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We are down to the final four teams in the North American Championship League, and the competition only gets tougher from here. Some of the best teams in the region are competing for first place, and the chance to represent their region on the world stage against Europe’s best. All of these teams have the potential to win the whole thing, and the battle starts right away. The matchups will be as close as you can imagine from here on out, and so much is on the line each game. We’ll go through each matchup and talk about each team and how they stack up against their opponent. One Unit (4) vs Entourage (2) Entourage are looking to make it back to the finals for the 3rd time in a row. I thought they didn’t look as dominate in the previous event, but they are back into their high octane offensive play. @gilly is one of the region’s top snipers, and will be looking to lead this team to another dominate performance. There is only so much you can say about this team without repetition, but they have simply been in this position enough times to know what they need to do to win. They simply need to play confidently like they are the better team. Originally thought as nothing more than a dark horse, One Unit has exploded into a true event contender with an underdog win against IslesGT. With IslesGT being considered a favourite to win the whole event, One Unit went into the series and beat them in a tight affair en route to a series victory. While they have not been in the scene for as long as others in the top 4, One Unit have risen to the top of North American 6’s at a rapid pace, and it will now be difficult to call them anything but contenders. While it will still be an uphill battle against juggernauts no matter what, they have earned a huge reputation boost making it this far in this fashion. While it will be competitive, Entourage is playoff hardened and will be a huge challenge for One Unit to overcome. The question will be whether the cinderella story can continue. They massively impressed in their last series, but can One Unit keep up this pace against only championship level teams until the very end? Prediction: Entourage in 6 Caps Gaming (8) vs Scary Hours (1) Scary Hours are no surprise as the top seed of the event, and no surprise to find them in the final four of the q qplayoffs. They bolster household names at all positions and are poised for deep runs the moment they step onto the virtual ice. @Gwan returning to competitive play somehow makes this team even more rich in pedigree. While this team isn’t known for their explosive offensive ability, their rock solid defensive play and overall chemistry and structure make them one of the hardest teams to beat in North America. Their win against Instinct was a hard fought game 7 victory, but this could be used as a confidence booster in the crunch time, especially as we get close to the title match. Caps Gaming has been at the summit of North America for the past year, but after stumbling out of the gate this year they are right back to competing for the title. This team has been long running, and long successful, so taking them down in any situation is a tough ask. Despite them being seeded 8th for the playoffs, this team was a favourite to win the whole thing before the event started, and are poised to accomplish that goal starting with a win here. Arguably the most successful team of 2022, they look to add another accomplishment to their already deep resume. This series will be tight and come down to the final game I believe. This could become the battle of the goaltenders with how good both of these teams are. It could come down to a single misplay or crazy goal to decide it all. It’s hard to pick between the two, but Scary Hours will take it deep into the series, multiple OT games. Prediction: Scary Hours in 7 The battle starts tonight, and the 4 remaining teams will all be battling to the end for their chance at the trophy! Watch the coverage live at twitch.tv/SportsGamerGG.

SportsGamers, The first round of the ECL '23 Winter Pro Playoffs is now in the books, and we're quickly pushing on to the Quarterfinals already! After some hard fought battles, we're now left with eight of the best teams left, and as you'll have it, most of them ended up being from Group 1, with Nemesis being the only Group 2 team to push on from their first round series. At this point, all teams have secured a part of the prize pool, but now it's time to go for the title and increasing that cash prize! 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)  Tohtorit Be a Bro are on something of a title run, as they continued their great form from the regular season. The Bro's made easy work of Björklöven Esports with a first round sweep and @Svone10  in net was one of their key players, letting in only four goals throughout the series and posting a SV% of 90,91. Tohtorit experienced a minor setback when losing game 1 against Renascor, but quickly got their bearings straight and turned the series around with four straight wins. Keep an eye on @Ristimaki12 and @Harlowi-, who are both sitting at 12 points in their five games thus far and should continue their high production pace if they're able to figure out the tough Be a Bro defense. This series could very well be the tightest matchup in these Pro Quarterfinals, despite their seed, Tohtorit are a sneaky good team who could surprise anyone with a good team effort and splashes of individual skill. @ripKeisari's prediction: 2-4 Tohtorit @jahajaha93's prediction: 4-3 Be a Bro   (2)  Golden Nights vs (7)  Leksands IF Golden Nights were able to sweep the German powerhouse Deadly Phantoms with relative ease and the man behind the mask, @kkostiiii was in excellent form with two shutouts in the short series. It was evident throughout the series that Golden Nights were highly prepared for Playoff hockey and were extremely cautious to not spend any extra time in the penalty box, with only one penalty against in the series. Leksands IF, on the other hand had quite shootout in their series against IK Oskarshamn, with three games in the series seeing seven or more goals scored. The 4-1 series win is evidence of Leksand being a team that will be able to play any style they're required to, we know their ability to defend strictly, but they've now flexed their offensive muscles too. We're expecting this series to be significantly harder for both teams, and we'll certainly not be seeing too many above seven goal games. Keep an eye on the goalies with Kkostii in net for Golden Nights and @I-Lillebror-I in net for Leksand. @ripKeisari's prediction: 4-3 Golden Nights @jahajaha93's prediction: 4-2 Golden Nights   (3)  Djurgården Hockey vs (6)  Nemesis The first round series between Djurgården Hockey and Herlev Eagles was a very hard fought battle, from which DIF eventually emerged victorious. The sixth game took almost three full overtime periods until @lidman1 finally sealed the deal and sent Herlev packing. @Strumpan87 has been great for DIF and leads the team in scoring with his 7+9=16 in six games thus far, topping the tables together with Leksand's @Philip Deemus. Nemesis will be a tough opponent for the Swedes after quite easily disarming HanaaHC in the first round, seeing exceptional play from goaltender @Viltzup with his 86,27 SV% in the series. Nemesis showed impressive resilience in game 3 of against HanaaHC with a come-from-behind overtime victory from down 0-3 in the first period. Look for this series to feature high-skill individuals and once again, great goaltending on both ends of the ice. It'll be crucial for Nemesis to shut down Strumpan, otherwise the Swedish former Elite winger will wreak havoc on their defense. @ripKeisari's prediction: 1-4 Nemesis @jahajaha93's prediction: 2-4 Nemesis   (4)  Örebro Hockey vs (5)  RCTIC Örebro dropped game 1 in the first round against Memento, but quickly turned the series around with dominant puck possession play and efficient finishing. They've got two excellent choices in net and could go with either @suitsukemestari or @benjamint737 in round two. Their opponent RCTIC played a six game series against VISU Gaming, in which @Limbe65 & @yrjoo were their key players, guaranteeing the win for the icy boys. We could end up seeing a series, where Örebro controls much of the play, but RCTIC looks to strike with a deadly counter-attack here and there. @Ricco can still improve a lot in net for RCTIC.  @ripKeisari's prediction: Plays for Örebro Hockey @jahajaha93's prediction: 4-2 Örebro Hockey