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It was a hard fought battle as predicted, but in the end, the better team prevailed! The ECL 12 Pro Finals went down at the start of the week and Djurgarden Hockey was seen hoisting that trophy, claiming their spot in the ECL 13 Elite division. The Swedish ensemble have worked hard to achieve this goal, and now several of their players will have the chance to take their first strides in the brightest of lights when it comes to NHL Esports. We reached out to captain Björn @Jungledonk Lindberg for some comments about their journey. The captain himself had an impressive season, breaking the ECL Pro record for most goals by a defenseman in the playoffs - now at 10 goals by the man himself. Congratulations! It must feel extra special to accomplish the championship and promotion with guys that you have worked alongside for such a long time. What are some of the factors that have led your to this point, looking back at past seasons? "As you said, we've been working extremely hard and for a long time. We've worked both on our game as a team as well as the mental aspects of the game. Our players have grown as people, individuals and team players along that way. There truly is no 'I' in this team and it's harder to accomplish that than you'd think when we're composed of such individually skilled players. The fact that everyone fights for each other is the biggest factor to our great run." Next up for you guys is the step up to the European Top 16. What will DIF look like moving forward and what are your thoughts on what to develop? "Actually, we haven't given that too much thought just yet. Obviously it's in the back of your head, but our full focus has been solely on claiming the Pro title, the promotion is a welcome bonus. When it comes to our composition next season, we won't be shuffling things around too much. I'll reveal that we've picked up William @Mumsi- Lindblad from Leksand, but overall I'm very hapy with what we've got. We know it's going to be a tough job in Elite and our primary focus lies on retaining our spot in our first season. From there we'll learn and develop into coming campaigns."  Djurgarden Hockey - Road to the championship: Regular season record: Group 1 - 18-7-5 (3rd) Round 1: vs  4-0 Hotbox Quarterfinals: vs  4-2 Kiekko-Espoo Esports Semifinals: vs BoxinElite 4-1 Finals: vs Team LEISURE 4-2 Championship roster: GOALTENDERS #26 Valtteri @Sorsa103 Mulari DEFENSEMEN #1 Andreas @Clumpyindiana79 Storbacka #81 Björn @Jungledonk Lindberg #92 Tobias @svetidaje Karlsson FORWARDS #46 Joacim @LordStanley46_ Wilhelmsson #71 Philip @Strumpan87 Ström #91 Amadeus @amadee21 Carlsson Congratulations on behalf of the entire community, and see you next season!

It's been a wild ride over the past couple of months that the ECL Elite division has been running and as usual, we could give all the high praise and all the glorious hype because after all - it is our product. This season, however, it was really the players who showed up big time and provided that quality gameplay that we're all out for. Now, only two remain. In a repeat of ECL 11's FILADELPHIA - hREDS Finals, who will hoist the cup this time? FILADELPHIA (1) vs hREDS (2) Tale of the tape (Reg. season record) 28-0-2 vs. 25-4-1 (GF/G) 3.67 vs. 3.80 (GA/G) 1.00 vs. 1.40 (Special teams %) 112.85 vs. 116.70 (Season series) FILA TOP SCORER (Playoffs) Erik @Eki Tammenpää (10GP, 7+15=22) vs Niklas @NikkeDangles Tukiainen (10GP, 9+13=22) GOALTENDER (Playoffs) Casper @ICappeI Lundgren (10GP, 8W, 85.88 SV%, 1,2 GAA) vs Filip @Faze91- Azri (10GP, 8W, 81.33 SV%, 1,4 GAA) FILADELPHIA has made the finals each and every season that they've been a part of the Elite division and are the definition of a true NHL Esports dynasty. After their dominant outing last season, there was little to no room for improvement, but lo and behold - the black and orange did even better this season! Despite not reaching new highs individually, the team topped their regular season point total record by amassing 58 points in their 30 games, only two shy of a perfect record. Their postseason started with some hiccups against the surprisingly strong newcomer IQUE, but FILADELPHIA really found their form against Farjestad BK in the semifinals. FILADELPHIA's offense really found their stride in the Semifinals too, with both wingers Erik @Eki Tammenpää and Paul @PleeMaker Arontie collecting ten and eleven points respectively thru their four last games. It also seems like FILADELPHIA is stronger than ever on the defense, the fact that the team is one of the most coordinated lineups in the world certainly has a lot to do with it, but their newest recruit Teemu @Xteemuz (Teemuyy) Polttila has also been a crucial piece to their puzzle. Interestingly enough, he also played a big part in the Finals last season, only on the other side which means he is very familiar with the hREDS guys. If we're talking about FILADELPHIA as the defensive powerhouse in the division, hREDS is their offensive conunterpart. Just the difference isn't that big. Statistically, it looks like hREDS is doing good, but FILA is still that "big brother" that seems to be a bit ahead at everything.. for the time being. What's changed for hREDS since last season is basically their entire left wing with Aaro @xDoumi Ruuhinen taking the place of Teemuyy and Vili @Vilupoika Häkkinen replacing Joakim @Joukki Nyholm, who was sensational for hREDS in the ECL 11 playoffs. All of these players mentioned are certainly skilled and of true contender caliber, so it'll come down to the smallest of details in finding out the difference between the two teams. We know Vilupoika as one of the most prominent scorers of the game from some years back and it still seems like he hasn't risen to his full potential after his return to the bright lights. Now, on the biggest of stages, can he do that to elevate his team to glory perhaps? Prediction: Right now, it seems like FILADELPHIA is an unstoppable force, but it'll remain to be seen if hREDS will be the immovable object. FILADELPHIA has, as stated on a run like no other, and their stellar defensive play so far is an excellent sign for them. As we know, the finals have often come down to the wire, and the team that makes less mistakes very often comes out on top. In this defensive battle, it is tough to predict any other finish than FILADELPHIA hoisting the cup for the fourth time in team history. Tune in to watch who will set the tone for the Finals tonight at 20:00 CEST over at www.twitch.tv/NHLGamer.

