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From the very early age of three, Perttu “Beniittto” Kemppainen was interested in the NHL video game. He grew fond of the game and later on as the game's competitive side started developing, he began to take the game more seriously. Like many of us, @Beniittto grew up with the game and has been a fan of the series for almost two decades. He is a proud owner of every version since NHL 08. Beniittto first hopped on the ECL ice in the very first season when he was only 13 years old. You could say he has grown up alongside the 6v6 scene and been a part of our story at SportsGamer from the very beginning. Beniittto is a player who has truly won it all during his career. NHL 24 has been no exception, to name a few of Beniitttos achievements during NHL 24: ECL ‘24: Elite winner as the captain of hREDS Forward of The Season in ECL ‘24: Winter eHockey SM 2024 winner as the captain of Parasite As one of the OGs in the 6v6 scene, Beniittto also leads all-time points on our platform. In 615 games he has gathered a combined points total of 1874, which means he has managed to keep up a 3,05 point per game pace now for multiple years. What makes this achievement so great is that he has been playing against the best defenders and goalies for the majority of his career and has still managed to score so many points. This season Beniittto continues as the captain of his team, a team he started originally as long ago as 2019. The team has for the most part been known as hREDS, but started as Delusion. After the hREDS organization shut down its operations, the team was briefly renamed Parasite and is now known as Valokuitunen Esports. How does it feel to be chosen as the cover gamer of the top NHL Esports league? “It feels great, there have been a lot of great players chosen as the cover gamer and it is an honor to be among them.” 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 ECL '23: Spring: Tomi @tomboo- Laitinen ECL ‘24: Winter: Adam @dzouvi Menšík What has been the best moment in your career so far? “It has to be winning ECL 12 on LAN since it was the first LAN I won.” Since you have been phenomenally successful in big matches, what is the key to a superior performance when preparing for a game? “I don't do anything special, I just focus on the fact that I want to win and try to play my best game.” What do you enjoy most about competing at the highest level? “I just enjoy competing, I have always wanted to be good at the games I play and there is always room for improvement.” You have played this game on a high level for so many years, what direction do you see the competitive side of the game taking? “I think the scene has seen better days, but I am hoping the scene will bounce back and reach new heights.” What are some of your personal goals for the current ECL season? “I always want to win the championship and maybe break some records!” Lastly, as a player who has won it all do you ever see yourself retiring? “I have played NHL games my whole life and can't see myself not doing that, there are always more things to win and more things to achieve and that is what keeps me going.” We are wishing all teams an enjoyable ECL '24: Spring season full of exciting games and hard competition! Make sure to tune in for our broadcasts at Twitch.tv/SportsGamerGG!

This week we've launched the newest season of the biggest eHockey tournament in all of Europe. A lot of you (and us!) have been waiting for the season to start and now the wait is over, so fire up those smartphones, laptops, and gaming consoles and start playing and watching the action! In this preview we’ll take a look at a few teams and of course, a few individuals who will be playing in the second-highest tier of the European Championship League ladder, which is the highly coveted ECL Pro. Group 1 Teams to challenge for the title: Herlev Eagles This team has taken large strides from a few years back when they scraped to make the playoffs in the Pro division, after playing Elite qualifiers just a few days ago and not quite making it must be a bitter feeling, but the Eagles are back and ready to challenge for the title with Danish superstar Vibholm leading the way in offense! Player to watch: @vibholm10 Mustaa Kultaa Another team that almost made it to Elite. This should come as no surprise as former Lite Champions are making a push for the title. With a good mix of young talent and long-time Pro veterans in their team, this squad can make some noise this season. Player to watch: @LatveX Team to make the playoffs: RYHTIC With a change in scenery for this team it parts ways with its long-time sponsor RCTIC, the team stays together for another year, always seems to make the playoffs, and challenges those top teams in Pro and Elite. Player to watch: @Limbe65 Team on the line: NOVA This Russian lead team made some noise last season with the number 8 seed and playing well in the 1st round of the playoffs. With big praise from last year's winning team Gotham, this team needs this push to get a better seed than last year. Player to watch: @Nester4343 Relegation battle: Neptune Hockey This team seems to find a new division from time to time, hopefully they can stick it to this washed up writer, and make a push for the playoffs. Neptune has struggled in the Pro division most years and this year is no exception, this team can not seem to string together enough wins to push for playoffs. Player to watch: @Zeikmaar Dark Horse: Vizio With a good-looking run in the eHockey SM (Finnish Championships) this year, Vizio has made some noise with beating some good teams this offseason and not solely relying on their captain to win them some games, but if they can't find that eHockey SM form, it can be a long season for them. Player to watch: @Jetsu28 Group 2 Teams to challenge for the title: POGGERS With a few seasons surviving in Elite, they couldnt battle Björklöven for a spot this year, former Pro champions can make a lot of teams unhappy with their veteran players still shining. Look for this team to want to make it back next season. Player to watch: @JaKurrii Södertälje SK With a new roster formed, they have that something, that flair you look for in teams that go far in the playoffs, with captain @svetidaje getting busy in the offseason and recruiting far and wide, this could be their year if they can find chemistry on the ice. Player to watch: @amadee21 Team to make the playoffs: Supernatural A team with an interesting past, saying this team has had its ups and downs is an understatement. But now they seem to have found a nice-looking roster with good players in all positions, they can surprise a lot of teams with how they approach this new season. Player to watch: @MrNipsuli Team on the line: TikiTalk With a team as legendary as this, it’s going to be a coin toss if this team makes the playoffs this season. A difficult group with a lot of experience, and their reliance on a guy that everyone knows, can make it difficult to get those important wins they need. Player to watch: @NuariJamal Relegation battle: Ice Scream While looking at a lot of talent in group 2, this team will find it very difficult to scrap together points this season, with not a lot of experience in the Pro division they will be looking to make some magic happen to avoid relegation. Player to watch: @TeemuUnderdawg Dark Horse: Otukset One might say this team has all the talent in the world to make it to the playoffs, even make a run for the title, some might say this team has a tendency to choke when games get tough, this experienced team will have to avoid a rollercoaster season, but look for them to steal some points from the top teams. Player to watch: @Roisto999 Do you agree with the predictions, or did the writer miss the net? What are your predictions for how the season will go? Let us know in the comments!