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SportsGamers, Based on several community polls and careful deliberation over the course of the past few months, League Administration has decided to enforce a ban on a number of player Abilities in the upcoming eHockey SM, SCL and ECL seasons. The upcoming seasons will serve as pilots for these bans and we will review the situation in the offseason based on feedback received. Here is the list of abilities that will be banned: Bans will apply to both Zone (Gold) and Superstar (Silver) abilities listed below. Big Tipper Advanced speed, accuracy, and range when deflecting shots. Close Quarters Advanced power and accuracy when taking wrist/snap shots in close proximity to the net. Truculence Exceptional stability and assist on hits. Greatly increases the chance of knocking over the opponent and sapping their energy. Unstoppable Force Exceptional strength with the puck and a greatly increased ability to hold onto the puck when off balance. These bans will be enforced in the eHockey SM and the SCL, as well as the four highest divisions (Core, Lite, Pro and Elite) of ECL '23 Spring. ECL '23 Spring Neo will have no Ability bans in effect. If a player is found to have used a banned Ability in competitive games, the first infraction will result in a warning. Two warnings will result in a suspension. UPDATE: Based on feedback the penalty for infractions will be revised and released in the rulebooks of each upcoming league.

With the NHL 23 season in high gear, we have the traditional regional Championships to play for and with that we're glad to announce the return of the Swedish Championship League! The fifth iteration of the SCL makes its long awaited return this spring, and we're excited to see the best Swedish gamers back on the virtual ice again amidst the grind of the unusually high-action NHL competitive season.  To cap off the fourth season of the SCL, Manos secured their 6v6 title and Henrik @Eken45jr Eklund was able to achieve his fourth consecutive 1v1 title. According to the SCL ruleset, both will receive an invitation to join this years SCL as the #1 seed in the playoffs.  The 2023 SCL season will feature a prize pool of 75 000 SEK combined for the 1v1 and 6v6 sides of the league. Participation this season will require the purchase of an SCL 2023 Player License that costs 5,5 EUR or approximately 62 SEK depending on the exchange rate. The license will allow for participation in both the SCL 6v6 and 1v1 leagues for the 2023 season. Schedule Default gamedays for the SCL 2023 season will be Sunday, Monday and Wednesday. SIGN UP FOR 1v1 HERE! Registrations for SCL 1v1 are open now, until Sunday, 9th of April. Registration: 20.3-9.4.2023 Regular season: 12.-26.4. Playoffs: RO32: 29.4. RO16: 3.5. Quarterfinals: 6.5. TOP4: 7.5.* * The Schedule is preliminary and will be confirmed later. SIGN UP FOR 6v6 HERE! Registrations for SCL 6v6 are open now, until Sunday, 9th of April. Registration: 20.3-9.4.2023 Regular season: 11.-23.4. Playoffs: RO16: 27.-30.4. Quarterfinals: 4.-7.5. Semifinals:11.-14.5. Bronze & Finals: 26.5.* * The Schedule is preliminary and will be confirmed later.   Eligibility In the development of our regional leagues, the main objective has been creating a structure that allows all of the regional communities to shine, while strengthening each tournament’s own unique identity and sense of national pride. In the interest of solidifying an identity for the SCL that has a stronger native focus while also avoiding scheduling issues for especially the two concurrently running tournaments (eHSM & the SCL), player participation in the SCL will exclude that player from participating in the eHSM. However, for this season, Swedish players will be allowed to compete in both tournaments simultaneously. 'Player participation' is defined as being listed on the roster of a team participating in the SCL. In short, non-Swedish players can not be listed in the roster for teams in both the SCL and the eHSM. For SCL 2023, two non-Swedish players will be allowed per team on ice in a game – under very specific conditions. Here they are: Outside of the Swedish championship (SCL). The German (GCL), Finnish (eHSM), and Czech and Slovak (CSCL) communities will be defined as the “major communities” for the purposes of this text. Players hailing from nations that currently do not have a region-based championship to sign up for – one where they are allowed to play free of restrictions and are counted as the main target demographic – will be defined as “minor communities” for the purposes of this text. All teams must always feature a minimum of 4 Swedish players in their on-ice lineup Teams may feature a maximum of two non-Swedish players on ice if both players are from a minor community (for example: Danish, Norwegian, Latvian) Teams may feature a maximum of two non-Swedish players on ice if one player is from a major community (German, Finnish, Russian, Czech, Slovak) and the other player from a minor community Teams may NOT feature two non-Swedish players on ice if both those players are from a major community (German, Finnish, Russian, Czech, Slovak) Below you will find an image to help illustrate this rule clarification: The 1vs1 portion of the SCL is available only for Swedish citizens. We hope you are as excited as us to take the ice and battle for the Swedish Championship once again! Tough battles and some heated rivalries are to be expected, and we'll be bringing you the decisive games of the season live with our broadcast team as usual. So without further ado, get your squad together and sign up now! Finally, if you would like to help the SCL grow, please do so by spreading the word by sharing this news story.

