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NHLGamers, We're happy to have had a good amount of teams register for the ECL 12 Warmup Tournament, which starts today! The exact number of teams registered were 26 for the Elite & Pro-tournament and 70 for the Lite & Core tournament. Here's how it's all going to unfold: Elite & Pro Groups Schedule Two groups holding 13 teams each Double-header gamedays Default gamedays on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday Eight teams from each group make playoffs (BO3) Playoff dates (Playoffs practically ECL Pro-style, with cross-seed in first round etc): Monday, May 10th (RO16) Wednesday, May 12th (Quarterfinals) Thursday, May 13th (Semifinals) Monday, May 17th (Finals) Lite & Core Groups Schedule Seven groups holding 10 teams each Double-header gamedays No playoffs If teams are tied in points after the group stage, we will utilize these usual tie-breakers: Wins (including OT-wins) Head-to-head record (points in mutual games) Goal difference (across all games played) Scored goals (across all games played) We hope you all enjoy and remember to play by the rules! Although the Warmup Tournament will not be under as strict scrutiny as the ECL, we want to remind you to respect your opponents and go about the games just as you would when playing real ECL league matchups.

The Anaheim Ducks Xbox and PlayStation NHL 21 1v1 Tournaments presented by McDonald's of Southern California begin today with a prize pool of $1,500 and Ducks prizes. With nearly 100 registrants from the Southern California area, this will offer competitive gameplay and great entertainment for virtual hockey fans to tune in for globally. We'll be kicking off the action with online pool play among all the registered players. Here's an overview of how the tournament is going to progress all the way through pool play to the grand finals on Saturday, May 15th: Pool Play: Wednesday, April 15th - Monday, April 26th Best of 1 Each player will face five or six opponents in this timeframe. The top 24 players on both consoles will advance to the playoffs. Playoffs (BO3 single elimination): Wednesday, April 28th - Saturday, May 15th Round of 24: Wednesday, April 18th - Friday, April 30th Round of 16: Sunday, May 2nd - Tuesday, May 4th Quarterfinals: Wednesday, May 5th - Saturday, May 8th Semifinals (Xbox): Monday, May 10th Semifinals (PS4): Wednesday, May 12th Finals: Saturday, May 15th Click the buttons below to access the groups for both platforms: Please read the full tournament rules for more detailed information. IMPORTANT TOURNAMENT INFORMATION If any questions arise, please contact Support. Please join the NHLGamer Discord server and use the #role-registration channel to assign yourself to the Ducks Gaming role by clicking the reaction logo (shown in the image below). This will enable you to see the Ducks Gaming category and channels. Social Media and Hashtags: Showing sponsor support can help us grow these events in the future. We are planning to do official broadcasts towards the later rounds of playoffs but in the meantime, please let us know if you plan on streaming. When posting about the tournament on social media, please use the following hashtags: #Ducks1v1 #SoCalMcDs #NHLGamer #NHL21 and tags: @NHLDucksGaming @AnaheimDucks @NHLGamerCOM (Twitter), @nhlgamerofficial (IG)

NHLGamers, As you know, we're adding the Core division into our framework for the new season and with that we're in for a series of Qualifiers ahead of the ECL 12 season. Info to follow below: Pro and Lite Qualifiers will be starting officially on Thursday, April 15th. Qualifiers will be completed at an intensive pace, and therefore it is advisable for teams participating in the qualifiers not to attend our ECL 12 Warmup tournament. Here are the schedules for the respective qualifiers (all dates in April): Pro Qualifiers: Round 1: Thursday 15th, Sunday 18th, Monday 19th, Wednesday 21st Round 2: Sunday 25th, Monday 26th, Wednesday 28th BO5 series (where needed): Thursday 29th Lite Qualifiers: Group Play: Thursday 15th, Sunday 18th, Monday 19th, Wednesday 21st, Thursday 22nd, Monday 26th, Wednesday 28th BO5 series (where needed): Thursday 29th In our New Division and Promotion Structure article, we stated the following logic as a basis of filling potential open spots in divisions and Qualifiers: Based on that logic, to fill the available spots after sign-ups, the following ECL 11 Lite teams have gained direct promotion to ECL 12 Pro: Grenoble BDL Esport Sjukstugan BoxinElite Sinister PENTA (previously ECDC Memmingen eSports) Also, based on the same logic, there are updates to the teams participating in the Pro Qualifier: Due to us having a total of seven Pro Wildcard applicants fulfilling the requirements for a Pro Qualifier Wildcard spot, we made the decision to allow these teams play a pre-qualifier determining which teams will get the four Pro Qualifier spots. The teams not entered into the Pro Qualifier will be entered into the Wildcard spots in the Lite Qualifier. Below are the Wildcard teams: Dynastia Reality Check HC Royal HT Hawaii Hockey Rogle BK Barys eSports IK Oskarshamn Some of these teams might already hold a divisional spot in ECL Lite due to their performances in ECL 11 and should they be promoted will open up a spot in their place. After sign-ups closed and the number of available spots was determined, the following teams have gained a direct spot in ECL 12 Lite based on their performances in ECL 11 Lite: Armada Hockey FILADELPHIA Academy (previously Hammarby Hockey) Murohoki RoKi Esports Dynastia IK Oskarshamn BIK Karlskoga (previously Northern Falcons) TuTo Esports Oulunsalo HT Rogle BK Remparts de Tours Esport Spirit GIFU Hockey Lite Qualifier teams: Teams that applied and are eligible for ECL Lite Wildcard spot: Unwanted Almost Retired Due to the large number of teams moving up automatically to fill the spots in Pro and the Pro Qualifier, and how the rules were written for this, we were forced to reduce the number of teams in the ECL Lite qualifier. Below is an image of how the seeding will look. What works, what doesn't? At the end of last year we released our plans for how the promotions, relegations and qualifiers will work. Now, we've seen the formula in action for the first time, and while it's worth noting that we believe the transition from four to five divisions and significantly shrinking the size of ECL Lite is a big cause of the complexity of the process for this season, there's always theory vs reality. Perhaps for next season all (except for auto-promoted) spots should be given out through the qualifiers rather than moving teams before them(?). What we set out to do with the new qualification process is to eliminate subjective opinions from the decision making. While we believe our pre-season seeding of teams into empty spots with the old system has historically been fairly accurate and based on the performance of those teams we would argue that it has been successful, the fact is that we are reaching 300 teams this season and forming an objective opinion on the constantly growing number of teams becomes a harder task each season. Hence now is a good time to ask for your feedback - what part of the system do you like and what would you do differently?

