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Teams from Group 1 were quite dominant in the first round of the ECL 12 Pro Playoffs, with the number one seed Conquer Gaming being the only team from Group 2 to advance. It is now time to get ready for the quarterfinals though, so without further ado let’s get into the preview: (1) Conquer Gaming – Team LEISURE (12) Conquer Gaming have been impressive throughout the whole season and are not thinking about easing up before the mission is complete. Their first round series against Bjorkloven Esport ended convincingly 4-1, with every game being close and getting decided by only one goal except for their single loss (0-5). Team LEISURE on the contrary did not have an easy time with Conquer’s Group 2 runner ups Sulkavan Sudet, only getting the job done in the deciding game seven. In the other series that included cross-server gameplay, the home team ended up on top in 12 out of 13 games, meanwhile in Team LEISURE’s series it was the away team that won every single game. This could be interpreted as a sign of the teams’ ability to adapt to the higher ping, or just as a random occurrence. We will see how it shapes out in this series. Both teams have similar public images as squads that value strong team play and defence. Both of them are also former Elite teams looking to get back to where they once were. The prior statements are starting to get pretty repetitive after being copied and pasted into quite literally every Pro article this season, but do not worry, you will not have to bear it much longer: one of these two teams is finally going to be able to start their summer vacations next week. For now, it seems more likely that it will be Team LEISURE as they are the ones that have had the tougher time thus far. Could they possibly use their recently gained momentum to gain the edge over Conquer? It is not completely off the cards, so definitely check in on this battle to find out. Team LEISURE may also be able to benefit from playing a tighter first series, meanwhile Conquer Gaming has been steadily plowing through the competition for the whole season without many mishaps. Prediction: Conquer Gaming 4-3 (2) HV71 – Blackdawgs (10) Despite a few big margin losses, Blackdawgs were able to win the game seven against Patience to advance to the quarterfinals. The stat line did not seem to flatter them, with their opponents often having the lion’s share of time on attack and for example the deciding game ending with Blackdawgs scoring four goals on four shots. They found the four wins anyway though, which speaks volumes about their resilience and perhaps even skill on defending against the most dangerous of chances. HV71 was on the other side of this equation in their own series, having a lot more puck possession than their opponents Inter Iceland. The Swedes ended up on top with a 4-2 series score, and are now looking to repeat it against a team that they have already won twice this season: Blackdawgs lost (1-3, 2-4) in both games between them during group play. HV71 had a strong regular season and are not looking to take their feet off the gas pedal just yet. They already have the experience of beating the current Blackdawgs roster, along with the added confidence boost of winning against a team with a somewhat similar playing style in the first round. To hope to extend the series and eventually triumph, the underdogs on the other hand need to have learned their lessons in the weeks that have passed since the regular season matchup, in addition to coming up with some fresh elements to their game after the last playoff round. Unless the ‘dawgs find those new tricks up their sleeves, this one should go quite clearly in HV71’s favor as they march on towards the top four. Prediction: HV71 4-1 (4) BoxinElite – VISU Gaming (7) BoxinElite did not have as convincing of an appearance in the first round as anticipated, with the French SPARTIATES X MCES taking the series all the way to, yes, once again, a game seven. Was it just a case of not being used to playing on the Central servers, or was it a warning sign that they could be taken down with some solid, patient defending? They won every home game, but also lost every away match. Fellow Group 1 team VISU Gaming performed about on par with the expectations, stopping short the season of Pata Hellalla 4-2. They showed their strength of character in game six by evening up the score just 14 seconds before the final horn and then wrapping up the hard fought series in overtime. @Pettersson12 and @Jjmakkeli (JussinSisko) split the playing time, with the former going undefeated, so it is going to be interesting to see whether this arrangement continues or if one of them is going to claim the starting spot for good. VISU was the only team going through from the first round that did not stick with the same starting six for the whole series. Similarly to the HV71 - Blackdawgs matchup, these teams have already played against each other this season, though more