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SportsGamers, What a regular season we had in the ECL '23 Winter Pro season once again! Incredibly high stakes right until the end as we saw Arkham Asylum battling for a Playoff spot against Herlev Eagles and Be a Bro going for the group win in their matchup against Luleå Hockey Academy. In the end, only Be a Bro managed to succeed in the task they set out to accomplish, and now we're getting ready to see them going at it in the Playoffs. We've got several highly competitive matchups already in the first round, so let's all enjoy the action! Schedule RO16: 19.-24.1.2023 Quarterfinals: 26.-31.1.2023 Semifinals: 2.-7.2.2023 Finals: 12.-14.2.2023 A big thank you to @ripKeisari for collaborating on this preview. (1) Be a Bro vs (8) Bjorkloven Esport The highly experienced Be a Bro have seemed to be in Playoff mode throughout the regular season and they've been able to clinch crucial points in tight matchups with a high percentage. They've went to overtime a total of 14 times this season and managed to win 11, which is a testament of their mental strength. Their goaltending is in great shape as @Svone10 put forth an impressive 85.27 SV% and on top of that, they've got one of the leagues most prolific offensive defensemen in @MCH_98, who has been dominating the defensemen scoring stats for a few seasons already. Be a Bro seems to like putting the puck on net and centerman @Sanezh has the propensity to find himself in the lane for deflections quite often. Björklöven have had somewhat of a turbulent season, making adjustments mid-season and eventually finding great form towards the latter half. This club hailing from Umeå, Sweden is coming into the Playoffs on an eight game winning streak and they'll be betting a lot on leading scorer @Pappen to make things happen for them. In order to adjust for the Playoffs, Björklöven will need to tighten things up defensively. Prediction: Be a Bro advances 4-1. (1) Renascor vs (8) Tohtorit The Russian side Renascor have been patiently developing their game over the past few seasons and they are slowly but surely showing signs of reaching their prime. @Motov and @Virusactive are some of their most efficient players and both of them excel with the puck on offense. @Stigi has been a great addition to the team and with his first full Pro regular season in the books, he is actually leading the team in scoring, now he'll just need to keep it up in the Playoffs. Tohtorit went into the season as one of the teams expected to be a contender, but they struggled massively at the start of their campaign. Towards the end of the regular season, this highly skilled roster managed to find their game and eventually cashed in enough points to squeak into the Playoffs. Tohtorit is currently running an 8-1-1 record in their last 10 games, so they're definitely coming in hot. This is a team with very high individual skill, and they are definitely able to expose teams for their mistakes. It'll remain to be seen if the playstyle will be suitable for the Playoffs, though. Prediction: Renascor advances 4-2. (2) Nemesis vs (7) HanaaHC Nemesis played an excellent regular season throughout and are league leading in GA/GP mostly due to their great goaltending tandem and very effective team defense. Both @Viltzup and @JaxonRules93 are sporting a SV% above 85 an it'll be interesting to see if they'll be sharing responsibilities in the Playoffs also. @temppanen has been great for Nemesis, leading the team in points and managing to always be dangerous with the puck. HanaaHC have established themselves as a consistent contender in Pro and even made an appearance in Elite Qualifiers due to their Top 4 finish last season. They'll definitely be looking for even more this time around, but some struggles were evident in the regular season. Both @eissi83 and @jg697000 (Gresu__) are highly capable goalies and have shared the duty throughout the season, so Hanaa could go with either one. @Rytze_ has been their offensive powerhouse and quarterbacks their offense most of the time, can score on command. Prediction: Nemesis advances 4-3. (2) Golden Nights vs (7) Deadly Phantoms It's been an excellent regular season for Golden Nights, who have been able to improve on top of their solid core season after season. Their newest acquisition @Timez (Timoccio) has succeeded big time, whereas @kkostiiii has been able to elevate himself into the discussion of top Pro goaltenders. Golden's strength is definitely a very balanced offensive trio, coupled with their determined defensive play, evident by the third lowest GA/GP in the division. For the famous Deadly Phantoms, it's been a whirlwind of a season. They've had heavy rotation in their squad with over 10 players making