Leaderboard

The last straight line before the finals is launched! They are now only four and the fight for the Finals will be open tonight. Three favorites are set at the rendezvous and a slightly less expected guest comes knocking at the door. Let's see right away what is at stake in these two semifinals. Schedule Please note that the Playoff structure has been shortened of what was originally planned, and therefore the originally provided Playoff schedule is not valid. Here is the updated schedule: RO16: 22.1-29.1.2023 Quarterfinals: 30.1-7.2.2023 Semifinals: 9.-16.2.2023 Finals: 19.-23.2.2023 Cheeky Grinders (1) vs Deggendorfer SC Esports (6) The big favorite against the underdog, that's how we could sum up this series which will face two teams both from Group 2. Cheeky Grinders is a team whose path so far has left nothing to chance. Beaten in regular time by only two teams during the regular time, Predators and Pirates eSports, the Finnish players seemed unfazed. Their first two rounds of playoffs were no less tumultuous with a 4-0 victory against the Swiss of Ambri then 4-1 against the Austrian team of Pustertal. Facing them are the Germans of Deggendorfer. In itself their presence at this stage of the competition is not necessarily a surprise. Their regular season has been well controlled even though their record of 15-7-2 is far from that of their opponents, 20-2-2. This is an experienced team that knew how to thwart the torturous traps of the first round of the playoffs where Fenris Wolves almost eliminated them and they had to go through the terrible ordeal of match 7. And that's probably what the team's mind forged because the next round, paradoxically, seemed simpler. Faced with Predators who had preceded them during the regular season, the Germans seemed to experience less difficulty. During their oppositions in season, the Finns won twice, 3-1 then 7-4. This is one more argument that allows us to estimate that Cheeky Grinders will win a ticket to the final. Prediction: 4-2 for Cheeky Grinders HC Korobka (2) vs Hannover Indians eSports (3) Here again we have two teams from the same group which will confront each other. But this time around things don't seem as readable as in the previous series. Between Korobka and their dazzling start, and Hannover and their consistency, it is very difficult to say who will come out of it the most clearly in this opposition. Both are teams with a very similar profile. Two teams that score a lot and concede a relatively low number of goals. For each of them it is clearly the offensive game that gives them arguments and we know that in the playoffs it is the defenses that have arguments to oppose. It should in no way be surprising if the series were to continue until a final game 7. If for each the first round of the playoffs was relatively calm, on the other hand the quarter-finals were epic for both teams. Korobka had to fight against the Swedes of MoDo who never made it easy for them and it was only after an undecided match 7 that the decision was made. Hannover for their part were heroic in reversing a negative trend and winning three games in a row. Led 1-3 by Olten, the Germans were able to recover and went to seek their qualification with the sweat of their brow, also in a match 7. Both teams know how to hit the scoreboard as we know, but whichever of the two best preserves its cage will have its place in the final. Prediction: 4-3 for Korobka

The time has come to see the rest of the playoffs. The presentation is still succinct but will be a more extensive coverage for the Semifinals. Schedule Please note that the Playoff structure has been shortened of what was originally planned, and therefore the originally provided Playoff schedule is not valid. Here is the updated schedule: RO32: 22.1.-29.1.2023 RO16: 30.1-7.2.2023 Quarterfinals: 9.-16.2.2023 Semifinals: 19.-23.2.2023 Finals: 26.2.-1.3.2023 During the previous round, two significant performances were observed. First the sensation came from the elimination of Rusty Bulls, leader of the regular season by Russian Lightning, 3-2. The other feat of arms is to be credited to Dompa HC who got rid of the number 3 seed, The Real Rookies, 3-1. We also remember the sweep imposed by Nbg Ice Tigers 2 (10) at LETTLAND (7). Find the matchups here: Pirati Chomutov Academy (2) vs Russian Lightning (19) Kanukit (4) vs Dompa HC (15) Belissimo (5) vs Nbg Ice Tigers 2 (10) Old Hogs (6) vs EASHL Russian (8)

SportsGamers, Now with only four teams remaining in the Pro division we're down to the very best around. These teams will need only eight more wins to claim the trophy and gain direct promotion to the European top 16! Schedule RO16: 19.-24.1.2023 Quarterfinals: 26.-31.1.2023 Semifinals: 5.-7.2.2023 Finals: 12.-14.2.2023 (4) Örebro Hockey vs (8) Tohtorit What a road both of these teams have had on their way to the Semifinals. Örebro looked like they could even have been on the way to the top seed at times, but took some time in finding their consistency. They have dispatched Memento in the first round, after which RCTIC put up a real good fight in the Quarterfinals, but the red and white prevailed. Örebro are have seen a good development throughout the season, as their main guy in the regular season was @Rimpe, who actually now sits at last in scoring within the team. This means that they've been able to find the second wave on a consistent basis when their top guy has been marked. Watch for @ripKeisari to finally open his scoring these Playoffs! Tohtorit are a squad that have had somewhat of a turbulent season. The high-skill roster barely made the Playoffs in an exciting race for those final spots and while we'e even heard rumblings of the team calling it quits at some point, that hasn't been evident in any way on their actions on the ice. The 8th seed haven't made their road to this stage easy, but they'll certainly be warmed up for any challenge that Örebro might throw at them. As the stakes get higher, we are really seeing winger @Harlowi- come into his own and stepping up for his team. When these teams clashed in the regular season, both games were won by Örebro, in a 4-5 OT win and 1-0 win. Prediction: 4-3, Örebro (6) Nemesis vs (7) Leksands IF Neither one of these teams have had an easy way through the Playoffs thus far. However, both have now taken down these rather excellent opponents in surprisingly easy manner. Nemesis came into the 2nd round off of a dominant showing against HanaaHC, after which they dismantled Djurgården Hockey in similar fashion. Leksands IF, on the other hand, have now taken down IK Oskarshamn and Golden Nights without any real issue and shown that they are able to play on both the counter-attack and in control of the game, whichever style the situation calls for. The offensive power that Leksands IF holds is unmatched in the Playoffs at the moment, as all three of their forwards slot into the top 5 in Playoff scoring. That is exactly why Nemesis will be relying on experienced goaltender @Viltzup to keep up his stellar play, maintaining his league leading save percentage. Prediction: 2-4, Leksands IF.