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NHLGamers, We're glad to have concluded a great first season of the WECL bringing competitive hockey to a collective of several smaller markets contributing to the growth of the sport we all love. 19 teams went to battle in season one and we're only looking to grow from there, thank you all for participating and welcome back next season! The finals were played last night (Wednesday) between #2 Grenoble BDL Esport and #4 Silver Sword Griffins. As the teams went to battle, it was evident that the games were extremely tight, which led to three games ending up in overtime. Despite their best efforts, Grenoble weren't able to overcome their opponents for a win and ended up at a 4-0 deficit, awarding the championship to the Latvian squad Silver Sword Griffins. Silver Sword Griffins - Road to the championship: Regular season record: Group 1 - 15-2-1 (3rd) Quarterfinals: vs Remparts de Tours eSport 3-0 Semifinals: vs Dynamo Dragons 3-0 Finals: vs Grenoble BDL Esport 4-0 Championship roster: GOALTENDERS #15 @Janikka #95 @snaasigi DEFENSEMEN #5 @jurisc1989 #8 @kazams17 #49 @NEGAISS #95 @MAYZIIX FORWARDS #10 @ProMinx24 #18 @PSchibra #23 @xLVxRitchey #77 @CMB-wf- #98 @N44TTI_16 If you missed the finals, you can rewatch the broadcast below: Congratulations to the champions on behalf of the entire community!

NHLGamers, The seventh season of the German Championship League has been concluded and while it's bittersweet to see long-time torchbearers Team LEISURE have to give up the throne, we are happy to crown the Swiss ZSC Esports our new champions! It's been a long time coming for the Swiss club captained by Sven @Original-SnuS Julmi, as the squad has grinded their way up the European ranks and seem to be peaking at just the right moments as of late. On behalf of the entire NHLGamer community - congratulations! ZSC Esports - Road to the championship: Regular season record: 24-1-1 (1st) Quarterfinals: vs Hyperion 4-0 Semifinals: vs PENTA 4-0 Finals: vs Team LEISURE 4-0 Championship roster: GOALTENDERS #22 Reto @afc_Tschitsch Ulrich #26 Mike @burban26 Mueller DEFENSEMEN #5 Eetu @Raikkoneeh Räikkönen #9 Max @Toneee9 Tonitz #13 Reto @Haldeem Haldemann FORWARDS #4 Juergen @DangledYouOut Kloster #21 Sven @Original-SnuS Julmi #28 Alex @IDangledYouOut Wagner #71 Claudio @Freeman7187 Salamoni #84 Tim @Timasy Hess If you missed the finals, you can rewatch the broadcast below:

NHLGamers, Today we're pleased to welcome VISU Gaming to a hopefully successful and long-lasting venture into NHL Esports. The Helsinki-based organization had thought about entering the NHL scene for quite some time and finally found the right match when their path crossed with that of Exerceo, ran by Mika @Saviinainen Raivisto, Saku @Sagee95 Björn and Markus @Pettersson12 Pettersson. Despite being a rather new team, these guys have extensive history together. The trio first met back in 2019 while playing for the legendary TIKI TALK, but didn't band together for their new team until late 2020, when Exerceo was founded. Since the inception of their new squad, the roster hasn't seen much turnover, with their only additions being Nico @vVoDee Vottonen after their debut in FCL and Joonas @LE1PAKONE Nordman ahead of the upcoming ECL season. Moving forward as VISU Gaming, the squad hopes to be able to harness the professional attitude and backup they now have from a strong organization in order to reach their goals of one day being a true and tested top team in the scene. "It feels great to be able to represent a large organization alike VISU Gaming! After our initial call i felt, that VISU would handle things professionally and could provide us with the kind of support that we need to take the next step on our careers. I'm satisfies with our deal and can't wait for what the future holds for us", states @Saviinainen. "I'm really excited about our new team! As soon as i met @Saviinainen, I knew that this team has the potential and desire it takes to fight their way to the top in the NHL scene." - Patrik Sulonen, VISU Gaming Chairman of the Board. About VISU Gaming VISU Gaming is a community reaching tens of thousands of young gamers with services like coaching, tournaments and events. Their newest endeavor is their kouluturnaus.fi-league, that currently hosts esports tournaments for schools, with already 100 schools in participation. The organization has a widespread array of teams that have seen great tournament performances in games such as Valorant, Fortnite, Rocket League and CS:GO. In addition to hosting online-events, VISU Gaming allows their signed gamers access to the VISU Gaming House in the Helsinki city center.

