get going and the eSHL semifinalists sure know how to play competitive playoff hockey. Studspoikarna is something of a counterpart to the Finnish SOPPAJENGI, where skilled players from various teams have built a competitive ensemble to challenge the greats - and doing so in a convincing manner. These guys have the talent to go far, but will need to overcome the sheer experience that gives LIF the advantage. (8) Sjukstugan vs Bask Nation (9) Sjukstugan is one of those teams that has a long tradition in the scene and is always a joy to see take the ice. This time, the team has some new faces in their roster and hasn't seemed to gel quite that well yet, but once they click, they do have the skill to make miracles happen. Bask Nation looks to prove themselves in the playoffs and had some promising showings in the group stage, like beating Northern Ascendancy once. Tune in for the playoffs tonight! The SCL playoffs start tonight with a bang as we'll see Farjestad BK take on Orebro eHockey and Sjukstugan take on Bask Nation in a broadcast commentated by Adam @esdor Ericson and Johan @Zalaz Nilsson, starting at 19:50 CEST on twitch.tv/NHLGamer.

NHLGamers, We have reached the semifinals of ECL 10 Lite. This also means we now know the four teams that have earned Pro promotion for the next season. NHLGamer wants to congratulate teams Sack Brothers, HUIPPUPASSI, Ducktales BK and Angry Cats. You have achieved something that hundreds of players were after this season. Enjoy this moment and be proud of yourselves! Great challenge awaits you next season. However the battle isn’t over yet as the title of champions is still there for the taking. Here are the semifinalists of ECL 10 Lite: Sack Brothers (1) vs HUIPPUPASSI (10) Fast attacking hockey has been the theme for both of these teams as has been the overall trend for so many others this season as well. However, the reason why these teams are now playing in the semifinals is understanding the game both ways and bringing the balance to the ice - that is a game mentality that is really hard to break. There have also been two players in this matchup that have been especially fun to watch throughout the season: @Kucherov86 (SB) and @viba2008 (HP) have been the best attacking defensemen of this season. They were in a two way battle over winning the scoring title for defensemen in the regular season and have continued on the same path in the playoffs. Finally they will go head-to-head, who will take the upper hand? Sack Brothers faced GENESIS (18) in a quarterfinal series that ended 4-1 in their favour. However the score doesn’t tell the whole truth of that series. GENESIS was able to put on real pressure to the Sack Brothers defense and made their attacking really hard, but with the lead of keeper @mikeruud Sack Brothers defense held up and in the end it was the quality of finishing that made the difference in the series. @snippystatue played the key role for Sack Brothers in this series and he was chosen as a first star in every win that Sack Brothers took. While the left side of Sack Brothers formation has clearly been the attacking one, some credit is due to @Datupeijooni (Datzonee) and @Persusta95 on the right wing for keeping the balance in the back as well so the team won’t be too vulnerable for counter attacks. HUIPPUPASSI showcased a thriller against EBR eSports Official (2) in the quarterfinals. The series ended in overtime of game seven, where defender @Mikax222 had the honour of burying the puck into the net from a rebound. HUIPPUPASSI have had a quite different path to the semifinals when compared to their opponent. While Sack Brothers have been among the best teams right from the very first game, HUIPPUPASSI had a rough start to the season and in the middle of the regular season it looked like they were one of the mid-table teams that were fighting for the last playoff spot but then something happened and since then there hasn't been a team that has been able to stop them. Wingers @jjokke19 and @bergsti (pikkuroger) have found excellent scoring form in the playoffs and the team is definitely ready for the challenge. Goalkeeper @IMadeGod (iceiceice-.-) isn’t currently enjoying an as high saving percent as his colleagues in the semifinals but there is no doubt about his ability to stop pucks at the same level as other keepers at this stage. Both teams will want to start the series strong. They both know that their opponents strength lies in their attacking and I believe that this could change the way of playing from their earlier series. We could see two teams heavily trusting in counter attacks and a tight defensive in their own zone. Sack Brothers is so used to winning it could make things really interesting if HUIPPUPASSI would manage to win for example the two first games utilizing the slightly more defensive style than they usually do. How would the ‘’Sacks’’ respond? As always, the centermen will play a big role. In this series @Aitis (Aitis81) (HP) will face maybe the best center of the season so far: @luosttin (SB). Aitis81 will have to continue his good work in the takeaway department if he wants to keep talented luosttin in check. This is definitely the pair of players you should follow throughout the series. Prediction: Many have marked Sack Brothers as the favourites for the cup and I can see why. They are a great team all around and especially their victory over strong GENESIS proved