NHLGamers, On Friday and Saturday we'll conclude the ECL 12 season with the Elite division Finals between FILADELPHIA and hREDS, a rematch of their ECL 11 Finals clash. Both teams are eager to show what they've learned and in the end hoist that trophy and leave with a nice chunk of change in their pockets. The broadcasts over the weekend will be something special, so let's all come together to cap off this great season with two unforgettable nights of world class virtual hockey! We reached out to FILADELPHIA assistant captain and right winger Erik @Eki Tammenpää for some comments about the upcoming series and their season so far. After a dominant regular season, IQUE proved to be a tough opponent in the quarters, after which you conquered Färjestad BK with relative ease. How does your form look right now and do you think the longer break ahead of the playoffs could have an impact on the series? "IQUE's style of play worked very well against us, and we really needed to put some thought into how we're going to overcome them in that series. Against FBK we were able to utilize our strengths and get in the groove of things a bit more. This week, we've played almost every night, but I think the two week break could impact the start of the series to some extent since there hasn't been a break like this during this season." Your teams defensive ability has at least statistically been at an all time high this season, what are some of the factors that have made such an impact on that front? "On paper it's easy to see that we've made a change on defense and that's one obvious reason. As a secondary reason I'd say the fact that our core has stuck together for such a long time. Chemistry is the most important element in the 6v6 mode." Why will FILADELPHIA win and how will the series end? "The 4-0 result last season didn't really do the series justice and the gameplay was way tighter. I think hREDS are playing a similar style as last season, but the individuals have developed. It's going to come down to the smallest of details, but we'll win 4-2 in the end, based on our experience from big games." Tune in for the ECL 12 Elite Finals this Friday at 20:00 CEST over at www.twitch.tv/NHLGamer!

NHLGamers, On Friday and Saturday we'll conclude the ECL 12 season with the Elite division Finals between FILADELPHIA and hREDS, a rematch of their ECL 11 Finals clash. Both teams are eager to show what they've learned and in the end hoist that trophy and leave with a nice chunk of change in their pockets. We reached out to hREDS captain and centerman Perttu @Beniittto Kemppainen ahead of the big games for some insight into his teams mindset going into the finals: We're looking at a rematch from the finals last season. Back then, you guys played well but the results weren't quite there. What have you learned since then that's going to change the outcome? "Last season, we made way too many mistakes, which eventually did us in. We made some changes in the offseason and I believe our game is now elevated to the point where we have more variations and make fewer mistakes." About two weeks have passed since you beat HAVU and advanced to the finals, how have you dealt with this unusually long break and do you think it could have an impact on the play of either team? "We took a few days off after our series win against HAVU, but otherwise we've kept on practicing normally. I don't think this break will have an impact either way." Why will hREDS win and by how much? "It'll be a tight series, but i'll say 4-3." Tune in for the ECL 12 Elite Finals this Friday at 20:00 CEST over at www.twitch.tv/NHLGamer!