an appearance. Despite some turbulence, they've been able to make the Playoffs as expected, and that's where they've famously been able to perform even better. Long-time top defenseman @xXPsykoSkillsXx carried the team as the play driver in the regular season and will need to continue unless they'll find a new name that steps up. Then, there's always the server question that comes into play, will DPH be able to utilize that against Golden Nights? Prediction: Golden Nights advances 4-3. (3) Örebro Hockey vs (6) Memento Örebro Hockey has really found themselves as an excellent offensive powerhouse this season. They're lead by comeback player @Rimpe up front, who clearly won both the goal scoring and points titles in the regular season, and has the experience and skill to continue inflicting damage in the Playoffs. This could be a dark horse to pick in the Championship race. Memento is an interesting combination of players, who have somewhat struggled to find success elsewhere and that's why we are a bit surprised by their success thus far. @Toivonen_ (Toikkaaz) is the teams driving player, who is most responsible for scoring and likes to stay on the puck. We know what goaltender @Hullued has been able to accomplish in the past and he could be on his way back to the top with the great form he's been able to find in net this season. Prediction: Örebro Hockey advances 4-1. (3) IK Oskarshamn vs (6) Leksands IF Before the season we didn't put much faith in IK Oskarshamn, which is why their great regular season campaign has come as somewhat of a surprise to many. They've been able to build a balanced team, where experience in @snippystatue meets youth in @Chevikov (Hikoilija) & @Ted Kempe(Smayk99). Most importantly, IK Oskarshamn will need to stay out of the penalty box, since they were the most penalized team in the regular season. It hasn't come back to bite them yet, but the Playoffs are a different beast. Leksands IF have had a rollercoaster of a season, but their rock has been goaltender @I-Lillebror-I all season long. He could even be in the discussion for best goalie in the division at this point with an above 86 SV% and 5 shutouts to his name. The older brother @Bror1326, on the other hand was able to generate offense for the club and was the teams leading scorer with a 30+38=68 stat line. Their playstyle might have to be slightly revised for the Playoffs and captain @iSvamp could have to pull out his old hockey bible in order for them to shut down opposing teams when the going gets rough. Prediction: Leksands IF advances 3-4. (4) Djurgården Hockey vs (5) Herlev Eagles Djurgården Hockey have been a consistent performer despite seeing some quite heavy roster changes almost every season. This time returnee @Strumpan87 and new recruit @pakjiz have been able to slot in quite nicely, helping the team succeed. DIF have been an excellent special teams squad, being best on the penalty kill and third best on the powerplay, which will definitely keep Herlev on their toes in this series. After some wild events on the last night of play, Herlev Eagles were able to pave their way into 5th place and got a rather favourable matchup against DIF in the first round. The changes Herlev has made have definitely strengthened the team and @Jjomppa was able to slot in very nicely alongside @Dreamickie and @vibholm10, who are once again expected to be able to carry the team in the Playoffs. Herlev have managed to play good on the penalty kill, but still has the highest goals against average of all Playoff teams. They'll need to adress that if they want to move forward. Prediction: Herlev Eagles advances 2-4. (4) VISU Gaming vs (5) RCTIC We're used to seeing VISU Gaming perform well and it's no surpeise that they've paved their way into the Playoffs once again. @MuKiMaisteri is one of the division's best forwards and he has a nose for the net unlike many others. He should be able to find those decisive goals in tough situations. @Tanski87 has been able to slot in well at his new winger position. He brings experience and leadership to an already experienced squad. Look out for this team, who are fit for fight in the Playoff environment. RCTIC saw some big changes in the offseason and for a while it looked like they might not participate, but they've been able to find their stride and eventually even make the Playoffs. Dynamic duo @yrjoo & @Limbe65 have performed well up front and we'll be excited to watch them go to work in the Playoffs again. We'll have to wait and see if RCTIC will play @layout, or if they'll go with @FakiiR1 and @IKarkkiI at the back end. Young @Ricco is their goaltender, who has been able to find a very high level of play, but can he keep it together in the Playoffs? Prediction: VISU Gaming advances 4-2.