that there might not be a team in the league that can stop them. On the other hand I believe that HUIPPUPASSI enjoys the underdog status here and they could have the element of surprise if they can take the lead in series and find the weakness in Sack Brothers playstyle that others haven’t figured out. In the end I believe that Sack Brothers have the quality to overcome every obstacle HUIPPUPASSI will throw at their way and ‘’Sacks’’ will advance to the finals with a series score of 4-1. Angry Cats (5) vs Ducktales BK (7) This will definitely be a different kind of challenge for the Angry Cats than their earlier opponents this season. They will face Ducktales BK, who are one of the best defensive teams in the league. The theme of this series could actually be close to that of Angry Cats' series against Nordic Nosebleed in the first playoff round, where Nordic Nosebleed chose to pursue a very defensive style which led to three out of the five matches advancing to overtime. Only this time, the opponent will be a lot stronger and more dangerous in the offensive zone as well. This will also be a battle of two great goalkeepers. Angry Cats keeper @Giinis has an amazing 87,66 SV% in the playoffs and @Rymaan of Ducktales BK isn’t far away with his 85,57 SV%. Of course both goalkeepers will get help from their good defense but still these are really impressive numbers and deserve to be noted. Angry Cats played against Hokurit (6) in the quarterfinals. At the start of the series it was hard to say which of the teams was going to win but the more play we saw between the two, the more clear it became that Angry Cats were the better team and finally ended the series with a score of 4-1. It isn’t a secret that attacking trio @Korkokokorko , @Lowryy (Lowryy8) and @juusto18 have been the best attacking trio alongside Sack Brothers trio this season, but it was the defender @Jesse6115 who scored the biggest goals in the final games of the series against Hokurit. It is really important for Angry Cats that the defenders @Jesse6115 and @Demoni2016 (Myrkky_Maik) can help their talented attackers offensively in the series against a team that will make getting to the scoring areas really challenging. Ducktales BK have had a stable season and playoff run so far. In the quarterfinals they were able to beat HV71 eSHL (3) with 1-4 in a series that were expected to be as close as it was in the scoring department, but in the end Ducktales BK were the better team and deserved the spot in the semifinals. One of the key players for Ducktales BK in the series against HV71 eSHL was @Zidso, who seems to have found top form when it’s needed the most and as a result stirred the pot having a say in most of the goals that Ducktales BK scored. The team made some interesting changes to their roster in the playoffs, when @tokFan (ItokFanI), who started the season as a center and later switched places with @cHIIMEERa to the right wing, seems to be playing as a defender with experienced @J-Foppain the playoffs and its working very well. Also winger @Craig (oskuldsfull) started only half of the games in the regular season but has now been the starter for his team and there has been no problems finding chemistry right away. This is going to be a different kind of series compared to the other pair where both teams rely on putting heavy pressure on their opponent and countering from the takeaways. In this series the game will most likely be more balanced and not so much risks will be taken by either of these teams. As said before, Angry Cats faced some troubles playing against a tight defensive team earlier but they came out as a winners and I don’t believe Ducktales BK will go full defensive mode at least when the game is tied. Ducktales BK did a great job against HV71 eSHL in avoiding clear 2vs1 and 3vs1 counter-attacks by always keeping two players at the back and that will be crucial against Angry Cats as well, since they have the quality to punish from every odd-man rush they will get. Ducktales BK will also face the best powerplay in the league so they want to avoid any extra trips to the box. However it will definitely not be a series where Angry Cats are the only team that is trying to find the way to score, Ducktales BK have the individual quality and good form going, so Angry Cats can’t blink their eyes in the wrong moment or they will see Ducktales BK smashing the puck in the net. Prediction: Both teams have had quite a similar route to the semifinals. Both have survived a game seven and in the quarterfinals, both teams were able to play their best hockey and take convincing 4-1 wins over their opponents. I believe Angry Cats will start the series strong and take wins from the first games. However, if Ducktales BK manage to take the lead in matches, they have the ability to shut down the opposing attack and then Angry Cats could be in trouble. I still believe that Angry Cats will be the winner of this series. I have also predicted Ducktales BK to lose their series two times in a row now and they’ve won both times so I don’t want to jinx anything at this stage. Angry Cats will advance to the finals with score 4-2. Who will follow the path of Riven Johdolla and Sulkavan Sudet (ECL 9 Lite finalists) and play in the ECL 10 Lite finals? Follow the teams on social media to find out when the games are being played and give them your support. Enjoy the games and respect your opponents.