SportsGamers, the GCL9 semifinals have arrived! 16 teams started into the season and now we have come down to only four remaining. We have seen some exciting ehockey action in the quarterfinals and are looking forward to see which two teams will pave their way to the finals! In the following we venture a look at the upcoming two semifinal matchups. ZSC Esports (1) vs. Red Bull Munich eSports (6) (written by @OGjahajaha) The back-to-back champion faces another well known opponent from the regular season: Red Bull Munich eSports. The Swiss ECL Elite playoff quarterfinalist clashed with the Red Bulls from Munich on matchday one of the regular season and grabbed full points with two convincing wins (10:3 & 4:0). In the meantime RB Munich eSports brought in Lauri @Lamsa Lamsa (11G+7A) on the right wing and improved their game massively. Underlining their ambitions with a solid 4:1 series victory against the Predators (1:2OT, 4:2, 5:0, 7:3, 4:2) in the first round of the postseason, the Red Bulls will be keen on creating a big upset against the title favorites from Zürich. The virtual Swiss Lions faced Deggendorfer SC Esports in the quarterfinals and it is safe to say that we have seen one of the most dominant playoff performances in GCL history with a 4:0 sweep - three massive wins (12:1, 7:3 & 11:0) followed by an absolute blowout to close the series in game four (24:1). Without any surprise these results catapult the Lions offense to the top of the leaderbords with Kevin @Keuschemisch Berg (15G+27A), Sven @Original-SnuS Julmi (23G+16A) and Chris @GERxVillain Ungeheuer (12G+22A) in just four games played. Both goalies can play a very important role in the upcoming semfinals. While Alex @IDangledYouOut(I_Alex28_I) Wagner sits on top of the table with four wins, SV 87,8% and a GAA of 1.25, he is followed by Red Bulls goaltender Marcel @Capitano_82 (Houddel_RBM) Houdelet who records a more than solid 88,16% and a GAA of 1.8. Houdelet can become the decisive factor in this series considering the fact how many shots he is going to face. Between the pipes RB Munich eSports can lay the foundation for their success but have to be very effective up front to hurt ZSC eSports in their fast pace playing style. If the Swiss juggernauts are able to continue their dominant performances they will advance to their 4th consecutive GCL final! Player to watch: Kevin @KeuschemischBerg & Marcel @Capitano_82(Houddel_RBM) Houdelet Prediction: 4:0 ZSC Esports Deadly Phantoms (2) vs. Team NGU (5) For the 2nd time in a row we are seeing the Deadly Phantoms facing Team NGU in the semifinals of the German Championship League! Last year the Phantoms swept their ECL Pro counterparty on their way to the finals. This season NGU will be keen on beating the German powerhouse and make their first GCL final appearance possible! In the quarterfinals the Phantoms managed to beat the Düsseldorfer EG eSports 4:1 (6:2, 1:4, 3:0, 3:2, 5:1). After a shaky start into the series the 5-time German Champion adapted really well and beat the DEG in very solid fashion. Tim @Timasy Hess moved into the lineup for the last two games and could be a decisive factor for the game of former “Team LEISURE”. Denis @CCBow-501 Roethele is the current topscorer in the team (5G+6A), sharing that spot with Austrian old hand Felix @ProfaneKiss Kiss (9G+2A). Just as in the regular season the linups of the Deadly Phantoms have seen quite some big rotation. In the matchup against the eSports team of the Düsseldorfer EG they were still able to show their qualities and maintain their position as a German juggernaut - no matter the lineup. We can expect Team NGU to be a more competitive opponent in this semifinals series. The squad around Akin @DaMan(Akin_Penta) Isik (6G+8A) and Bryan @CuteTerminator7 Bolliger (6G+10A) managed to beat Swiss outfit SC Bern eSports in the first round (4:2 series) despite their lower seed (4:1, 5:4OT, 1:2OT, 4:3, 0:1, 5:4OT). Forward and loanplayer Patrik @Winci Wenzel (6G+5A) is the player to watch in the upcoming series. The Czech is a great addition to the roster and can decide games with his individual skillset and hockey-IQ. Now they have the chance to show if they drew the right conclusions after being swept in the semifinals of GCL8 by the same opponent. Due to the roster changes for the Deadly Phantoms and the experience Team NGU earned in last ECL’23 Winter we can expect a closer series than in GCL8. Small details will make the difference and decide who will pave their way to the GCL9 finals. Players to watch: Felix @ProfaneKiss Kiss & Patrik @Winci Wenzel Prediction: 4:2 Deadly Phantoms On top of that Quarterfinals of the GCL9 Cup were drawn. The matchups have to be played until Thursday the 23rd March. Play hard and smart! HC Lugano Esports vs. ZSC Esports Lions Academy vs. Deadly Phantoms Düsseldorfer EG Esports vs. Team NGU Old Primates vs. SCB eSports