recently. Barely a week and a half has passed since the regular season finale, where BoxinElite bounced back in the second game with a 3-2 score after losing to VISU with a hefty 2-6 in the first one. BoxinElite will surely be looking to get revenge as the loss prevented them from winning the group, but their opponents seem to have been getting their early season groove back on. VISU also ended up on top (with a clean 4-0 sweep) when the two faced each other last season in the Lite quarterfinals. Both teams have changed around half of their respective rosters since then, so that result should not be read into too strongly except for the mental side of things. BoxinElite need to step up and find the same spark that made them blossom in the regular season, or otherwise this could result in a rather unpleasant flashback to last season on their part. A bit like the Sulkavan Sudet - Team LEISURE matchup in the first round, this is a series where an apparent underachiever meets a strong regular season team in a clash that many think favors the playing style of the former. Prediction: 2-4 VISU Gaming (5) Djurgarden Hockey – Kiekko-Espoo Esports (6) Written by @viivimaria Kiekko-Espoo Esports faced Dynastia in the first round of the playoffs. The match series was very eventful, as it included very great goals and one marathon match, in which the decisive goal wasn't found until in the sixth overtime period. The most important characters of Kiekko-Espoo were the team captain @Hazard-laser and perhaps @sMiika, who stepped up when called upon a bit surprisingly. Both players strapped the team to their backs in tight situations. Swedish team Djurgården meanwhile, won against Hotbox by a pure 4-0 sweep in the first round of the playoffs. A much tougher struggle is expected from the upcoming quarterfinals, rather than another overpowering by the Swedes. One of the absolute top characters of the Swedish team was also goalkeeper @Sorsa103. After the first round of the playoffs, both goalkeepers of this match pair can be found in the top positions in the statistics and are relatively superior in comparison to the competition. Although sMiikaG did very well in the opening round of the playoffs, it is still to be expected that @jg697000(Gresu__), who played as the team’s top goalie, will return to the playing lineup in the next matches for Kiekko-Espoo. What is certain, is that the blueshirts have two great goalkeepers, either of which can be put on the ice as the playoffs progress. A very steady fight is expected from the upcoming semi-final series, and a great team will advance regardless of the outcome. Special teams and the conversion of scoring chances are also further emphasized Prediction: 4-3 Djurgarden Hockey That wraps up the preview! As always, do not be afraid to post your own predictions to the comment section below. Enjoy the games, we will be back with another preview when we have our top four sealed in a week’s time.

...And then there were only 4! Fellow hockey fans, the Core division Semifinal pairs have been decided and now we are ready to find out the Finalists of the very first ECL Core season. First of all, I want to say thanks to all of the teams that participated in the ECL 12 Core season. It has been a pleasure to see how many teams this division had, and that made it interesting to watch throughout the season. This preview includes four of the best teams in this division, and I'm extremely excited to see how these matchups finish. The Quarterfinals of the ECL 12 Core Playoffs are to be played between Tuesday, July 6th and Sunday, July 11th. Here's the full ECL 12 Core playoff schedule: TOP 4 Teams (1) STARGAZING (2) Stone Age (9) Tohtorit (16) Resurrection Let's start the preview by looking these teams in general. Starting home Teams STARGAZING and STONE AGE have both been in a dominant mode all season long, and both of them had a number 1 seed in their groups after the regular season. The firepower of these teams has been really good, and they've had an easy job protecting the net for their team (SGZ:26GP - 1.46 GAA, AGE: 28GP - 1.5G AA in the regular season). We can assume that their defenses are pretty organized in the semi’s also, and scoring against these teams is going to be hard. Key points for home teams It's hard to find any kind of achilles' heel for STARGAZING, I mean at least when u look at the stats. Stargazing have performed almost flawlessly throughout the playoffs, and will of course be one of the favorites to raise the cup at the end of the season. The main factor of their game is the two-way playing style. This team can score through their wingers and center, but also defenders participate in the offensive plays very actively and that also goes for the forwards participating on defence really well. In the defensive end, they have @Emppa988 (6+16 in 17 games), who is one of the top scoring defensemen in the playoffs, and should be a marked man for the opponent. STONE AGE on the other hand, have had some troubles in