NHLGamers, Tonight we're a starting the final series of the season in our Pro division and it's going to be a fierce fight between two capable teams that will give their all in order to rise to the top. Black Horse finished the regular season as the #1 seed in group two and the top team overall, whereas Enigma has had to cause an upset or two as they didn't have a cakewalk through the regular season, but have risen tot he occasion during the playoffs. Road to the finals Black Horse Round 1: vs Kaupallinen Yhteistyö 4-3 Round 2: vs Children of Ice 4-0 Semi-finals: vs Hanaa HC 4-0 Enigma Round 1: vs ZSC Esports 4-2 Round 2: vs Vaxjö Lakers HC 4-2 Semi-finals: vs Reality Check 4-3 The road to the finals has been very different for both of these teams. Black Horse had a tight first round against Kaupallinen Yhteistyo after which they have gone on an unbeaten streak and swept a bunch of skilled teams such as HanaaHC in the process. The key players of Black Horse have not been surprising. @Tapparafan as their top player in scoring stats and excellent goaltending by @PCJP has been the x-factor for this team without dismissing the contribution of the rest of the team. Especially the magnificient goaltending Black Horse have seen from @PCJP might provide an edge in the closing games of the season. As said, Enigma didn't run through the regular season without cough-ups, as expected from a newly formed team. The skilled guys went into the playoffs as 10th seed in total, which means they had to go up against better seeded teams in a few series - handled with ease. Enigma also has a very reliable goalie in @Jaakkomusta, who has been great for them in previous rounds. It is certain that the battle between the pipes will be one to keep an eye on throughout the finals. Enigmas offensive trio led by @Nieppii packs an impressive punch, but Black Horse is arguably a tighter unit. Despite having a tougher run to the finals, Enigma is no slouch and will put up an impressive showing which might very well grab them a handful of victories in this series. It's also impressive how Black Horse has managed to disassemble very skilled teams with ease. This is a series you won't want to miss. Prediction of the series The superb class of Black Horse will eventually be too much for Enigma who as experienced players with Elite experience under their belt could be exhausted by the season and not have the hunger that their opponents do. Although Enigma battled greatly in all rounds to the finals Black Horse is on a different level than Enigmas past opponents in terms of overall strength. Black Horse will win in 5-6 games. Watch games 1-3 TONIGHT at www.twitch.tv/nhlgamer starting 20 CEST!

