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Get Ready for the Ultimate eHockey Showdown: ECL '24 Spring Season Sign-Ups Are Now Open! Hey there, SportsGamers! It's time to sharpen those skates and get ready for the most electrifying season yet! The ECL '24: Spring season is upon us, and if you thought last season was intense, you haven't seen anything yet. With an eye-watering total prize pool of 25 220 EUR up for grabs, this season is shaping up to be a blockbuster. The European Championship League (ECL) stands at the zenith of European NHL esports, bringing together the best talent in a 6v6 format that has been thrilling fans since 2015. Whether you're a goalie, a forward, or a defender, every position is controlled by human talent, promising a competition that's as real as it gets. And with divisions catering to all skill levels, everyone has a shot at glory. Plus, don't miss out on our 1v1 tournament for those who love the thrill of the solo battle. Please note that the time to sign up is very short, especially for the qualifiers and higher divisions (Elite-Lite) so don't hesitate to sign up right away! After the intense fights we saw go down at the finish lines of all five divisions last season, the ECL '24: Spring season will have lots to live up to, but with the skill level constantly increasing and the superstar talent across the league intent on bringing their top game on a nightly basis, we're confident that we have an even better season coming up! The total prize pool of the ECL '24: Spring season will be 25 220 EUR. The ECL is the pinnacle of European NHL esports. The abbreviation stands for the European Championship League and it features NHL 6v6 esports in five divisions aimed at various skill levels. Every player, including the goalies, is controlled by a human. League games are played in the EASHL mode and the platform is PlayStation and Xbox. ECL has been played since 2015, so the upcoming season is already the 18th. The latest addition to the ECL product family is a 1v1 tournament, where Europe's best solo players fight for the championship. ECL 1v1 has been played since the ECL '23 Winter season. 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. We reserve the right to exclude teams or players in case of severe connection issues. Platform: PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S 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 ‘24: Spring team licenses in order to play. In addition, every player in the above-mentioned divisions needs to have a valid ECL ‘24: Player License or ECL '24: Spring Player License before taking the ice. Purchase your license in the Store. Rules: The updated ECL '24: Spring rulebook will be published closer to the season, but there won't be too many changes rolling out, so check out last season's rules here. For a more extensive overview of the ECL as a whole, check out our “What is the ECL?” news story released a while back. Pro Wildcard Battle: 23.3-26.3.2024 ECL Lite Qualifier: 23.3-29.3.2024 ECL Pro Qualifier: 23.3-28.3.2024 ECL Neo: 23.3-11.4.2024 ⚠️ ECL Core: 23.3-11.4.2024 ⚠️ ECL Lite: 23.3-29.3.2024 ECL Pro: 23.3-28.3.2024 ECL Elite: 23.3-28.3.2024 *Signups will close at 23:59 CET on the last day mentioned unless otherwise specified. Schedule Qualifiers: The schedule for the qualifiers will be tight, so please prepare to play almost every day during the qualifiers stage. The exact details will be shared once the number of teams is known. Lite: 1.-11.4 Pro Wildcard: 27.-28.3 (if necessary) Pro: 31.3-11.4 Elite 7.4-11.4 Regular Season duration: 14.4.-16.5.2024 Estimated finals dates: Below are estimated dates for the Finals to be approximately played. We reserve the right to changes in schedule. Neo 26.-30.6 Core 26.-27.6. Lite 24.-25.6. Pro 17.-18.6. Elite 14.-15.6. PLEASE NOTE: ECL '24: SPRING 1V1 SIGNUPS WILL LAUNCH SOON Early Bird Offer on Player and Team Licenses Below you’ll find the pricing of the team and player licenses for ECL ‘24. For the next ten days (until April 1st), you can pick up the ECL ‘24 Spring Team license for the Early Bird pricing listed below. After that, standard pricing will be in effect. PURCHASE YOUR ECL '24 LICENSES HERE For those of you participating in the qualifiers and unsure which division your team will play in for the ECL ‘24: Spring season, you can still take advantage of this offer; Purchase the Early Bird license for the division you are qualifying for and if your team is unsuccessful in the mission, we will refund you the difference to the Early Bird price for the division your team ends up in. For example, if you enter the qualifiers for the Lite division, purchase the Early Bird Lite license. If your team doesn’t qualify for the Lite division, you will play in the Core division and we will refund you the difference - in this example: 100 EUR. The ECL Neo division will remain free of cost. Please refer to this ECL Ranking in order to understand which teams are eligible to sign up for each division. 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. Need more help, check out the below article!