The Marseille Spartiates and MCES (Mon Club Esport) have joined forces to launch their first official NHL esports team: the Spartiates x MCES. You can see the team in action in the Pro division this upcoming ECL season and with that, the Spartiates x MCES become the first French squad to play at that level. Having established themselves as the most prestigious French team in NHL esports under the banner of Grenoble BDL Esports, it is only natural for the team to develop and with that move on to new things. Today we're announcing that the roster led by captain Maximilien @Tromi13 Tromeur have signed with the Marseille Spartiates and MCES, who will combine for a new virtual hockey club called the Spartiates x MCES. At this point, festivities have already been held in Marseille, where captain @Tromi13 has attended the Spartiates offices for a contract signing and press event. A ceremonial puck drop and a full team bootcamp was planned but due to recent increased travel regulations in France, only the captain attended the press event. "This is an accomplishment for our team and by extension for the French or French-speaking European gaming community. It is important to understand that we can't be compared to a scene like FIFA where the pool of players is huge. On the NHL side of things, we are lesser in numbers and about a year ago before the first French league, we were 40. Today we are 200 (in the French community)! Knowing that we can now interest an organization like MCES makes us proud! I feel like gaming organizations partnering with French hockey clubs will only feed the phenomenon and more and more players will arrive. When it comes to the ground level, the partnership between MCES and the Marseille Spartans allows us to anchor down as the team of a city and a club, it gives meaning to our work." - @Tromi13 on the meaningfulness of their partnership with Spartiates x MCES. The mostly French ensemble has experienced a lot together on the virtual ice and after a successful season in ECL 11 Lite and the WECL, they have now gained the opportunity to prove themselves at the next level as the first French team in ECL history. With a roster that has only seen minor changes, the squad is now confidently facing that challenge. NHLGamer founder Kenneth @Kenu Lehtinen on having the Spartiates x MCES join NHLGamer leagues: "We at NHLGamer are excited to have the Spartiates x MCES squad join our league. The scene has seen a tremendous amount of growth over the past few years and while we do our best to lay the groundwork as effectively as possible, teams and individuals have impressed us with their hard work and dedication in working towards the common goal of becoming a mainstream esport and involving various parties at the very cutting edge of esports. The Spartiates x MCES seem to be a partnership of utmost potential and we can't wait for what they will bring to the table on their NHL esports journey. Welcome!” About the Marseille Spartiates The hockey club of southern French port city Marseille wasn't founded until 2012, but despite their short history the Spartiates have established themselves as an extremely ambitious force in the field of French hockey. After gaining promotion to the national division 1 (2nd tier) back in 2019, the club now has their sights set on advancing to the Ligue Magnus. The Palais Omnisports is the arena that the Spartiates are privileged to call their home, seating 5600 fans and with that achieving the status of the biggest ice rink in France. About MCES MCES (Mon Club Esport) is a Marseille-based major player in French esports with subsidiaries in Italy and Morocco. The objective of MCES is to develop both the professional and amateur practices in all of esports. With representation currently in League of Legends, Fortnite, FIFA, Clash of Clans, Virtual Regatta, Rocket League and Valorant, the organization has gained lots of success across several of these games. The MCES method is to provide their players with all the necessary tools to succeed, such as sports practice, diet monitoring, neurocognitive performance testing, stress management and more. The method is defined and applied by MCES Sports Director and double Olympic swimming gold medalist Yannick Agnel.