NHLGamers, Round 2 of the ECL 10 Lite playoffs is now behind and what a season we are having! We witnessed tight series going all the way to game seven, brave fighting from the underdogs and some massive comeback wins. These games have proven that nothing is impossible in the playoffs and even 0-3 lead in series won’t be a safe lead. Thanks once again to the teams that were eliminated in round 2. You gave us a great show and proved that with little improvements on the ice you are ready to go even further next season. Now we know the quarterfinalists of ECL 10 Lite. All of these teams have the tools to success and win the cup so there won’t be favourites anymore as every team will have to play at their best to process to the semifinals. At quarterfinals nothing less is at stake than a place in top four and promotion to ECL 11 Pro for the next season. Looking through the teams and players that will fight in the quarterfinals i’m convinced that every one of these teams have the quality to play in the higher division. It’s going to be extremely tough challenge for every team to beat their opponent at this stage and even harder to predict the winners from these pairs. Ladies and gentlemen, here are the quarterfinalists of ECL 10 Lite: Sack Brothers (1) vs GENESIS (18) Oh what a matchup! Both teams played their regular season in group 4 and the games between these two teams ended in a 2-3 OTW for GENESIS and 3-4 W for Sack Brothers. In the second round of the playoffs, GENESIS did really well against Powerhouse hockey (4) by winning the series with a score of 1-4 while Sack Brothers won their series against Tic Tac Toes (25) with a score of 4-2. Both teams play with similar strengths in trusting a smart, high pressure and a general attacking style of hockey. Their forward trios have been effective through the whole season while the defence have been stable and the keepers have had good form night after night. In the defence both teams have a dynamic, where one part has more responsibility in breakouts while the other one plays more safe at the back. It’s obvious that the forwards from both teams will be dangerous when ever they get the puck in the offensive zone so I predict that the role of the defenders will be big in this series. Key points to follow: Familiar opponents: Teams already met in the regular season and both managed to get one win from those games. You could say that neither of the teams have the mental edge over their opponent and some of the ‘’tricks up the sleeve’’ have already been revealed. The team that did their homework better since the last meeting will surely start the series better but it’s required to come up with something new to surprise your opponent and win the series at the end. Defenders: As said, the pressure given to the defenders will be high in this series. Especially puck moving defenders @Kucherov86 (SB) and @layout (JxLayout) (GEN) will have to be able to open the game up fast and smart to help their teams to get past the opposition defence. On the other end, defenders @Persusta95 (SB) and @Zoueli / @Mameluck88 (GEN) will have to be ready to react in fast counter-attacks and other giveaways in the defensive zone. Who will be the hero: Both of these teams are full of great individuals. I’m pretty sure there won’t be a player on the ice that doesn’t want to play the biggest part in their teams success. This could also have a negative effect for the team play so it’s up to the leading players of the team to keep these virtuosos disciplined. Prediction: Sack Brothers have been superb, they have had an almost perfect season so far and the confidence is high. GENESIS was able to shut down Powerhouse hockey in the latest round and with that have experience of playing one of the best attacking teams this season. The series will be really tight but I believe that Sack Brothers will overcome GENESIS in the end of the series, 4-3. EBR eSports Official (2) vs HUIPPUPASSI (10) The other pair that are familiar to each others in the quarters are EBR eSports Official and HUIPPUPASSI. Both teams played in group 2 in the regular season and the matches between the two teams ended in a 5-4 OTW for HUIPPUPASSI and a 3-2 W for EBR eSports Official. In the second round of the playoffs, EBR eSports Official had no problem winning Old Farts (21) with a score of 4-0 and HUIPPUPASSI was able to beat Sjukstugan (9) in their series with 1-4. Both of these teams had a real goalfest in their series, which could be the theme of this matchup as well. One of the players in this pair that has been absolutely on fire is @jjokke19 (HP) who is currently leading playoffs scoring with 36 (21+15) points in 9 games. This is the guy that EBR eSports Official must stop if they want to win. On the other side @Keuschemisch (14+17) and @Toews19 (BarriosLucas18) (16+10) have found the chemistry for EBR eSports Official that should be noted in HUIPPUPASSI's playbook. I believe these teams will continue where they left off and we will see lots of scoring and entertaining hockey on the ice. Key points to follow: Improvement from last season: Both of these teams have already done better than they did last season and for sure neither one wants to end the good form. In ECL 9, EBR eSports Official was beaten in the first round and HUIPPUPASSI in the second round. Now they are both only one opponent away from promotion to Pro for next season. The confidence must be flowing in both dressing rooms which for sure will add even more entertainment on the ice. Goal after goal: These teams know how to score and they both want to keep playing the attacking hockey they are so good at. For EBR eSports Official this will be a completely different kind of opponent than the physical Old Farts were, so they have to be ready to change their approach and be prepared to clash with the skilled HUIPPUPASSI team. Goalkeepers: Both of these teams were among the teams that had the most shots in the regular season. As the nature of the game is probably going to be pretty direct counter-attack from end to end there will be lots of good scoring opportunities and the keeper that has the ability to read these situations is going to play the key role for his team and can really devastate the opponents with the highlight saves. When the team likes to give pressure and attack a lot, it can sometimes make goalies look a bit vulnerable in the stats table, but both starting goalies @IMadeGod (iceiceice-_-) (HP) and @thesaw83 (EBR) knows what's coming for them. Prediction: Really entertaining, free flowing attacking game in both ends where the winner of the series will be the team that simply manages to score more goals. It’s hard to believe that neither