the playoffs and there are couple of things that worries me. This team has had troubles with keeping their performance up. From time to time there are difficulties to perform against seemingly easier opponents, for example their last two opponents in the playoffs (Team Rocket & hc marko). This is the time for this team to find their best performance especially from the teams leading characters @anttiko10, @Maexsa and @Liukq. Starting away Teams TOHTORIT and RESURRECTION both are their own groups #2 seeds and are on rather solid runs this season so far. Both of them eliminated each others groups #1 seed in the quarterfinals (Arkham Asylum lost to Tohtorit 2-4 and Pasilan SKA lost Resurrection 0-4), so well deserved Semifinal spots all around. These teams also have pretty good defensive stats, and it will not be a walk in the park for the home teams in their first games of the semi’s. Key points for away teams TOHTORIT is a talented and skilful team. This team’s performance lies on their offensive line @Ojala16, @Linkku60 and @Ristimaki12 and their ability to score, with @johtaja_lebi creating plays on defence. You can’t be underestimating this team at all, or they will surely put the puck in the net more than twice per game. over their last 3 games against Arkham Asylum, they only allowed three goals behind @Stammer70, so good luck for breaking that defense. RESURRECTION Finished second in their group before the playoffs and they have managed to keep the flow going on. Their influence this season was the acquisition of the two-headed monster @tkantola and @Xkeineri. This duo have had an impressive influence on the team, but you also can't forget the third wheel of their offense - @Teemu97 was called upon in the second round of playoffs and quickly filled his spot, gaining the trust of his team and diversifying options for the squad. Defensively the team is very solid and balanced, but there is still room to improve especially in net for experienced netminder @Jiihooo86. Predictions (1) STARGAZING vs Resurrection (16) Resurrection wins 2-4* (2) Stone Age vs Tohtorit (9) Tohtorit wins 2-4 *Note: Writer plays for Resurrection and is probably biased.

The NHL Gaming World Championship for 2021 featured separate European and North American championships. In mid-June, the European finals were completed and a familiar name prevailed. The tournament featured several very talented players. Here are the European Finalists: Adam @dzouvi Mensik 🇨🇿 Henrik @Eken45jr Eklund 🇸🇪 Erik @Eki Tammenpää 🇫🇮 Jani @J-_-Jamaltheman Raappanen 🇫🇮 Johan @Lehmannens Lehmann 🇸🇪 Niklas @NikkeDangles Tukiainen 🇫🇮 Josef @pepcastachurcik Stachura 🇨🇿 Aaro @xDoumi Ruuhinen 🇫🇮 In the end, Finland's absolute superstar @Eki and the rising star of the future @NikkeDangles finally made their way to the European grand final of the tournament. However, @Eki was relatively superior and won his third European championship. At the same time, he claimed himself a hefty $12,000 prize reward, which he plans to save for the future or invest.  In the past, on several occasions, he has said that Europe has a higher skill level when compared ton North America. We asked him if he still thought so, as global tournaments have been largely hampered by the prevailing conditions. ''It's always different to play online compared to when you're live. Connections are not the same in every game + I feel that the skill gap is bigger on LAN events. I believe that there is wider talent pool and a better general level in Europe, but there is no denying that much progress has been made in North America based on what I have seen. The next time the World Cup is played it's definitely going to be tight games in the EU vs NA rivalry. There are a few players in North America in particular who have bettered their own game exceptionally well.'' The star player, who has won practically everything possible on his career this fas, notes that more players have taken big steps forward in development.  ''@NikkeDangles seems to bring something new to the table every time he takes to the ice. @Eken45jr has been the smoothest tournament performer in recent years. These two especially deserve props.'' COVID-19 has had an impact on many events worldwide, an unfortunately the GWC hasn't been spared. Most notably, no LAN events have been hosted for the past 1,5 years. Eki thinks that it has also had an impact on the level of play in the tournament. ''There's fewer potential winners. Some people play this game in the hope of trips, big money prizes more than for the titles. It's reflected in the training volumes. Of course, in general, players do more work when it would be possible to win a 60k + world championship and trips to Vegas, Copenhagen, etc.'' UPCOMING GWC SCHEDULE Saturday, July 3rd – GWC Scotia NHL North Division Club Championship Saturday, July 10th – GWC Discover NHL Central Division Club Championship Saturday, July 17th – GWC Honda NHL West Division Club Championship Saturday, July 24th – Club Championship Final