NHLGamers, The waiting has finally come to an end and the Finals of the German Championship League will be played this week. While ZSC Esports swept PENTA in the semifinals, noRex Gaming challenged Team LEISURE to a six-game-series (4:2) in their respective matchup. LEISURE will try everything to realize their dream of the sixth championship in a row and beat the hottest team of the German community in the finals. Will ZSC be able to beat Team LEISURE after two comfortable sweeps in the quarter and semifinals? Is Team LEISURE hungry enough to secure yet another championship? In the following piece, we want to take a closer look at both teams and the matchups on each positions. The series will be played in a best-of-seven format and will be broadcasted live on Twitch.tv/NHLGamer! #1 ZSC Esports vs Team LEISURE #2 Throughout the history of the GCL, there has never been such a close Final. In ZSC Esports and Team LEISURE, it really comes down to the two best german-speaking teams facing each other. Who will be crowned champion on Thursday? In the Regular Season we saw two close games (3:1 W for Team LEISURE & 3:2 W for ZSC Esports). During their Playoff run, the Swiss team managed to sweep Hyperion and PENTA on their way to the final. Did ZSC draw the right conclusions from last years loss in the finals of GCL6? ZSC scored 29 and only conceded 11 goals in 8 games throughout this run so far. This once again illustrates the individual talent as well as the good chemistry in their roster. Team LEISURE also swept Inter Iceland in the quarterfinals and had to deliver a hard fight in a 4:2 series win over noRex Gaming. 35 goals scored versus 17 conceded show the offensive power of Team LEISURE and how they managed to continue their good form from the regular season. Will the Championship be decided on offense or will defense once again win the championship? Goalies: @afc_Tschitsch & @burban26 for ZSC Esports vs @RPH_31 & @FoxGoalie for Team LEISURE Reto @afc_Tschitsch Ulrich got on track right in time for the start of the playoffs. While his backup Mike @burban26 Müller is delivering as a brilliant commentator, the Swiss team found a clear job division in their netminding department. A strong save percentage of nearly 83% and three shutouts show the individual class that @afc_Tschitsch holds at his best. With 52 shots faced, ZSC's number 22 faces the least shots against throughout the league, which is an indication of ZSC's good defensive play. In the finals, Ulrich will have to show his best performance to make the championship reality for his club. LEISURE's forwards will challenge him more than he was in the semi- or quarterfinal series. On the side of the defending champions, we have a rock solid duo: Patrick @RPH_31 Braun aka "0 Ping RPH" played 8 games while Mark @FoxGoalie Thiel was in net for two games in the quarterfinals against Inter Iceland. Most likely, Braun will be starter in the Finals due to his strong performances so far this season. A GAA of 1.88 and a solid save percentage of 80% makes RPH31 once again one of the best Goalies in the league. Braun faced more shots than his counterpart for ZSC, which could be an advantage in a long series. Considering that Team LEISURE already faced two of Germany's top teams (Inter Iceland & noRex Gaming), the team will be in good form and hard to stop. With his experience and coolness, @RPH_31can be the decisive factor in this series. Predicition: Advantage Team LEISURE Defense: @Toneee9& @Haldeem for ZSC Esports vs @Franky__2768 & @xXPsykoSkillsXx for Team LEISURE What a Matchup! In the Finals of GCL 7 we will arguably see four of the best defenders of the German community. With Max @Toneee9 Tonitz and Reto @Haldeem Haldemann, ZSC Esports has one of the best defensive duos on the central server who are only playing their second season together. During their run in ECL 11 Pro the chemistry between the Austrian and Swiss defensemen improved a lot and was one of the main reasons for Zürichs promotion to ECL Elite. With 12 points in 8 games, Tonitz's amazing form continues and has the third most takeaways in the playoffs after Niklas @xXPsykoSkillsXx Schmitz and Christian @GERxVillain Ungeheuer (noRex Gaming). We will see how well the defensive pair will be able to outplay Team LEISUREs forecheck or find solutions to unlock a more defensive minded trap if required. Team LEISURE sports a well-functioning and experienced pair at their back end. Frank @Franky__2768 Münch and @xXPsykoSkillsXx have lead Team LEISURE's defense over the last six seasons and have assisted their teammates throughout this time in brilliant fashion. Especially @Franky__2768 seems to have found great form this season, overtaking his colelague Schmitz as the top scoring defenseman. With six goals and 14 assists, Münch scored the most goals out of any defenseman in the playoffs. On top of that he secures rank 3 overall in scoring in the playoffs too. Any mistake can be decisive in these matches. The experience and routine as well as Münch's brilliant form might be the decisive factor in a long final series! Predicition: Advantage Team LEISURE Offense: @IDangledYouOut, @Freeman7187, @Timasy & @Original-SnuS for ZSC Esports vs @Krinke, @ProfaneKiss & @PlaymakerSJ for Team LEISURE With the offensive power of both teams we are likely to see one of the best duels of the German community to date. While ZSC Esports played their quarter and semifinals series with an unusual lineup it will be interesting to see if captain Sven @Original-SnuS Julmi will return to the starting six in the finals. Tim @Timasy Hess replaced Julmi as a center and his brilliant performances have made him playoffs top scorer. 22 points in 8 games ranks him as number 1 in the league - this could bethe x-factor in the matchup against his former teammates. With Claudio @Freeman7187 Salamoni (8+9=17) and Alex @IDangledYouOut Wagner (7+8=15), ZSC Esports has arguably the best winger duo in the league. Both can decide any match at any time with a dangerous shot or creative dekes and moves. Many variations are possible and ZSC is able to rotate without any loss of quality. As in the defense, Team LEISURE trusts their well-functioning attacking trio. Stephan @Krinke Krinke and Felix @ProfaneKiss Kiss are both strong offensive players who have competed on a high level for a long time. While Kiss is more of a playmaking winger (4+13=17) his counterpart Krinke is more of a prolific goal scorer (10+8=18). Both profit from Simon @PlaymakerSJ Junker who has been on fire this season. Normally known for assisting his mates, Junker surprisingly finds the way to tickle twine more often now. 15 goals and 7 assists during LEISUREs playoff run illustrates how well the experienced center performs and is one of the main reasons why the former Phantoms are in their sixth final in a row. Whether he will face Hess or Julmi, we can be expectant of a high level matchup on the center lane. ZSC Esports' advantage could be the rotation with four world class forwards. Many lineups are possible and the transfer of Timasy gives Zürich the possibility to rotate or try new strategies after the first three games on the first evening. If he plays, Hess will be the x-factor against his ex-club. His talent and good form will make the difference in a long series. Prediction: Advantage ZSC Esports Conclusion: 4:3 Team LEISURE Yet, one thing is certain: we will see one of the closest and most anticipated finals of GCL history. With their promotion to ECL Elite, ZSC Esports is on a hot streak right now and will be keen on being crowned as GCL Champions. On the other side the long time torchbearer of the German community will try everything to get their sixth title in a row. The smallest mistakes will make the difference. Every wrong decision will be punished and decide between defeat or victory. The advantage of Team LEISURE could be the unchanged starting six in the regular season as well as during the playoffs. The good chemistry and experience can be what it takes to win in the finals of GCL 7. With two sweeps in their backpack ZSC Esports will go into this series with a lot of confidence. On Wednesday and Thursday, we will be a lot wiser - meanwhile, let's get hyped and look forward to some high quality virtual hockey!