of these teams will set up any kind of turtle trap on the blueline and wait for their opponents to push through it. I believe that HUIPPUPASSI will be more prepared for this kind of hockey after a strong series against Sjukstugan and they will win the series with a score of 2-4. HV71 eSHL (3) vs Ducktales BK (7 If the matchup between EBR eSports Official and HUIPPUPASSI is expected to be the high scoring one, then this pair will most likely be the one with the lowest goals scored. HV71 eSHL was able to beat The UnderRated (19) in the second round of the playoffs with 4-1 and Ducktales BK won the series against ECDC Memmingen eSports (11) with a score of 4-3. Both of these series were really low scoring which tells that two extremely well defending teams will play against each others in this pair. When comparing to other teams that are still in the competition, the defensive approach could bring a positive ending to the season for whichever of these two teams that will continue to the semifinals. Just to make it clear, when we are talking about this smart defensive style of play that these teams are preferring we are not talking about devastating blueline-trap hockey that is extremely boring to watch and play against. The quality of the defense for these teams comes from smart positioning and skill to win one on ones, corner battles and especially loose pucks in front of the goal. I wouldn’t be surprised if at least half of the games would go to overtime and because of that the winner of this pair is really hard to predict. Key points to follow: Battle of the centers: The brightest stars for both teams will go head to head right from the first puck drop. Centermen @cHIIMEERa (DBK) and @Demski13 (HV) are the ones to watch in this series. These two players have played the key role for their team from very beginning of the season and actually the fact that they are both centers will even the odds in this pair even more because they are also defending against each others. Both of these players also have ~51 FOW % which makes every faceoff interesting. Who will defend better: As said many times before, two defending teams will face each other and every mistake could become really costly as the team that will be able to score the first goal will have a huge advantage for the rest of the match. It doesn’t make scoring any easier that both teams have hot goaltenders that are ready to save the day if the defence leaks. The mental strength is also important because many games could end after several overtime periods and the risk of mistakes grow the further the game goes. Powerplay: The margins in 5 on 5 play will most likely be really small between these teams so the powerplay will play a massive role in this series. As the scoring is predicted to be really hard, taking advantage of even one powerplay could win the whole game. Prediction: Defensive hockey at its best. Few goals, great saves and long matches. The team that is going to win this series is the one that has more quality in the attack. HV71 eSHL have been able to find the net more times than Ducktales BK in this season without conceding many goals. That’s why I will predict that HV71 eSHL is the winner of this extremely tight series with a score of 4-3. Angry Cats (5) vs Hokurit (6) The comeback kids! It almost feels like these two teams were meant to face off in the quarterfinals. In the second round of the playoffs both of these teams made an epic comeback in their series. Angry Cats were losing their series by 1-3 against HC SKULL TOWN (16) but fought back with three wins in regular time while Hokurit did it even better by coming back from the 0-3 losing position against Horror Hockey (13). Huge mental victories for both teams and I bet they can’t wait to get back on the ice. This one is going to be an interesting battle. The quality of forwards in both teams is outstanding and now they are facing two of the best goalkeepers in the league. Both of the teams must feel confident after last round, especially Angry Cats who have already improved a lot from the last season. It was this stage of the competition that Hokurit were beaten last season and I’m sure they have the hunger to overcome last seasons disappointment and play their way to the top four. Nothing will come easily, both teams surely know that even 0-3 series lead won’t get you through to the next round. Key points to follow: Teamwork: Even though both teams have great individuals, the winner of this series will be the one that can group up those individuals better to play for the team. As both teams can be really effective in the attacking zone the team that wants to win will have to defend a bit more disciplined than they are used to. I don’t believe that either of these teams will want to take the defensive role so it will be about finding the balance between attacking and defending. Finishing: The individual skill of finding the net is outstanding in both teams. This will be hard for the defenders when they have to choose whether to challenge the player with the puck or cut the passing lane. It’s important that the communication between the defence and goalkeeper is working. The team that is able to shut down every ‘’easy’’ scoring position will be the winner, since the keepers are ready to get all the normal shots without problem. Goalkeepers: Both keepers @Somerjoki (HRR) and @Giinis (AC) have been outstanding in the playoffs. Of course they could have not done this without their defence but still a save percentage near 85% for both of these guys is an amazing number. I believe that the best goalkeeper of this season will be the keeper that will advance to the semifinals from this pair. Now they are facing the best snipers in the league and the real MVP will help his team to victory. Prediction: Both of these teams can be really proud of getting to the quarterfinals after challenging second round. However I don’t believe that neither of these teams will settle only for this as both feel they are ready for promotion. Angry Cats completely destroyed teams in the regular season and Hokurit have proven their quality now two seasons a row. It’s going to be close one but I believe that with the experience from the last season, Hokurit will be able to win the series with score 2-4. That's our small comparison of four great playoff pairs where all of the teams will want this to be the season where they earned the promotion to ECL Pro. It’s only four wins away but the road won’t be easy for anyone. I would like to hear the community opinion of the teams that you think will continue to the semifinals. Feel free to write it in the comment box below this article. Huge matches! we hope you enjoy!

