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SportsGamers, The Playoffs have been flying on in fast pace and we're already at the Quarterfinals stage. The eight best teams in Finland remain and now it's time to battle it out to see who can seriously challenge for the throne that FILADELPHIA are defending. This round offers several matchups that go in the category of David vs Goliath tales, but we're never opposed to a good upset story. You'll be able to follow along with games live at the SportsGamer Twitch-channel, as usual. The Quarterfinals are to be played between Sunday, 18th of September and Tuesday, 20th of September. FILADELPHIA (1) vs Reality Check (11) TOP SCORER (Playoffs) Paul @PleeMaker Arontie 9 GP, 15+10=25 vs Harri @Pursuitti Haaksiala 9 GP, 17+10=27 GOALTENDER (Playoffs) Casper @ICappeI Lundgren 9 GP, 9 W, 85,37 SV%, 1,33 GAA, 2 SO vs Sebastian @FINSeRe Remes 9 GP, 9 W, 76,92 SV%, 2,00 GAA, 1 SO REGULAR SEASON RECORD 0-0-0 vs 14-2-0 We'll get a preview of what's to come in the ECL '23 Winter season, as FILADELPHIA will now defend their Finnish Championship title against Reality Check, who were newly promoted to the Elite division on the ECL front. This far, FILADELPHIA has hardly been tested in this tournament and it's seemed like they've been able to coast along rather easily. While they've looked decent and won their games with relative ease, they are yet to flex their offensive muscles in the way we all know they're able to. Against Ace Hockey in Round 1 we even saw backup Mika @mikaasi Heikkilä take the ice for the three game series, and he fit in real well as the stand-in for captain Joonas @Patzlaf Paatiala. Look for FILADELPHIA to start slowly revving their engines up in this series, since games are getting tougher for sure. Despite being the lowest seed still in the playoffs at this point, the Reality Check squad might still have a lot left to give. The recent ECL Elite promotees have renewed their squad slightly since moving up the ranks, and after a short adjustment period, they are now starting to look dangerous on the ice. Reality Check have had a rather favourable path through the playoffs thus far and FILADELPHIA will be their first true test, as they were able to handle Stargazing with surprising ease in round 3. Prediction: FILADELPHIA in 3. Tunnel Vision (2) vs Nemesis (7) TOP SCORER (Playoffs) Jere @jxrska Laukka 9 GP, 21+19=40 vs Jere @profiilipakki Kangasniemi 9 GP, 11+8=19 GOALTENDER (Playoffs) Teemu @ITemeI Laukkanen 9 GP, 9 W, 87,5 SV%, 2,33 GAA, 1 SO vs @Pasi (Pasi-Fism) 9 GP, 9 W, 90,11 SV%, 1,00 GAA, 3 SO REGULAR SEASON RECORD 18-0-0 vs 14-2-0 Here's two teams who have never before clashed in a competitive setting, and it'll be an interesting one to see how their styles will end up matching up against each others. Tunnel Vision have been on a tear throughout the eHSM and their numbers look great all around the ice. The currently undefeated squad is looking like a strong candidate to make a finals appearance already and there's no doubting that, to be honest. Their familiar duo Aleksi @MozjaTG Kähkönen and Jere @jxrska Laukka are shouldering most of the burden up front, while new recruit Otto @xHatsi Hämäläinen is catching up with them little by little. If they're able to find that perfect synergy in time for the biggest games, Tunnel Vision could be the team to look out for. Nemesis is a massive surprise to be seen