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NHLGamers, This weekend, we got to witness a crazy show, mainly put on by your new ECL 12 Champions hREDS! The finals were in general very tight battles with the exception of game two that ended in a 6-0 whooping by hREDS. The big, bad reds suffered defeat by a sweep last season and came back to dish out the same kind of punishment to FILADELPHIA this year, we congratulate the champions and thank FILADELPHIA for their great effort! hREDS have come a long way in a relatively short time and after their devastating loss against FILADELPHIA back in the ECL 11 Finals, their will to win was obvious this time - turning the team into an unstoppable winning machine. Especially their defense was outstanding, conceding only one goal in the four games played. Defenseman Tuukka @Tuukka.R (KingOfApes_) Röpelinen answered some questions amidst their celebration: "We didn't really change anything for the Finals, me and Aaro @xDoumi Ruuhinen are just that good at the moment. It's easy to play together and I guess it shows on the ice. We're definitely a tough team to beat at the moment. Amazing job by Filip @Faze91- Azri. Especially against FILA, allowing just one goal is unheard of, so he's been a backbone for us throughout. Also, when me, Vili @Vilupoika Häkkinen and Perttu @Beniittto Kemppainen have played together we haven't lost a single tournament, so the connection is definitely special and we're hoping to keep that momentum going." @Beniittto was chosen as the Playoff MVP by his teammates and he truly had a dominant outing throughout the series, with a whopping 4 goals and two assists in game two to really take charge. He commented on his prowess to the NHLGamer studio: "I mean I always try to be at my best level, and I guess in that 2nd game everything just worked out for me. Having Vilu and Niklas @NikkeDangles Tukiainen by my side make my game so much easier and it's a big thing for me to get to play with those guys. They definitely elevate me." The day after their amazing feat, social media is filled with posts of former teammates and friends congratulating these guys on their journey towards the top and finally conquering the mighty FILADELPHIA. with that, NHLGamer also took the time to reach out to General Manager Christer Kasurinen for some insight from behind the scenes. "We're really trying to build something more than just a one hit wonder here. There's been talk of "the big three" for quite some time already, but ultimately, we want to be "the big one". This championship is a big thing for hREDS and even though NHL Esports is a small niche in the grand scheme of things, the title is even bigger for us with HIFK being our main owners and all. You could talk about bridging that gap between traditional and virtual hockey." The manager does his best to stay involved with the team and allow them the best chances to succeed. "Behind the scenes, we've tried to do everything we can to help our boys succeed. Whether it's been going through mental stuff over a cup of coffee with some players or setting up some discussions with hockey players, we try to stay involved with the day-to-day of our team. For the Finals, it helped tremendously to get most of our players playing from a LAN location and the chemistry really showed in how comfortable the guys were. We're sad Filip couldn't make it due to travel restrictions, but we tried to set him up with similar conditions in a LAN location in his hometown so that he'd have the best circumstances to succeed." hREDS - Road to the championship: Regular season record: Group 1 - 25-4-1 (2nd) Quarterfinals: vs POGGERS 4-0 Semifinals: vs HAVU Gaming 4-2 Finals: vs FILADELPHIA 4-0 Championship roster: GOALTENDERS #91 Filip @Faze91- Azri #1 Niklas @uhNikke Nieminen DEFENSEMEN #27 Aaro @xDoumi Ruuhinen #94 Tuukka @Tuukka.R (KingOfApes_) Röpelinen FORWARDS #23 Niklas @NikkeDangles Tukiainen #89 Vili @Vilupoika Häkkinen #96 Perttu @Beniittto Kemppainen Playoff MVP: #96 Perttu @Beniittto Kemppainen Congratulations on behalf of the entire community, and see you next season!

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!