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, 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, Tonight is the night of the RCL 6 finals! On Sunday, the big online finals of NOVA vs Blackdawgs and the Russia's first full broadcast in EASHL will take a place. As the 6th iteration of the country's virtual hockey league is coming to a conclusion, it can be stated that the league is well established and has a place in the hearts of Russian gamers. The finalists of RCL 6 prepare for the games, and the organizers frantically adjust the latest settings before the broadcast. Today we will see the whole series live commentated by the golden voice of Ufa (Hc Salavat Ulaev) - Azamat Muratov. Update: Unfortunately Mr Muratov had to cancel last minute due to personal reasons. Path to the Finals Of the 12 teams in division 1, only two remains. The teams have passed a long road full of difficulties on their way to the finals, but they look like the very armored train that blows away everything in it's path. Both had an uneven regular season and who would have thought that the fifth seed team would reach the final and on top of that go into the finals as a favorite. NOVA NOVA slightly stalled at the beginning of the season, but the guys quickly got a taste of victory and have strung together 17 wins in a row now. They played their series with Virtuoso ending in a score of 4: 0, we'd love to tell you how they disassembled the Rusty Bulls, but rather we show. To your attention the highlights of the NOVA vs Rusty Bulls series: In every single match, NOVA was faster than their rivals, their ideas on attack looked fresher than that of the Bulls and the defensive game was more reliable, which led to this result. Blackdawgs The very lazy regular season threw Blackdawgs in fifth place to end the regular season, but in the playoffs this team is hard to recognize, the defending champions have won every match and done it in beautiful fashion. Here are the highlights from their semifinal matchups against Exen esports: Even the most daring predictions couldn't have expected a victory for the Blackdawgs in the semi's, but it was they who caused Exen's first defeats in RCL playoff history. BD demonstrate incredible understanding on attack and draw their combinations to the joy not only of themselves, but also of the audience. The sum of all these combinations and numbers gives us the most attacking and unpredictable finishing in history. It might sound corny, but the one who scores more goals will win, because the shootout will be serious - it's going to be one exciting series. Key players: In all statistical aspects, NOVA looks a little better, but this is an echo of the fact that BD opponents were stronger in general. Captains: @xMotzz vs SPB_AlexZver_22 Both left defenders are captains of their teams, in the semifinals it was their goals and their salvation in difficult moments of the match that decided the fate of the series. This is a matchup between the best defenders of the league. Attackers: @lapa98 vs @Virusactive @lapa98 has consistently been one of the best in the league for several seasons in a row and this is no exception, and @Virusactive is the leader of the attack in these playoffs. Goalies: @sumskoy26 vs Alex_rus17 Almost all skaters in the league dislike these guys, but is there a better compliment for a goalkeeper? When you put all your strength into your attack, beat a few people and now go out 1v1 with the goalkeeper, then know that if these guys are in front of you, you are going to have a tough time. Clutchers: @Ollizhki vs @Valluxet In the playoffs, every player brings their maximum effort to the table, and at those moments beating several opponents with individual skill is considered a luxury. Here are the players who are able to decide the fate of matches alone. Where to watch? The complete finals will be streamed on Twitch, the games will start at 19:30 CEST (20:30 EEST) Twitch: www.twitch.tv/nhlgamerrus

