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SportsGamers, Last week the GCL 9 season had it's final games in the form of the GCL 9 1v1 Finals between #2 seed Kevin @Keuschemisch Berg and #3 seed Sven @Original-SnuS Julmi. These are two highly skilled players, and what adds so much to the matchup is their great friendship off the ice too. Both represent the ZSC Esports organization, and with substantial domestic success already in their back pockets, both certainly wanted to clinch the 1v1 Championship too. Eventually, the best-of-five series required four games to be finished, as Keuschemisch managed to best his good friend with a 3-1 series score. All games were a good back and forth, but the Champion really utilized his scoring chances very effectively.  Keuschemisch's road to the Championship: Regular Season record: 14-0-0 (#2 seed) Round 1: vs @schmiedli_68 3-0 Quarterfinals: vs @ProfaneKiss 3-2 Semifinals: vs @riegel29 3-0 Finals: vs @Original-SnuS 3-1 SportsGamer congratulates Kevin on his Championship and extends a warm thank you to all participants!

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?

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.