The start of the ECL '23 Winter season brought lots of news to the beloved crown jewel of European NHL Esports, and we're committed to keep developing the league. Now we're launching registrations for the ECL '23 Spring season and it's time to gear up amidst the packed competitive schedule the game offers this year! After the ECL '23 Winter season culminated in the biggest event we've done to date and the national Championships have taken off to a nice start in the competitive schedule, the time has come to also announce the ECL '23 Spring season. This season will continue strengthening the framework we've built whilst maintaining the status as the crown jewel of European NHL Esports. Just over three weeks ago, we crowned Tunnel Vision the ECL Winter Elite Champions at Assembly, and now the young squad is seemingly entering their prime in the looks of a similar dominant streak to that of hREDS, Frölunda and HAVU that were before them. With more parity than ever before across the league and across divisions, the newly crowned Champions will have several hungry teams in pursuit, though. The ECL '23 Spring season will feature a prize pool totalling up to 26 000€ across the four highest competitive tiers. This puts the ECL up there as not just the biggest 6v6 league out there, but also one of the longest running and highest paying leagues. We are committed to keeping the development and the trend going not only this season, but long into the future too. Having established the ECL as the superior European NHL Esports league, a big part of the league is the culmination in live Finals - a big event where the community can come together to celebrate another successful season. This season, the ECL Elite Finals will be played on June 16th and 17th in the Helsinki metropolitan area. The location and specifics will be announced at a later stage! Revamped ECL 1v1 format With the introduction of the inaugural season of the 1v1 European Championship League, we saw lots of potential, but also realized several areas that needed development. This season, we'll be looking to improve on the player experience by introducing a group stage and playoffs similar to what we've seen in the national leagues to this point. This means that all entrants will be seeded into groups right from the get-go and the top 128 players will advance to the playoffs from the group stage. As ECL 1v1 still falls under the ECL umbrella, you can also expect the big production and a hefty prize pool to go along with it. To X-Factor, or not to X-Factor? There's been lots of discussion going on about X-Factors and we'd like to remind you that an official desicion on their future in the ECL has not yet been made. We are still looking for community input to help us make an educated call, and with that would like to invite you to the discussion in the threads below: ECL Elite & Pro: Abilities Ban Poll ECL Core & Lite: Abilities Ban Poll ECL Neo: Abilities Ban Poll An official decision will be communicated leading up to the season and we will do our best to allow teams an adjustment period if any changes will be implemented. UPDATE: LA Announcement: Certain Player Abilities to be banned in eHSM, SCL and ECL '23 Spring ECL '23 Player Licenses An ECL '23 Player License purchased for the Winter season will still be valid for the Spring season. However, if a player had not obtained their license for ECL '23 Winter, a license can now be purchased for the Spring season at a slightly reduced price.. The new ECL Player License will cost 15€ and allow for participation in both the ECL 6v6 and 1v1 leagues for the ECL ‘23 Spring season. This license will grant you access to compete in the most prestigious and biggest competitive NHL esports league in Europe. An ECL season spans over the course of two to three months and guarantees a minimum of roughly 20 games of competition on the 6v6 side*, whereas the 1v1 league adds - at the very least - the