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, Today is a special day. As elven queen Lady Galadriel put it in Peter Jackson’s cinematic masterpiece The Lord of the Rings; “I feel it in the water. I feel it in the earth. I smell it in the air.”. Today is the day when ECL Elite completes its quarterfinal stage and we get down to the final four contenders for the crown of ECL Grand Champion. The teams referred to as “The Big Two” in Part I of our Season Preview, HAVU Gaming and Linköping HC, both swept their quarterfinal series 4-0 against BRAYCE Phantoms and Roots, respectively. With that, last season’s finalists are already back in the semifinals. Now who will join them? Färjestad BK - JYP Jyväskylä SERIES SCORE 3-1 TOP SCORER Andreas @affelj96 Ljungberg (5+1=6) vs Antti @tbnantti Kuittinen (1+5=6) GOALTENDER Johan @Rundqviiist Rundqvist (3 W, 85,11 SV%, 1,75 GAA, 0 SO) vs Oskari @sibeelius Grönroos (1 W, 70,37 SV%, 2 GAA, 1 SO) This series has the makings of an upset as 8th seed Färjestad BK has pushed regular season winners JYP Jyväskyla to the brink of elimination. Up 3-1 in the series, FBK has set themselves up with three separate match points – to borrow a tennis term – and will look to close out the series early tonight against JYP. FBK took a commanding 2-0 series lead on the first game day of the series. JYP came back to win Game 3 but series standout Andreas @affelj96 Ljungberg made sure to bring Game 4 back in FBK’s camp, scoring the deciding 3-2-goal with mere seconds remaining of the third period. JYP has struggled to get their powerful offense going, with left-winger Kristian @kriketski17 Veijola even abandoning his patented Grinder build; the build that saw him lead the regular season in hits, to try his luck as a smaller Sniper. So far, FBK:s defense and goaltender Johan @Rundqviiist Rundqvist has stood tall. Employing a similarly powerful build to kriketski's original, FBK right-winger Sebastian @eBasstian Nagel has made it his personal mission to hit everything and everyone in sight – making it tough for JYP's offensive-minded defenders Aaro @xDoumi Ruuhinen and Ilmari @iilmarii Töyrylä to navigate through the neutral zone. In the end, a lot has come down to affelj in this matchup. From the timely game-deciding goals to the constant threat of him sneaking in behind JYP's defense, the tiny Swedish Sniper has been the biggest thorn in JYP's side through the first four games of the series. Will we see the upset completed tonight? Or will JYP re-discover their offense and find it within themselves to turn the series around? Unlucky Boys HC - hREDS SERIES SCORE 2-2 TOP SCORER Antti @Anhel Kuru (3+2=5) vs Niklas @NikkeDangles Tukiainen (2+6=8) GOALTENDER Ville @Viltzup Poutiainen (2 W, 78,72 SV%, 2,5 GAA, 0 SO) vs Niklas @uhNikke Nieminen (2 W, 87,5 SV%, 1,5 GAA, 1 SO) With the exception of Game 2 where hReds walked all over Unlucky Boys to the tune of a 6-1 win, this series has been a real nail-biter. UB took home Game 1 in overtime, hReds took Game 3 off a beautiful deciding goal with less than a minute remaining from Joakim @Joukki Nyholm and with Game 4, we saw overtime once again. On the powerplay, Julius @Exel56 Rissanen snuck down from his spot as left defender and delivered a crushing slapshot to the top corner off an intelligent feed from right-winger Tim @Timasy Hess, ending hReds hopes to go up 3-1 in the series. We know the matchup tonight will feature at least two games between these teams. We can’t say for sure if the games will be close or not but based on how the series has gone thus far it’s a pretty safe bet. We might even see three games; wouldn’t that be something? Regardless if there is a Game 7 or not, these teams have given it everything they’ve got and will continue to do so all the way to the end. Today will be a special day. I can smell it in the air. Now let's drop the puck and play some hockey. Tune in for all the action starting tonight at 20:00 CEST over at www.twitch.tv/nhlgamer, alternatively ISTV, and Ruutu for our Finnish viewers.