NHLGamers, Both of our biggest regional tournaments are kicking off, so there's lots of action to get excited for! Find out all of the crucial details in this article and have a closer look at the changes made to our eligibility rules. As the summer brings it's heat, it's also time for us to ramp it up when it comes to regional competition! With that, we present to you the third iteration of the SCL! This year sponsored by Svenska Spel and in co-operation with SESF - The Swedish Esports Federation and SIF - The Swedish Ice Hockey Association. We're bringing 100 000 SEK in cash and action in both the 1v1 and 6v6 modes, so gather your friends and register for a blast of a tournament and the chance to win some cash along the way! To cap off the second season of the SCL, Vesa Pompa HC and Henrik @Eken45jr Eklund were able to reproduce back-to-back championships. According to the SCL ruleset, both will receive an invitation to join this years SCL as the #1 seed in the playoffs. Prize Pool The SCL prize pool for 2021 will consist of 100 000 SEK in total, where 65 000 SEK will be allocated to prizes in the 6v6 mode and 35 000 SEK is allocated to prizes in the 1v1 mode. Players and teams can choose to invoice SESF through their organization for earnings in form of prize money. Otherwise prize money will be paid as salary and will be subject to taxation and fees incurred for the "employer" - SESF according to Swedish legislation. An invoice should include the entire amount of earnings including VAT. Schedule SIGN UP FOR 1v1 HERE! Registrations for SCL 1v1 are open 28.7-15.8 Group stage: 19.8-6.9 Playoffs: 9.9-20.9 TOP 4 Finals: 24.9 (BO3) SIGN UP FOR 6v6 HERE! Registrations for SCL 6v6 are open 28.7-11.8 Regular season 15.-30.8 Playoffs Round 1: 31.8.-3.9 (BO5) Playoffs Round 2: 5.-9.9 (BO7) Quarterfinals: 12.-15.9 (BO7) Semifinals: 19.-22.9 (BO7) Finals 25.9 (BO7) Eligibility With this being the third edition of SCL, many of you have come to expect rule tweaks as we continue to work towards perfecting the tournament formula here at NHLGamer.com. This year is no exception. The main events for our two largest communities, the SCL and the FCL, have grown increasingly entwined in terms of scheduling over the years – and will look to stay that way, e.g. both being played at the same time, for the foreseeable future. With that in mind, we’ve looked at ways of creating a structure that allows both the Swedish and the Finnish communities to shine, while strengthening each tournament’s own unique identity and sense of national pride. In terms of the SCL, what we’ve seen in the past among teams making deep playoff runs in the SCL is a strong reliance on (temporarily) adding players specifically based in the FCL to further their own cause. Therefore, in the interest of solidifying an identity for the SCL that has a stronger native focus while also avoiding scheduling issues for these two concurrently running tournaments, player participation in the SCL (native and foreign) will now exclude that player from participating in the FCL. 'Player participation' is defined as being listed on the roster of a team participating in the SCL. In short, players can not be listed in the roster for teams in both the SCL and the FCL. What this means in practice is that anyone; Swedish, Finnish or otherwise can participate in either the SCL or the FCL - just not both. Otherwise, our eligibility rule will follow the same format as before, only with more nationalities joining the list with "major community" status. For SCL 2021, two non-Swedish players will be allowed per team on ice in a game – under very specific conditions. Here they are: Outside of the Swedish championship (SCL). The German (GCL), Finnish (FCL) Russian (RCL) and Czech and Slovak (CSCL) communities will be defined as the “major communities” for the purposes of this text. Players hailing from nations that currently do not have a region-based championship to sign up for – one where they are allowed to play free of restrictions and are counted as the main target demographic – will be defined as “minor communities” for the purposes of this text. All teams must always feature a minimum of 4 Swedish players in their on-ice lineup Teams may feature a maximum of two non-Swedish players on ice if both players are from a minor community (for example: Danish, Norwegian, Latvian) Teams may feature a maximum of two non-Swedish players on ice if one player is from a major community (German, Finnish, Russian, Czech, Slovak) and the other player from a minor community Teams may NOT feature two non-Swedish players on ice if both those players are from a major community (German, Finnish, Russian, Czech, Slovak) Below you will find an image to help illustrate this rule clarification: The 1vs1 portion of the SCL is available only for Swedish citizens. License All Swedish and Finnish players require a player license from their respective esports federation, acquire your license by following instructions provided in the links below. For players of other nationalities, a license from their respective esports federation is recommended, but not required. Acquire your license here (Swedes) Acquire your license here (Finns) About us Since its inception, NHLGamer has continuously strived to offer the best possible experience for any and all gamers who have come to enjoy the competitiveness of playing the EA Sports series of NHL games. Created by gamers for gamers, we are very much in touch with the growing community and want to understand the fundamental desires of our end customers fully. The international competitive leagues in Europe (ECL) and North America (NACL) are our crown jewels, which have proven to draw interest from the very best teams and players worldwide. While proud of our achievements and the success we've had in creating and maintaining such a great community of talented gamers, we are not done yet. Our long-term goals include growing the community, hosting larger leagues with prize pools, and working together with organizations at the cutting edge of gaming and esports. About our partners SIF - The Swedish Ice Hockey Association The Swedish Ice Hockey Association is the governing body in Swedish ice hockey and inline hockey. The association is involved in all levels of ice hockey in Sweden and organizes the two Swedish Championship leagues being the men's SHL and women's SDHL. SESF - The Swedish Esports Federation SESF stands for Svenska E-sportföreningen and they are the governing body of esports competition in Sweden at the moment. The objective of the organisation is to develop the Swedish esports scene and shows a constant presence in organising tournaments and events. Currently, SESF provides training for esports referees and licenses for both referees and players. In Swedish esports competition, a SESF license is a quality guarantee. Main sponsor - Svenska Spel Svenska Spel is all of Sweden’s gaming company. We want gaming to be enjoyed by all. Svenska Spel’s operations are divided into three business areas: Sport & Casino with well-known brands such as Stryktipset and Oddset, Tur with Triss and Lotto among other games, and Casino Cosmopol & Vegas with three international casinos and Vegas video lottery terminals in restaurants and bingo halls. Svenska Spel is the largest sponsor of Swedish sports and supports everything from small local sports clubs to some of our most beloved national teams. There are about 1400 employees within the Svenska Spel Group and the main office is in Visby. For more information visit svenskaspel.se