opportunity to participate in the group stage, guaranteeing a good amount of high level competition also on that side. ECL Neo will continue being available at no license fee for teams wishing to get a taste of competitive virtual hockey, whereas all other divisions are subject to a team license fee. The license is exponentially higher at higher levels of competition, given the increased spotlight and additional content around the divisions in question. Each team can name up to 3 backup players (outside of the primary 6) that can help the team out and play up to 10 games during ECL '23 without having to own the player license. The 10 games consist of qualifier, regular season and playoff games during the ECL '23 Winter and Spring seasons. The ECL ‘23 Player License can be purchased during the season if a backup wants to play more games than expected. ECL Neo will remain free to play, with no player license required to compete, however To uphold the integrity of ECL Neo as the beginner level, we reserve the right to deny teams to participate in cases where they are clearly above the amateur level, as it could significantly impact the experience of what ECL Neo is intended for. The ECL ‘23 Player License can be purchased by an ECL Neo player if they want to participate in ECL 1v1, benefit from the additional advantages that come with the license, or simply as a form of supporting the league. License fees will be allocated to fund prize pools and developing operations, such as our broadcasts, live productions and promoting the league. *Based on the minimum amount of games played in a starting role in the ECL '22 Spring: Core regular season. The ECL is the pinnacle of European NHL esports - a league where all the best European NHL gamers compete against each other in both EASHL (6v6) and Online Versus (1v1) for the European Championship title. ECL 6v6 currently features five divisions, so action is guaranteed for everyone regardless of skill level and experience! Basic information/requirements of ECL: Regional restrictions: ECL is a European tournament format, however, we do not necessarily exclude players located in North America or Asia. A European server will always be used. In case of severe connection issues, we reserve the right to exclude teams or players. Individual requirements: Each player needs to have an account at SportsGamer.GG and create their personal player card. ECL licenses: Teams in ECL Elite & ECL Pro, ECL Lite and ECL Core will require their respective ECL ‘23 Winter team licenses in order to play. In addition, every player needs to have a valid ECL ‘23 Spring Player License before taking the ice. Rules: The ECL ‘23 Spring ruleset will follow the same foundation as the previous season. The updated rulebook will be available before the season. The divisions framework for the ECL ‘23 season will follow the same logic as for previous seasons. We will have a total of five divisions with the following team allocation: Elite 16 teams, Pro 32 teams, Lite 64 teams, Core 128 teams and Neo 32+ teams. Please refer to this ECL Ranking in order to understand which teams are eligible to sign up for each division. Wildcard teams: 18.3.-1.4.2023 ⚠️ Lite Qualifier: - 18.3.-7.4.2023 ⚠️ Pro Qualifier: - 18.3.-7.4.2023 ⚠️ Neo: 18.3.-20.4.2023 Core: 18.3.-20.4.2023 Lite: 18.3.- 13.4.2023 Pro: 18.3.-13.4.2023 Elite: 18.3.-13.4.2023 *Signups will close at 23:59 CET on the last day mentioned unless otherwise specified. Schedule Pro Wildcard Battle: 3.-4.4.2023 Lite Qualifiers: 9.-23.4.2023 Pro Qualifiers: 9.-20.4.2023 ECL '23 Spring Season: 24.4.-29.6.2023 Signups are open right now, so now is time to brace for that final push in building your teams! Get your team together and sign up for the biggest event of the year! Read more about specific division schedules, prize pools and more: ECL '23 Spring Wildcard ECL '23 Spring Lite & Pro Qualifiers ECL '23 Spring Neo ECL '23 Spring Core ECL '23 Spring Lite ECL '23 Spring Pro ECL '23 Spring Elite ECL '23 Spring 1v1 Purchase Licenses Don't have a team yet? Team looking for additions to your roster? If you are a free agent looking to be picked up, please head over here. If you are representing a team looking for players, please head over here. Did your team sign with an organization that is represented in the game and needs in-game unlocks? Fill in this form. (Only if your organization has unlockables available in NHL 23)