at this stage of the tournament. The team consists of players who have had very limited postseason success at high levels in the past, but they've elevated their game to a great extent and on top of that, bringing in defenseman Max @Toneee9 Tonitz on an unbelievable hot streak (GCL 6v6, GCL Cup & GCL 1v1 Champion) has turned out to be an excellent move for them. Nemesis will need to really rally around goaltender @Pasi in order to stop the offensive onslaught of Tunnel Vision in order to have a chance in this series. Prediction: Tunnel Vision in 3. hREDS (3) vs Setelit On Ice (6) TOP SCORER (Playoffs) Niklas @NikkeDangles Tukiainen 9 GP, 16+31=47 vs Anton @antoniomannen004 Svensander 11 GP, 14+16=30 GOALTENDER (Playoffs) Oskari @SibeIius Grönroos 9 GP, 9 W, 81,36 SV%, 1,22 GAA, 4 SO vs Tomi @Mestari tikku Heikkilä 11 GP, 9 W, 89,25 SV%, 0,91 GAA, 5 SO REGULAR SEASON RECORD 16-0-0 vs 14-1-1 We're quite used to seeing hREDS firing on all cylinders and quite honestly, that's what they've been doing all throughout the eHSM. They seem unstoppable at the moment with their offense being very balanced and hardly missing their long-time centerman Perttu @Beniittto Kemppainen. This is a team that poses a danger from all areas of the ice and have the defensive ability to shut down anything their opponent throws at them. Setelit On Ice have impressed throughout the tournament. Their opportunistic approach to offense works wonders in combination with an excellent trap defense, which suffocated YMCA completely in their round 3 matchup. An undeniable fact is also that goaltender Tomi@Mestari tikku Heikkilä has risen from seemingly nowhere to being one of the greatest netminding sensations the eHSM has ever seen. Excellent goaltending performances rarely come without the help of the unit in front of him, but regardless here's a guy that could bail Setelit out in a tough situation. Prediction: hREDS in 3. GOONS (4) vs Conquer Gaming (5) TOP SCORER (Playoffs) Arttu @laitineen64 Laitinen 9 GP, 22+21=43 vs Valtteri @Vire30 Vireaho 10 GP, 13+12=25 GOALTENDER (Playoffs) Niklas @uhNikke Nieminen 9 GP, 9 W, 78,46 SV%, 1,56 GAA, 1 SO vs Axel @MonkeyHeadAF Falck 10 GP, 9 W, 75,93 SV%, 2,6 GAA, 1 SO REGULAR SEASON RECORD 15-1-0 vs 14-1-0 We could be in for a tough one here. While GOONS is certainly the team that historically looks stronger, and has the more accomplished players on paper, they've also struggled to break that threshold into the real top echelon of title contenders. Arttu @laitineen64 Laitinen is leading his team up front and has seemingly been scoring at will from time to time. On defense, Teemu @Teemuyy Polttila is still showing that he could very well be the best all-around defenseman out there and has been able to handle his defensive duties while simultaneously putting up an astonishing 23 points from the back. Conquer Gaming is in an interesting position here, they've been one of those teams that is on everyone's radar, but never really get into the discussion of teams that are seriously challenging for those top spots. Now is their chance for a breakthrough on that front, and we're here to watch that story unfold. New signing Aaro @Ikavalko Ikävalko has fit in nicely in between Jere @Jerax13 Hällström and Valtteri @Vire30 Vireaho, who already have some great chemistry from before. We're expecting big things and that fabled next level for this trio. Prediction: GOONS in 4.