SportsGamers, A long season and hard-fought Finals series saw us crown an ECL '24: Winter - Core Champion a while back, and we are happily announcing that the ones to hoist the cup were Belissimo! The Finals series was a spectacular reverse sweep: after the first three games it looked like Sack Brothers were going to run away with the win, but day two of the finals was all Belissimo and despite two one-goal games, there was simply no stopping them!   Belissimo's road to the Championship: #9 seed from Group 2 with the record 18-1-1-6 Round 1: vs Nordic Nosebleed (24) 4-0 Round 2: vs NAM3LESS (8) 4-2 Quarterfinals: vs MoDo Hockey (16) 4-3 Semifinals: vs Mights (4) 4-2 Finals: vs Sack Brothers (2) 4-3 The championship roster: GOALIES #76 @Odexm DEFENSEMEN #19 @SirSamul1 (A) #62 @Pyllyhaiseva FORWARDS #1 @Hauhtonen (C) #7 @Suxmani #88 @NokanKane #91 @MrMikkiL (A) On behalf of the whole community we want to thank all participants and congratulate our ECL '24: Winter - Spring Champions: Belissimo!   RELIVE THE FINALS Finals games 1-3:   Finals games 4-7:

SportsGamers, The ECL '24: Winter 1v1 Season winner is Erik @Eki Tammenpää! Eki was unstoppable, winning all his games from the TOP 16 knockout stage and forward. EkiOriginal's road to the Championship: Qualified through the 1st Qualifier TOP 32 Group stage: 4-1-2-0 (#4 seed into the Playoffs) Round 1: vs @Jerettaja13 2-0 (4-2, 7-5) Quarterfinals 2: vs @WeDuX_ 2-0 (7-1, 5-0) Semifinals: vs @sisu33_ 2-0 (4-3OT, 4-1) Finals: vs @temppanen 2-0 (6-2, 7-2)   ECL '24: Winter 1v1 - Season TOP 4:  🥇 Erik @Eki Tammenpää 🥈Teemu @temppanen Karvonen 🥉 Henrik @Eken45jr Eklund 🥉 Sisu @sisu33_ Nurminen The TOP 4 players of the Winter season secured themselves not only some cash, but the spot in the ECL '24: 1v1 Grand Finals, which features the TOP 8 players in Europe. This Winter season is not just a standalone event; it's a crucial part of the ECL '24: 1v1 year, which includes both Winter and Spring seasons. Competitors can net themselves not only glory but also cold, hard cash from both seasons. The heat will truly turn up for the top 4 from each season, who will clash in the Grand Finals for an even larger slice of the prize pool. The ECL '24: 1v1 Season is played in the Online Versus game mode on PlayStation 5. The competition's format is as thrilling as a sudden-death overtime, starting with four qualifiers following a merciless double-elimination bracket. The stakes are high, as only the top 8 players from each qualifier will advance to the coveted TOP 32 group stage. Stay tuned for the ECL '24: Spring 1v1 Signups!     RELIVE THE TOP 4 FINALS ECL '24: Winter - 1v1 Top 4 Semifinal: eken45jr vs. temppanen (BO3):   ECL '24: Winter - 1v1 Top 4 Semifinal: EkiOriginal vs. Sisu33 (BO3):   ECL '24: Winter - 1v1 Top 4 Final: EkiOriginal vs. temppanen (BO3)   SportsGamer congratulates the new Champion and extends a warm thank you to all participants! 

