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The first Qualifier of our inaugural ECL 1v1 '23 Winter season was held last weekend, and with that the first 32 players have now paved their way into stage two and the top 128 players that will be competing for the European Championship. Now we've got three more Qualifiers to go, so there's still plenty of chances to gain your pass to the Group Stage! Here's a list of qualified players from the first Qualifier: Description ECL 1v1 is for players who want to test their skills against the best of the best in competitive play. The ECL 1v1 Winter season features four qualifiers, leading to group play with the top 128 players of these qualifiers involved. The top 64 of the group stage will continue to determine the best of the best in the best-of-three playoffs with a prize pool totaling 2500€. Taking part in the ECL 1v1 seasons requires the purchase of the ECL '23 Player License. Format The league is played in three stages: Stage 1: Qualifier stage (BO1, single elimination) - Four qualifiers open to anyone, the top 32 players from each Qualifier advance to stage 2, with seeding baskets for stage 2 being determined by qualifier rank. Stage 2: Group play (BO1) - The top 128 players will be seeded into eight groups with 16 players each, the 8 best will advance to the playoffs from each group. Stage 3: Playoffs (BO3, single elimination) - The Semifinals and Finals will be played live at the SportsGamer offices in Espoo, Finland January 13th, 2023. ECL '23 Winter: 1v1 Schedule Qualifier 1 Sign up period 15.-25.11.2022 Qualifiers (BO1) Saturday 26.11. RO128: 16:00CET RO64: 17:00CET RO32: 17:30CET Sunday 27.11. RO16: 15:00CET RO8: 15:30CET RO4: 16:00CET RO2: 16:30CET Qualifier 2 Sign up period 15.- 3.12.2022 12:00CET Qualifiers (BO1) Saturday 3.12. RO64: 17:00CET RO32: 18:00CET RO16: 18:30CET RO8: 19:00CET Sunday 4.12. RO4: 16:00CET RO2: 16:30CET Qualifier 3 Sign up period 15.-9.12.2022 Qualifiers (BO1) Saturday 10.12. RO512: 16:00CET RO256: 17:00CET RO128: 17:30CET RO64: 18:00CET RO32: 18:30CET Sunday 11.12 RO16: 15:00CET Quarterfinals: 15:30CET Semifinals: 16:00CET Finals: 27.11. 16:30CET Qualifier 4 Sign up period 15.11-16.12.2022 Qualifiers (BO1) Saturday 17.12 RO512: 16:00CET RO256: 17:00CET RO128: 17:30CET RO64: 18:00CET RO32: 18:30CET Sunday 18.12 RO16: 15:00CET Quarterfinals: 15:30CET Semifinals: 16:00CET Finals: 16:30CET TOP 128 Group Play (BO1) Tuesday 27.12. R1: 18:00 R2: 18:30 R3: 19:00 R4: 19:30 Thursday 29.12. R5: 18:00 R6: 18:30 R7: 19:00 R8: 19:30 Friday 30.12. R9: 18:00 R10: 18:30 R11: 19:00 R12: 19:30 Tuesday 3.1. R13: 18:00 R14: 18:30 R15: 19:00 Playoffs (BO3) Friday 6.1. RO64: 18:00CET RO32: 19:30CET Sunday 8.1. RO16: 15:00CET Quarterfinals: 16:30CET Friday 13.1. @ the SportsGamer studio in Espoo, Finland Semifinals: 18:00CET Finals: 20:00CET

The first ever NACL cover gamer is awarded to the current North American GWC Champion. Justin @Regs84 Reguly rose to public fame with his 2018 NHL GWC appearance at only 17 years old at the time. The now 21 year-old hailing from Thunder Bay, Ontario has since gained a lot of success and is now one of the most consistent contenders in any tournament or league that comes around. He started getting into NHL back in NHL 14 and quickly noticed a competitive edge against his fellow gamers. The inaugural NHL GWC in 2018 was his real coming out party as he put his name on the map despite not going all the way yet. In 2020, Regs managed to get yet another step closer to ultimate glory by winning the NHL GWC Canadian Regional Championship against the young prodigy Matthew @YungGren Grenier. The accumulated success pushed Regs to an opportunity with the gaming organization Lazarus Esports in February 2021 and he has since been trying to focus more and more on studying the game and grinding to get better every day. All of his efforts were finally rewarded when he was crowned the 2022 NHL GWC North American Champion in July of 2022. Photo credit: Lazarus Esports On the 6v6 side of things, Regs is currently representing the Gaming squad of NHL franchise the New York Islanders - IslesGT. The squad is currently signed up for their first ever NACL campaign, but have had some time to practice and build chemistry together since the very beginning of NHL 23. In fact, they've already got some wins in other tourneys under their belt. Regs will be seen in the NACL at the RD position, in which his great defensive skill stick and calmness with the puck will come in handy. Through all your success both at the domestic and international stages, who have been some of your toughest opponents and why? "Some of my toughest opponents of the year have included players such as Matthew @YungGren Grenier, Ethan @Polgz Polgar and David @JrPens Roebuck. On the international stages Erik @Eki Tammenpää has been the biggest competition for me." What would you consider being the attributes that best sets you apart from your competition? "I think the biggest attribute contributing to my success has been my vision and how I see the game. I feel like I've been able to make plays that no other person sees but myself. I also think that i have a great calmness and poise about my game that is difficult for my opponents to combat." What is your biggest motivation to continue competing and striving for success? "My biggest motivation has got to be wanting to continue to try and be the best. I've said it before, as I've gotten older my enjoyment for the game has gone away a bit but the motivation and competitiveness to compete at the highest level for championships is stronger than ever, which keeps me coming back to the game." Photo credit: Lazarus Esports Who are some of the players you've looked up to over the course of your gaming career, not only because of their skills but perhaps their personalities? "Some people I've looked at as role models have been Matthew "Nadeshot" Haag and Seth "Scump" Abner from an esports perspective. I was 13 years old when I found out about esports and playing video games for money for the best players and I aspired to one day be on a stage like these two were. I was originally going to play Call of Duty but quickly realized I had an exceptional skill for NHL and decided to pursue and perfect this game instead. On the NHL side of things, I think Eki and Gren have really shown the level of commitment it takes to be a professional and the amount of time and dedication it takes to perfect your craft." What are your thoughts on the upcoming NACL season? Any teams especially to be on the lookout for? "I look forward to the NACL tournament. This is the first opportunity for North American players and teams to travel to Europe. I know myself and the team feel very confident and that this is going to be the most important tournament of the year for us but I have no doubt that we will be in a position to fight for the chance of coming to Europe. I think Caps Gaming and Entourage have very competitive rosters and will give us great difficulty at achieving our goal. However, I believe in our roster and lineup and know what we are capable of and that’s achieving not just a North American 6s title, but a world 6s title." Watch Regs and the IslesGT team in action this NACL '23 Winter season, starting already on December 11th! You can also challenge them for the throne by signing up a 6v6 club of your own, since the sign-ups are still open until December 8th! The NACL this season is played as a crossplay division with a prize pool of 6 000€, on top of which the winning team gets the chance to play for some more cash in the World Finals in Helsinki, Finland on February 25th, 2023. Read more about the NACL and sign up here.