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NHLGamers, The quarterfinals of the playoffs are now behind and we know the semifinalists of ECL 12 Pro. The best four teams of the season have now already secured a chance to play for an Elite spot next season but the Pro title and instant promotion is what the four remaining teams are aiming for. We have seen tight matchups and big surprises. Team LEISURE managed to sweep Conquer Gaming - the best team of the regular season – in breathtaking fashion. HV71 and Blackdawgs fought until the end with the Swedish side getting the edge over the Russians in game 7. BoxinElite overcoming VISU Gaming by winning four straight after losing the series opening game and securing their spot among the top 4 of the league in their rookie season as well as Djurgarden Hockey taking the next step and beating the Finnish outfit from Kiekko-Espoo Esports in six games. In the following we will take a closer look at the two remaining matchups. Who will pave their way to the finals? What are the strengths and weaknesses of each team? We will know better in a few days! (2) HV71 - Team LEISURE (12) After playing against Inter Iceland in round 1, HV71 is now facing a German team for the second time in this playoffs already. The Swedish outfit around captain @Demski13 managed to beat Inter Iceland in six games and secure their place among the top 8 in the league. The esports team from Jönköping had a tough time in the quarterfinals against Blackdawgs. After being down 2-1 after the first evening in the series and losing game 3 in astonishing fashion with 0-6, the blue and yellow outfit seem to have drawn the right conclusions and fought back on the second evening of the series. By winning 3 games and securing a 7-1 victory in the deciding game 7, HV71 put an exclamation mark on claiming their spot among the top 4 in ECL Pro. On the other side we find Team LEISURE. The German juggernauts might have found their form after the first half of the regular season only losing four games since including the playoffs. Being seeded at spot #7 the Germans were not able to secure home ice advantage which looks to suit them quite well. LEISURE did not lose a single game on the away server during their playoff run. Being able to beat Sulkavan Sudet in 7 games in round 1 the GCL record champion approached their biggest challenge so far in facing the #1 spot Conquer Gaming. The squad around captain @Franky__2768 looked as strong as never before and beating the former Finnish Elite outfit in crushing fashion. Team LEISURE secured their spot in the final four with a 4-0 sweep being able to shut down the strongest offense of the league three times and only conceding one goal in the whole series. Are the Germans on their way back to Elite? While HV71's offense is improving during their playoff run and looking very strong around their trio of @Demski13, @Rubituss and @Zupancic_King424 (Zuppe_29), Team LEISURE will be a very tough nut to crack defensively. Captain Franky__2768 and @xXPsykoSkillsXx found themselves as the top two scoring D-men in the regular season but seem to given up their scoring abilities to their forwards and focus on shutting down the opponents offense. @RPH_31 already secured three shutouts, which are the most in the playoffs of ECL 12 Pro so far. Both teams have found their qualities on both ends of the ice and always managed to find the right solutions to overcome their opponents in the playoffs. Especially the center matchup will be a decisive factor in this semifinal. Both players are top scorers of their teams and are extremely strong at the faceoff dot. @PlaymakerSJ contributed with 26 points (11G+15A) in 11 games to his teams success while also managing to win over 55% of his faceoffs giving his team the slight edge in tight games. Demski scored 25 points in 13 games and was always able to decide a matchup with contributing three game winning goals in their current run. Both teams are looking very strong which could make the series go either way. While HV71 played on a good and solid level for the whole season, the ex-Elite team of the former Deadly Phantoms HC found their form quite late in this years ECL. The winger duo of @ProfaneKiss and @Flo_goes_grazy (flgr93), who is playing his rookie season on Pro level, seem to harmonize even better with each game. After losing in the Elite relegation 4-2 against Tunnel Vision, LEISURE’s goal was clear: Instant promotion