SportsGamers, A few weeks ago we wrapped up the ECL Elite season as we got to enjoy the Finals series between hREDS and Tunnel Vision turn into yet another seven-game spectacle to be decided by only one goal, as @NikkeDangles secured his and hREDS' fourth ECL Elite Championship, solidifying them as the all-time winningest ECL team. This also marks only the second time someone outside of the TOP 3 finishers in the regular season wins the championship, with hREDS going into the Playoffs as the #4 seed (the first time was Laser HT, who finished the regular season with seed #7 and yet managed to win the championship in the ECL 4 season back in 2017).   Image: The ECL '24: Winter - Elite Champions - hREDS. From the left: FinSere, Mozjay, xDoumi, NikkeDangles, Vilupoika, Beniittto, Teemuyy Now that the dust has settled, we took some time and spoke to captain Perttu @Beniittto Kemppainen and goalie Sebastian @FINSeRe Remes about their thoughts about the season.   Interview: Captain Perttu "Beniiittto" Kemppainen Now that it's been a few weeks since your win - how would you reflect on the season? "Before the season I had high expectations for us as always, because I knew that if we were in good form no one could beat us and before this season our only problem was inconsistency. Although we still had those issues during the regular season and some games in the playoffs, we were able to keep our form good and stable enough in the playoffs, and that led us to the championship." Take us through the finals - it looked like the series was going to be over in 5 games, but in the end, we got to enjoy a full seven-game series and a G7 decided by one goal "Our start of the 1st game was bad but towards the end of the 1st game we were able to find our form and even though we lost game 1 we were able to improve our game for games 2,3 and 4. Games 5 and 6 were bad defensively and we made a lot of mistakes that you can't make in the playoffs if you want to win and we picked up our form again for game 7." How have you been preparing for the ECL '24: Spring season? "We took some time off the game to enjoy the championship and relax. After that, we have just been playing FCL regular season and when we get to the playoffs we will start practicing more."   Interview: Sebastian "FINSeRe" Remes   How would you describe the season as a whole? "I think we had a bit slow start to the regular season but started to gain momentum after NikkeDangles came back from the army. We carried that momentum to the playoffs and there we were playing extremely good hockey pretty much every game in every series. Beniittto was playing like MacKinnon and deservedly won the Best Forward of the Season award. I think he really carried us when we were having difficult moments. I also think that Teemuyy got snubbed as for me he was the best defender of the season by looking at gameplay and not points. You always expect a team like this to be up there fighting for the championship, and I think there was never any doubt among us during the season that we couldn't win it all if we just played on our level. Obviously, it's not that simple especially when you had to face both Straikers and Tunnel Vision in the playoffs but I think it just made our championship sweeter that way. And for me, it's just nice to be in the right place at the right time and get the trust of my team."   What about the finals - it was looking like the Series might be over in 5 - but you found yourself in game 7 with a one-goal win. How were the finals from your perspective? "I remember saying in our group chat after the 3rd win that now comes the hardest challenge - winning the 4th time. The 5th game could have gone either way, but Tunnel Vision tying the game in the 2nd period when there was 1s left in the clock was probably something that turned the tides for them. Also, benuh_ was giving them a chance and was making extremely important saves in games 5 and 6. After game 6, heading to the 7th I didn't feel that anyone was nervous or anything, even after dropping 2 games. On the contrary, I got this feeling that we were more focused on our task and I think it really showed in game 7. Game 7 was the best game we had all season in my opinion and honestly, it was the best game defensively I've ever been part of in any team. Yeah, I got shutout but I honestly felt like I didn't have to do anything because our 5 man defending was so unbelievably good."   This was your second ECL championship. Your first championship was in ECL Season 1 in 2016, which was before the divisions were introduced to the ECL. If you remember - how would you describe the experience of winning then vs now? "I remember those days very well. To be honest I don't think that the skill level at the top was any lower back then than it is now. You got fewer players but you still had these same guys on the top. For example in the finals we had to face players like Patzlaf, PleeMaker, Joukkiii, and loimmu. Of course, there were lots of teams that had no chance so it worked pretty much like FCL works nowadays where the real games start in play-offs. Also back then there were more teams that could win it all. I think this was because talent was more dispersed between the teams compared to now. But back then it was also normal to create a new team for every season so there wasn't as much stability as there is now. Personally winning the championship now felt so much sweeter for me than it did then since I had to prove I belong to this level. The older you get, less people believe you still got it and honestly I've worked hard to prove them wrong."     hREDS' road to the championship: #4 seed with the record 18-5-1-6 Quarterfinals: vs Radical (5) 4-1 Semifinals: vs Straikers (1) 4-0 Finals: vs Tunnel Vision (2) 4-3   The winning roster: GOALTENDERS  🇫🇮 #8 Sebastian @FINSeRe Remes   DEFENSEMEN  🇫🇮 #3 Teemu @Teemuyy Polttila   🇫🇮 #27 Aaro @xDoumi Ruuhinen FORWARDS 🇫🇮 #23 Niklas @NikkeDangles Tukiainen  🇫🇮 #67 Aleksi @Mozjayh Kähkönen   🇫🇮 #89 Vili @Vilupoika Häkkinen    🇫🇮 #96 Perttu @Beniittto Kemppainen   RELIVE THE FINALS On behalf of the entire SportsGamer community, we congratulate the ECL '24: Winter - Elite Champions and extend a warm thank you to all participants!