SportsGamers, It's time to start the big games in this season of the 6v6 SCL and eventually find out the next Swedish Champion. Granit Gaming did not return to defend their trophy, so now it's up to a new challenger to claim the throne for themselves. Falun Coal Miners have made their return after a longer hiatus and retains part of the old Granit Gaming core with a strong chance to hoist the cup at the end of the season, but the likes of Skutebrygga, Manos and Sankens Soldater are making a push to challenge.  The first round of the playoffs (BO5) is to be played between Monday, 19th of September and Wednesday, 21st of September. The first round of action is certainly full of some interesting matchups and especially noteworthy is the four way rivalry that extends from group 2 with Falun Coal Miners, Nordic Nosebleed, Garotta Di Ansjovis and Carolus Icemen who all clashed in the group stage and will continue battling it out in the first playoff round. Falun Coal Miners will be going at it with Nordic Nosebleed, who interestingly enough were the only team to beat them in the group stage, and Nosebleeds experienced group is notorious for making it tough on opponents even if the situation would seem hopeless for them. Garotta Di Ansjovis shared points with Carolus Icemen in the group stage, and that series will definitely be one to watch in the first round. Elsewhere, you might want to take a look at the Purification vs Sodertalje SK-series, which could go either way. Both squads have some experienced players that have lots of skill and uncapped potential still in them. Sodertalje might have a slight edge due to their core having so much experience together.  Other takeaways include Leksands IF and their exceptional special teams play, which should be in the game notes for Style heading into the series. If Style wants to move on with the victory, playing 5v5 for as much of the series as possible would be in their favor.  Without further ado, here are your round 1 matchups: Skutebrygga  (1) vs BK Skinnarna  (16) Manos  (2) vs TROJANS  (15) Sankens Soldater  (3) vs Lulea Hockey Region  (14) Falun Coal Miners  (4) vs Nordic Nosebleed  (13) Bjorkloven Esport  (5) vs Bjohms Boys  (12) Leksands IF  (6) vs Style  (11) Garotta Di Ansjovis  (7) vs Carolus Icemen  (10) Purification  (8) vs Sodertalje SK  (9)   The Quarterfinals will feature a more detailed preview of each series with statistical comparisons. In the mean time, have fun and play hard!  

SportsGamers, With the 5th generation of consoles being out for almost two years at this point, after careful consideration and community polls we've made the decision to move to Gen 5 consoles starting with ECL '23 Winter, as announced in late July in our article about the NHL 23 Technical Test. This means in all simplicity, that future tournaments organized by SportsGamer.GG will be played on Gen 5 versions (PlayStation 5 & Xbox Series X|S) of NHL 23, but we will be gauging interest for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One tournaments, and external partners can still choose to host PlayStation 4 or Xbox One tournaments at SportsGamer.GG. What it all comes down to then is, which version should you get in order to make sure you can participate in all SportsGamer.GG events? Here's a quick reminder of how the cross-play feature on NHL 23 will work: Players can play against any opposing team within their console generation, but mixed teams will not be possible. Therefore, teams must be made up of only one console generation and type in order for cross-play to work. However, keep in mind that EA Sports hasn't yet announced when exactly the cross-play feature will be implemented to the game, and it is possible that tournaments launched before then will not be able to support teams from the other platform. For ECL '23 Winter specifically, the preferred platform of choice will be PlayStation 5. We predict Xbox Series X|S teams will be able to join in on the ECL action once cross-play is confirmed to have been added to NHL 23, so hopefully by the ECL '23 Spring season at the latest. NHL 23 features two versions of the game available for Pre-order. Players will be able to opt for the standard version or the X-Factor Edition on any console. When opting which version to go for, keep in mind that while NHL 23 will include cross-play for consoles within the same generation, it does not feature cross-play between console generations. If you are planning on upgrading to a next generation console over the course of the NHL 23 life cycle, you should definitely look to go for the X-Factor Edition in order to secure double entitlement without having to buy both editions separately. The bottom line is, if you want to be able to participate in all upcoming action, we recommend still purchasing the X-Factor edition, getting you the double-entitlement. However, our own tournaments and leagues will in the future be ran on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S platforms. Here are the NHL 23 Editions available for pre-order including the pre-order perks: Standard Edition - HUT X-Factor Women's choice pack - 5 World of Chel X-Factor Zone ability unlocks - Be a Pro X-Factor slot unlocks (2), XP boost and bonus trait points - Signed Sarah Nurse World of Chel jersey X-Factor Edition - Double entitlement (Unlocks the game for both Gen 4 & Gen 5 consoles) - 3-Days early access - 4600 NHL Points - HUT X-Factor Player choice pack - HUT X-Factor Power-up starter pack - HUT X-Factor Women's choice pack - 5 World of Chel X-Factor Zone ability unlocks - Be a Pro X-Factor slot unlocks (2), XP boost and bonus trait points - Signed Sarah Nurse World of Chel jersey