back to Europes Top 16. But will they be able to break down HV71 defense around @Terasniska, @Putteekiing and @Tiipponenii (Coffelainen)? The Swedish squad often enough proved this season that they took the next step in their development and are one of toughest teams to beat in ECL Pro. Since Team LEISURE already has the experience of four seasons on Elite level, as well as winning the Pro title back in ECL 7, the Germans could have the edge over their North European competitor. The away game disadvantage seems not to have any impact on their gameplan which makes it hard for any team in the league to beat Team LEISURE in their current form. @Keuschemisch's prediction: 2-4 Team LEISURE @Mikka's prediction: 1-4 Team LEISURE (4) BoxinElite - Djurgarden Hockey (5) Written by @Mikka If they struggled a bit surprisingly in the first round, the quarterfinals saw BoxinElite most definitely get back where they left off in the regular season. The high-flying Pro rookies took down VISU Gaming a lot easier than anticipated, only losing the opening game before winning the next four in a row. Getting their revenge on their playoff foes from last season is sure to give the Finns a nice boost when they look to take on the next challenge. The quarterfinals were not as easy for Djurgarden Hockey as they cleanly swept first round. That was expected though, and while they have had tight results for the whole season they have still ended up on top most of the time. Once again they did just that, narrowly avoiding a game seven by getting it done in six. The matchup went just about as expected as the Swedes continue onwards with their solid team play and routine, backstopped by amazing stats from netminder @Sorsa103 (10 GP, 88.78%, 1.1 GAA, 2 SO). As already stated, Djurgarden Hockey’s games have been quite tight. “How tight?”, one might ask. Well, their only loss with more than a one goal margin came with a 0-2 result. BoxinElite on the other hand have lost with a two plus goal margin six times out of the 13 in which they have fallen. Both teams have already secured a chance to play for an Elite spot, but avoiding that best of seven series altogether by grabbing the Pro title is at the top of their minds as they still have plenty of games left to play. BoxinElite has a relatively unproven squad, but @Prom99 and @Mehiiss have already been at this stage a few years ago with White Trash (now known as KOVA Esports). Although they lost to FILADELPHIA in the semifinals back then, they still managed to get promoted ahead of ECL 7. That experience is going to come in handy as they prepare to face off against a team that does not have any players with the same background. While BoxinElite might be the more offensive one of the teams, their defense has not had a bad performance either. Will it be Djurgarden who makes the series a small margins one, or will the Finns’ offensive prowess prevail? It will be interesting to see who manages to turn the results their way and pave their road to the final. Seeing how the teams’ playing styles match up and how well gelled the Swedes are, it seems like BoxinElite will have to overcome the predicted results just like they did in the last round. It is close though, so once again do not be surprised no matter whose way this goes. As we saw in the quarterfinal series between Conquer Gaming and Team LEISURE, even a presumed seven game series can end in a sweep. @Mikka's prediction: 3-4 Djurgarden Hockey @Keuschemisch's prediction: 2-4 Djurgarden Hockey

After an action-packed quarterfinal round in which all top seeds advanced, we're now left with four familiar contenders, all eager to punch their tickets to the grand final. Number one seed FILADELPHIA are looking to defend their title and keep their impressive finals streak going, whereas hREDS and HAVU are clashing in a rematch of their ECL 11 semifinals series!  