SportsGamers, As we wrap up the ECL '24: Winter season and turn our looks towards the Spring season, it's time to spotlight our winners this season.  In an exhilarating journey through the Neo season, Turun Gasellit rose from bit of an underd...uh undergazelle position as the #8 total seed after having finished second in Group 6. While the road wasn't easy, with the most nailbiting series requiring the full 5 games both against #25 Norland in Round 1 and #3 Old Hogs in the semifinals, Turun Gasellit showed up when it counted and are deserving of the title ECL '24: Winter - Neo Champions! Turun Gasellit's road to the championship: #8 seed from Group 6 with the record 13-0-4-1 Round 1: vs #25 Nordland 3-2 Round 2: vs #12 HC Wild Hogs 3-0 Quarterfinals: vs #7 Torspot 3-0 Semifinals: vs #3 Old Hogs 3-2 Finals: vs #11 Overping Threshers 3-1   The championship roster: #4 @Kostea2nen #7 @alluboi5 #18 @koskinen18 #23 @Veekkari85 #66 @johtaja_lebi #77 @SirRaitanen #81 @pohjarzinho    On behalf of the whole community we want to thank all participants and congratulations to the Turun Gasellit!

SportsGamers, Having entered the ECL '24: Winter season through the ECL Lite Qualifiers, Bone Breakers continued their dominant display throughout the season and eventually won the ECL '24: Winter - Lite Championship, and with that a direct promotion to the Pro division. While quite a few teams in the playoffs were able to keep the games close, they only lost a total of three games in their championship run. This is definitely a team to follow in the upcoming ECL '24: Spring - Pro Season! Bone Breakers' road to the championship: #2 seed from Group 2 with the record 24-2-1-5 Round 1: vs Armada Hockey (31) 4-0 Round 2: vs Shameful Knights (17) 4-1 Quarterfinals: vs Finnish Roosters (11) 4-1 Semifinals: vs Almost Famous (12) 4-0 Finals: vs HEXA Esports (1) 4-1 The winning roster: GOALTENDERS #57 @rransu (A) #78 @Sgt Pallihiki #90 @IleKaa DEFENSEMEN #4 @BoBcapitano (C) #24 @Thewix93 (A) #65 @Jonetzky #88 @Klonkku FORWARDS #9 @MappeThePlayer #61 @Allupekkaz #71 @x-_-BoBi-_-x #79 @Valee__   RELIVE THE FINALS Games 1-3:   Games 4-5   On behalf of the entire SportsGamer community, we congratulate the Champions and extend a warm thank you to all participants!    

