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It's been a rather young but highly successful ECL career for Tomi @tombo_02 Laitinen thus far, as he's spent all but his rookie season with Tunnel Vision, claiming his first Elite title last season and representing Europe in the World Finals against the NACL Champions, Entourage.  The ECL '23 Winter season was a big one and it brought a lot of changes and marked a milestone with the first ever NHL Esports World Finals hosted at Assembly Winter 2023. Tunnel Vision and Entourage went head-to-head in a clash that eventually, the North American Champions ran away with in convincing fashion. Despite the disappointment, Tomi @tombo_02 Laitinen and his team have picked up the pieces and are determined to return stronger than before for a title defense. The young captain of Tunnel Vision has seen a lot of success in his career both on the 1v1 and 6v6 sides of the game, but his only Championship title is the one won with Tunnel Vision in ECL '23 Winter. On the 1v1 side, Tomboo has managed to compete at the top for quite some time already, but success has avoided him. He has represented Tampereen Ilves in both seasons of eLiiga and is intent of focusing more also on the 1v1 side in the future. List of previous ECL cover gamers: ECL 8: Erik @Eki Tammenpää ECL 9: Hannes @Hansulinho Kettunen ECL 10: Casper @ICappeI Lundgren ECL 11: Tuukka @FlyerKungen Kuha ECL 12: Niklas @NikkeDangles Tukiainen ECL '22 Winter: Johan @Lehmannens Lehmann & Hampus @l-Furyan-l Duvefelt ECL '23 Spring: Niklas @uhNikke Nieminen ECL '23 Winter: Erik @Eki Tammenpää First off, how did you get into competitive NHL gaming? I've always played and enjoyed different sports and been interested in video games. Getting into NHL was a natural outcome of that. I started out playing mostly HUT and 1v1 modes ever since NHL 13, but it took until the end of NHL 19 until I really got into competitive action.  Your ECL career took off real quick and you actually started off as a winger, can you go through those experiences a bit? The start of my ECL career was a sum of several random events. I had been playing HUT and gotten to know Tapani @Tappu Anttila through that, which landed me a spot with Rookie Mistakes in ECL 10 Pro. I think the team was somewhere around a mid-tier Pro squad at that time, and I started off playing on the right wing, sharing responsibilities with Miikka @xColeslaww Kolehmainen in my first season. I think the main reason for my quick development has been playing the game so much and doing that with likeminded experienced players. A lot of my early development could be attributed to the early times with Tunnel Vision alongside players like Eemil @Sokkelo__ Soikkeli, Väinö @Pikkardz Pikkarainen and Aki @Frilander Frilander who already had some Elite experience under their belts. We played a lot and discussed the game which really helped me take a big leap in the development on a personal level.  What would you say are some of the attributes that sets top players apart from the rest and what makes the best stay at the top? It might be quite obvious, but you just have to play the game and put in the hours consistently. As an example, many top players have fallen off in the past when they haven't had the fire to grind the game enough anymore. At the very top, the margins are small and you have to gain the competitive edge in any way possible, our team spends time watching our past games and learning from them through discussing development points. An individual ability I think is exceptionally important is just being able to keep your cool and being level-headed. After all, we're playing a video game and there's several aspects in any game you just can't control, so not letting those things rattle you is a massive factor in making you a better player. Lately there's been some discussion about various leadership types and team dynamics, how do you see yourself as a leader and what does the dynamic in Tunnel Vision look like? Well when we started Tunnel Vision, I didn't have a leadership role, but since then I've continued on the same path that we started and kept it going for about two years now. All decisions are made within the entire team and a big part of the recruitment process is making sure our new players fit the vibe of our team and are able to weigh in with valuable input in team discussion. For me, an open dialogue is very important within the entire team.  How is Tunnel Vision looking heading into the ECL '23 Spring season? Honestly, I'd say we were in better overall form during the Winter season. I feel like our game has been fluctuating a lot since the ECL & World Finals, which is a bit uncharacteristic for us. An obvious reason is that we've played less, but we'll pick things back up as the ECL kicks off again. At our best, I think we've been way better than ever before lately. We've also enjoyed playing without the banned abilities and I think it's also made the game more fun to watch.  What are some of the opponents you'll be on the lookout for in the upcoming season? I think there's more good teams than before. hREDS are the strongest team on paper, I think they have the best players on each position and they are the ones to beat. Frölunda is another team I expect to continue their good run and Erik @Eki Tammenpää & Tuukka @FlyerKungen Kuha switching places could be a good thing for them, they've looked good. JYP Jyväskylä has taken back their position as a solid top team and they should be a consistent Playoff contender as long as they keep things going. The most interesting teams to follow, though are GOONS and Nordic Stars. GOONS have a highly skilled roster and their offense especially is one of the toughest to guard when they are on their game. They've got golden one tees on both flanks and know how to use them. Nordic Stars took a big leap forward by getting Tuukka @Tuukka.R Röpelinen (KingOfApes_) in the offseason and have some success to show for that in the eHSM 2023. They'll surely continue improving.  ECL '23 Spring Elite starts on Monday, April 24th and Tunnel Vision is entering their title defense in confident manner. You can follow the league on all of the social media channels of the teams and in weekly broadcasts at Twitch.tv/SportsGamerGG!

