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16 became eight. Eight has become four. Four is about to become two. Ahead of the ECL ’24: Winter – Elite Semifinals, SportsGamer Guest Writer Hampus “l-Furyan-l” Duvefelt goes in-depth with each of the Final Four teams in their Quest for the Cup. NOT YOUR AVERAGE UNDERDOGS It is a tale as old as time. That of the underdog, the unlikely winner, staring down an overwhelming opponent, yet refusing to bow down or go quietly into the night. Most underdogs fall short. Rarely do you hear those stories told. But is precisely that fact, that slim chance of success, that makes the underdog so appealing. It is why we cheer when Tony Stark fulfills the 1-in-14-million-chance of snapping Thanos out of existence, or when Han Solo successfully navigates an asteroid field even though the odds of doing so are 3270-to-1. The underdog is not expected to triumph. But boy is it spectacular when they do. You’d be excused for thinking that’s how the players of classic ECL franchise Vesa Pompa are hyping themselves up going into the Elite semifinals vs. #1 seed and reigning ECL champions Tunnel Vision. But this is not your average underdog story and Vesa Pompa is not your average underdog team. This is a team brimming with confidence that is playing in its second straight Elite semifinal. A team that grabbed a point in 23 of 30 games this past regular season, scored the sixth most goals in the league, allowed the fifth fewest goals among all teams – and still considered it a “so-so” regular season. Between the six skaters expected to take the ice for Vesa in the series against Tunnel Vision, they boast several national championship titles, plenty of high-level international experience, multiple LAN appearances and, lest we forget, the ECL 24 Winter cover athlete. “Both teams in this series are really skilled”, says Adam @dzouvi Menšík, who is playing in his fifth Elite season and recently tied his career-high in the ECL top division with 45 points in 30 games. “Tunnel Vision might be the favorites, but we are playing in our second straight semifinal, so we kind of know what to expect.” Menšík, playing the right flank in a potent Vesa forward line that features 30-goal scorer Anton @antoniomannen004 Svensander to the left and two-way monster Henrik @Eken45jr Eklund in the middle, is the most decorated Czech player in the SportsGamer era – both 1v1 and 6v6 – and the first non-Scandinavian player to ever feature as the cover athlete. “Back when I first began playing here at SportsGamer, it was my dream to one day be in Elite and to play with and against the best players on the European scene. I hope that in the future we’ll see more Czech players make the same journey as I have. At one point I had hoped to be a part of a sort of “national team” of Czech and Slovak players, similar to what the Black Jacks represent for the DACH area, but those plans have been shelved.” “For now, at least.” Even though he seems to finally have taken the step from underrated talent to established top-level Elite performer, even securing a spot as the cover athlete, 22-year-old Menšík says he has not felt any additional pressure to perform this past season. “No, no additional pressure for me”, says Menšík. “If anything, (the cover) increased my motivation to play even better than before. It is a huge honor.” But even if Menšík, Svensander, Eklund and defenseman Sebastian @SebbeLarsen86 Larsen – a fan-favorite around the league due to his signature end-to-end rushes – are all established Elite performers with various title wins to their names, the team still features two rookies on its roster; defenseman Oliver @Pappen Papmehl and goaltender Santeri @kkostiiii Kostiainen. Menšík made a point to shoutout Kostiainen after Vesa managed to defeat #3 seed JYP Jyväskylä in the first round of the Elite playoffs. The series ended 4-2 in Vesas favour, with Kostiainen allowing a total of eight goals through six games. Papmehl, having scored 30 points (4+26) in 30 games, and Kostiainen, with 18 wins, 4 shutouts, an 82,8 save percentage and a 2,17 goals against average in his first taste of Elite action, have both made strong cases to be considered for the Rookie of the Year crown this season. Team captain Eklund, at 23 already an Elite veteran and almost four years removed from his own rookie season in the top division, couldn’t be happier with what he’s seen from the duo this season. “The way they’ve stepped up this season has been huge for us”, says Eklund. “Initially, we weren’t entirely sure what we were going to get, but we hit it off with both players – we already knew pappen quite well – and it’s been a joy watching them both grow as players over the last couple of months. They both deserve a lot of credit for the way they’ve handled themselves during their rookie seasons in Elite.” Image: The Vesa Pompa roster, from left to right: @EDHOLMEN3, pappeen, eken45jr, antoniomannen_, Dzouvi_, kkostiiii & Sebbelarsen86 Still, making the playoffs is one thing, winning the quarterfinals is another. And facing the reigning champions in a semifinal? Well... let's just say Vesa Pompa are up against a tough opponent. Tunnel Vision notched two decisive victories over Vesa Pompa by scores of 5-0 and 5-1 during the regular season – the most lopsided defeats all season for the mostly Swedish side. But Eklund, who himself has found another gear in the playoffs – going from being the third forward on the team in terms of goals (19) and points (43) during the regular season to leading the squad in goals (6) and points (9) in the postseason – says the Vesa of today is different than the one who lost to Tunnel all the way back in November. “We struggled a lot in the first 10-15 games, we couldn’t get our game going”, says Eklund. “It probably comes back to us not playing enough together as a unit during the pre-season. About halfway through the regular season, we decided to have me and Dzouvi switch positions, him going to right-wing and me taking center.” “Once we made that adjustment, we really took off.” In the end, despite all their experience, their previous success, and their confidence in their own (considerable) abilities, Vesa Pompa will still be considered the underdogs going into the ECL Elite Semifinals. At least by those on the outside looking in. But perhaps that is not such a bad thing. Because after all, who among us doesn’t love to root for the underdog? In the words of a famous space smuggler and scoundrel: “Never tell me the odds!” Watch the ECL Elite Semifinals at twitch.tv/SportsGamerGG