FILADELPHIA (1) vs Färjestad BK (4)  Tale of the tape (Reg. season record) 28-0-2 vs. 20-8-2 (GF/G) 3.67 vs. 3.3 (GA/G) 1.00 vs. 2.23 (Special teams %) 112.85 vs. 118.18 (Season series) FILA If you feel like you've seen this before, you're not wrong! FILADELPHIA and Farjestad have went head-to-head at this stage back in ECL 10, which was the last time Farjestad was seen in the semifinals. Back then, the Swedes faltered 4-1, but have strengthened their squad considerably since then, while keeping the core intact around captain Christoffer @I-Maise-I Berntsson. To differ from their previous seasons, the new and improved FBK are now on par with the best of them in terms of offensive power with the emergence of Johan @Lehmannens Lehmann and Hampus @l-Furyan-l Duvefelt among the very best of defensemen in terms of point production. The problem is - this has happened at the cost of defensive responsibilities at times - Farjestad has an average goals conceded way above the rest of the semifinalist teams, and a significant drop from their numbers last season. FILADELPHIA, the reigning champions. They are on yet another impressive run towards their sixth consecutive finals appearance and is the only team currently in the Elite division to make the finals every season since they entered the top 16. On top of that impressive stat, the team also broke their own record of the highest regular season point total ever with a whopping 58(!). The black and orange remained undefeated in regulation throughout the regular season, but suffered their first loss against IQUE in the quarterfinals. Now facing the very familiar Farjestad, who they made easy work of in the regular season, there should be no stopping FILA in a long seven game series.  This series will be decided in two main areas - the center lane and on defense. There is no doubt about the fact that FILADELPHIA captain Joonas @Patzlaf Paatiala has the edge on Farjestad center @I-Maise-I, and the Finn rarely takes days off. Maise needs to step up his game in the faceoff circle and find a way to help his team more off the puck if they are to overcome the beast of a team that FILA currently is. On defense, however, the current form of Farjestad duo @Lehmannens and @l-Furyan-l tops that of FILA's Aleksi @loimmu Loimuvirta and Teemu @Xteemuz Polttila in terms of production, but the Swedes will need to stay patient and not sacrifice their defensive end, since every mistake will be costly against the defending champs. Prediction: FILADELPHIA in 6  hREDS (2) vs HAVU Gaming (3)    Tale of the tape (Reg. season record) 25-4-1 vs. 22-6-2 (GF/G) 3.80 vs. 2.87 (GA/G) 1.40 vs. 1.17 (Special teams %) 116.70 vs. 116.66 (Season series) hREDS hREDS is one of those teams that have been on the rise for quite some time already. Since entering the top 16 back in ECL 10, the squad has made minor changes and managed to improve every season. Their last campaign was their first finals appearance and ended in a rather quick exit, but now the offensive powerhouse could be ready to take things that one step further with last seasons experience in mind. Former radar duo Perttu @Beniittto Kemppainen and Vili @Vilupoika Häkkinen reunited this season, resulting in a career high in Elite points for both, while Niklas @NikkeDangles Tukiainen followed close behind also reaching career high numbers. On defense, the addition of Aaro @xDoumi Ruuhinen alongside Tuukka @Tuukka.R (KingOfApes_) Röpelinen makes for an offense first-pairing, that have managed to help out young star goaltender Filip @Faze91- Azri in a great way so far.  If hREDS have managed to improve on a steady pace, the engine of HAVU Gaming hasn't been chugging along quite as nicely. Despite making the playoffs in the top three once agains, the black and green collected their lowest point total ever (under the HAVU banner) in the Elite division and they mustn't be happy about that. The recent ground-and-pound laid upon YMCA Esports in the quarterfinals surely salvages some of that confidence and we'll see if HAVU can return to their strong form looking for revenge against hREDS. The return of Ilmari @Buantso Lehkonen to the left wing is massive for HAVU, as the man usually brings out the best of himself and his teammates in the playoffs.  Last season, HAVU Gaming suffered from an inability to convert on scoring chances against hREDS, whereas the other side was the clearly more prevalent squad on that front. Looking blindly at the stats, it is apparent that we could be in for a similar show this season too, but as seen before - anything could happen in the playoffs. Special teams have been great for both sides and the two are very evenly matched in that department, but hREDS is the far more aggressive squad. In fact, hREDS were the most penalized team of the regular season and can't afford to continue that trend in the semifinals. Prediction: hREDS in 7 Both matchups will be featured tonight on our broadcast, starting 19:45 CEST with Cody @Tougie24 Tougas and Paul @Cyn Anderson in the booth! See you there!