SportsGamers, Today it's time to get the action going also in the Core division, the fourth tier of European NHL esports competition. We've got 32 teams divided into two groups all eager to  push for the next level in their competitive careers. Several returning teams have strengthened their ranks in the offseason either through new recruits or simply grinding hard at their game and trusting that one more season of experience could be the difference maker for them.  ECL '23 Spring Core Schedule Registration period: 18.3.-20.4.2023 Regular Season: 25.4.- 24.5. RO32: 30.5.-4.6. RO16: 6.-11.6. Quarterfinals: 13.-18.6. Semifinals: 20.-25.6. Finals: 27.-29.6.* Group 1  Nordic Nosebleed No doubt about the fact that Nordic Nosebleed is one of the more experienced squads in the ECL Core division, with several players including captains @Cherry and @Lidaas79 having started their careers already before the divisional framework was included into the ECL. Nordic Nosebleed have established themselves first and foremost as a strong devensive team, which should do them lots of good this season. A tough team to beat.   North Sawo Lions A returning team that did extremely well in the group stage of the Winter season, but didn't get their game going against HC Pustertal eSports in the first round of the Playoffs. One more season of experience should have done these guys good and captain @Liimatainenn is expected to lead the team from the front once again.   Ambri eSports Another returning squad, who struggled a bit last Core season, barely making the Playoffs out of the Group stage. However, they've done lots of great work in the offseason and managed to claim the GCL Division 2 Championship just a few weeks ago. Ambri eSports could end up being one of those sneaky good teams that flies under the radar.   HC Palosaari After some time away from the ECL ice sheet, HC Palosaari makes a return in a fusion with the former Karmadillos. In that fusion, they receive a fair amount of experience into their roster in the form of @JanEerikBanan and @Moneygunx along with several other HC Palosaari alumni, who had been with Karmadillos for some time. We're expecting this squad to challenge for the top spots in their group. Group 2  Lutunilkat The beloved Lutunilkat brand have had a tough few seasons in the Lite division and are now droppong down a level in order to find their game again. Lutunilkat is a team that likes to have fun on the ice and might just need to see some success in order to find joy in what they do.   EV Duisburg EV Duisburg is one of those brands that has been around for countless years at various levels of ECL competition, at their best, they had a stint of two seasons in ECL Pro but have since dropped down a few levels. Captain @GreatOne139 has been with the team through thick and thin and is a true heart-and-soul player for this squad.   Pirates eSports This mainly French outfit is very familiar from previous ECL seasons and while they haven't seen substantial success, they should be a tough team to crack in any game this upcoming season. We're expecting the pirates to Yarr hard, and maybe we'll see a pirate rivalry between these guys and HC Palosaari in the Playoffs?    KohKae Esports A few seasons of Lite experience and a decent eHSM performance in the rearview makes us expect that KohKae Esports could be on the brink of a good Playoff push this season. Who will take over the top scoring role, as @Ylijumala96 has made the move to Nelos Kentta?