SportsGamers, It's time to recap the ECL Elite Player Awards for the Winter '24 season! In a testament to the spirit of inclusivity and fairness that defines our community, the nominees for this season's awards were chosen through a democratic process, involving a vote among the Elite division captains, after which it was up to the community to vote among the top 5 nominees in each category. The thought behind this was to ensure that those recognized have not only showcased outstanding skill and dedication on the field but have also earned the respect and admiration of their peers. With six coveted categories and five remarkable nominees in each, the stage was set for an intense and exciting selection process. The winners were announced on the ECL '24: Winter Elite Finals broadcast and in this article we want to recap the winners for easy access to the history books in the future. For the full list of nominees, see our previous article. These individuals have not only excelled in their respective roles but have also contributed significantly to the vibrancy and competitive spirit of our league. Their achievements are a reflection of hard work, perseverance, and an unwavering commitment to excellence. So, without further ado, let's celebrate the winners of the ECL '24: Winter - Elite Player Awards. Congratulations to all the nominees and a special round of applause for our outstanding winners.  Below you'll find a list of winners in each category: Forward of The Season The Top Forward award is awarded to a player who has excelled above the competition in their forward position. Perttu @Beniittto Kemppainen, hREDS   Defender of The Season The Top Defender award is awarded to a player who has excelled above the competition in their defenseman position. Aapeli @Lxndstrom Landström, JYP Jyväskylä   Goalie of The Season The Top Goalie award is awarded to a player who has excelled above the competition in their goaltender position. Sebastian @FINSeRe Remes, hREDS  Rookie of The Season The Rookie Of The Season award is awarded to a player in their rookie ECL Elite season, who has excelled above the competition regardless of position. Leevi @xLeikku Kauppila, Unwanted Transfer of The Season The Transfer Of The Season award is awarded to a player who after a transfer is deemed to have been the most impactful player for their new team. Kristian @kriketski17 Veijola, Tunnel Vision   Comeback Player of The Season The Comeback Player Of The Season award is awarded to a player who after one or more seasons away from ECL Elite competition, makes an impactful comeback to the highest level. Joona @jm98II Muona, Polski Boys   There you have it folks - your ECL '24: Winter - Elite Player Award winners! Who do you think should have won? Should the current voting system be changed in some way? Let us know in the comments!

SportGamers, Our community is growing with new members every year. From time to time we are asked for tips on how to find a team or how to find players for your team. In this post, we have put together a few links to our forum where you can either search for a team or sign up as a free agent. You'll also find some tips at the end, that might be just what you need to connect with that new group of potential teammates. This post is mainly intended for the European audience that is interested in playing in the European Championship League. Free Agents EU - PlayStation 5 & Xbox Series X|S In this section of the forum, you can register as a free agent or search for new players for your team. You will find a "reply to topic" section under the last message on the page where you can post your own free agent message. In this message you can briefly tell us about yourself, what position you are looking to play, and how to best reach you. Please note that a login to the forum is required in order to post a message. Please also note that this section of the forum is only for free agent messages. EU Clubs looking for players - PlayStation 5 & Xbox Series X|S In this section of the forum, you can let everyone know when your team is looking for players, which means free agents can find teams by browsing this thread. You will find a "reply to topic" section under the last message on the page. Here you can write your "club looking for players" post where you tell us about the club and what kind of player you are looking for. You can look for good tips for your post in the numerous posts written by other clubs. Please note that both of these above-mentioned forum threads are meant only for writing the "ads". When you see something you're interested in, please use private messaging (e.g. SportGamer, Discord, or PSN) to contact them. Usually, the writer of the post will let you know how to best get in touch. So here is your reminder: whenever you post, remember to mention how to best get in touch with you. Useful tips In addition to these previous tools, we recommend you to be active and try to play as much as possible. On our Discord channel, you will find a section called "free for tonight" In this section, you can sign up for free play and of course, if you're lucky you might find some people that want to play with you in the future. One good tip that works is to add "FA" or "Free Agent" to your player's name in the game so that your players can see during the game that you are looking for a team. There you have it! We hope you find these tips useful. Feel free to share your advice in the comments. Good luck finding the perfect match!

SportsGamers, A dominant showing throughout the season by a rather unexperienced squad with several rookies in their roster has awarded Mustaa Kultaa the ECL '23 Spring Lite Championship, and with that direct promotion to the Pro division. The team were in several tight positions throughout their Playoff run especially in the Semifinals and Finals, but as a well-oiled machine, they were able to work together to find their way to victory each time. Mustaa Kultaa's road to the championship: #2 seed from Group 3 with the record 25-5-0 Round 1: vs RoKi Esports (31) 4-0 Round 2: vs Golden Sticks (25) 4-1 Quarterfinals: vs HC Lugano eSports (29) 4-2 Semifinals: vs Boost HC (9) 4-3 Finals: vs Supernatural (5) 4-3 The winning roster: GOALTENDERS #69 @ANIMALpak82 #82 @Simbanho #88 @PerfectGorilla DEFENSEMEN #3 @Velttola #97 @xray65x FORWARDS #12 @jaageri_ (A) #13 @Launonexx (C) #61 @Allupekkaz (A) #89 @Tumuttaja (xxHise) On behalf of the entire SportsGamer community, we congratulate the Champions and extend a warm thank you to all participants!