SportsGamers, With the ECL '23 Winter season moving on towards the Playoffs in our 6v6 divisions, we are already in for the Finals on the 1v1 side of things. The 1v1 Finals will be hosted as a single day event this upcoming Friday, January 20th, with the top 4 players in attendance live in Helsinki. The full event will be streamed live over at www.twitch.tv/SportsGamerGG. Ahead of the Finals on Friday, we received the unfortunate news from #1 seed Henrik @Eken45jr Eklund, who confirmed his inability to participate in the Finals event. For this reason, the next best seed from the Quarterfinals stage, Erik @Eki Tammenpää will replace him. The Finals seeding will change as follows: 1. Sisu @sisu33_ Nurminen 2. Arttu @Artuzio Mustila  3. Hannes @Hansulinho Kettunen  4. Erik @Eki Tammenpää    Due to the unfortunate news from Eken, this opens up an interesting and very rare second chance for Eki, who previously opened up about his disappointment and struggles with finding his game on Twitter after taking a clear loss against fellow finalist Hansulinho in the Quarterfinals. Eki now joins the Finals as the lowest seed, which shuffles the matchups and he'll now end up going against the youngster of the bunch - Sisu33, only 16 years old hailing from Lahti, Finland. The wunderkind seems to have taken the community by storm during the first third of NHL 23 as he's really managed to come out guns blazing in several tournaments already. This Bruins fan is now in for his first ever LAN event in the good company of several of the scenes most prestigious players. Artuzio, much alike Eki is a player who has managed to keep up his competitive level and seems to always perform at his best when the stakes are the highest. He managed to beat some highly skilled players like Tomi @tombo_02 Laitinen and Saku @Sagee95 Björn on his way to this stage, so it's safe to say that he'll be warmed up for his matchup against Hansulinho on Friday night. The OG Hansulinho on the other hand is also coming into the Finals in great form, having his Quarterfinals win against Eki in his back pocket as his most recent triumph. The Artuzio vs Hansulinho Semifinals series is going to be an exciting matchup, where two fierce competitors will clash for a spot in the limelight.    Schedule Friday 20.1. @ the SportsGamer studio in Espoo, Finland Semifinals: 18:00CET Finals: 20:00CET     We reached out to the players ahead of the Finals event and definitely got some interesting insight into the upcoming series between multi-Champion Eki and the new kid on the block Sisu. "My journey in the 1v1 ECL has been surprisingly good so far and I think my game has improved all the time. I'm quite a new face in these tournaments so I think I've been a dark horse throughout. The toughest opponent I've faced thus far is definitely Niklas @NikkeDangles Tukiainen due to his offensive skill, where you have to be alert in your own zone at all times. I haven't played Eki much at all, but I've watched him on Twitch and YouTube a lot so my expectations are to play at my best level and give him a hard matchup", Sisu pays homage to his Semifinals opponent Eki. "This is an entirely new situation for me, where I lost in the Quarterfinals and still got the chance to squeak into the semis! It's a shame that Eken couldn't make it as he's definitely deserving of the spot, and I wish him well in his recovery. Hansu has been my toughest opponent in the tournament as I lost quite clearly to him in the Quarters. The game clearly suits his playstyle and I got some flashbacks to playing prime Hansu from years back. To be honest, my game has been off during NHL 23 and I feel like most games against top players are 50/50 for me. I've done a lot of work to find the competitive edge, but my game isn't where I want it to be yet. I've played Sisu five times in my career and all of them in the last two weeks. Four of the games I've lost and all of them were one goal games, he's a tough opponent, who plays a good game. I think his inexperience from a LAN environment and bigger tournaments is an advantage for me and I expect to be able to win the series", Eki goes reflects on developing his game and the upcoming series against an unfamiliar player.