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In this article, we’ll be digging deep into all of the four matchups that ECL Pro has left to offer. As usual, we will step on some toes and our predictions will cause some much-needed controversy. Which teams will advance to the semifinals? Read down below and make up your mind! SERIES 1: Falun Coal Miners (1) vs Golden Sticks (12) David vs Goliath, Rocky vs Drago, and all the stories we’ve heard of underdogs rising against the favorites. Will this be the upset of the season? Golden Sticks sure hope so, but Falun is no easy team to take down, especially in a best-of-7 series that will surely be a good one to watch. Falun surely had an easier way to the top 8 than their opponents did, beating out Vizio in a 4-0 sweep, but a few of those wins came in tight games so it wasn’t quite as easy as it may appear - this is after all the Pro playoffs. With 14 goals scored in 4 games for Falun, we know their offense is there, everybody knows they have the ability to take the edge in tight games on both ends of the ice. The difference in this series has to be which team can score first, and which team can defend their lead better. @STRANDMANNEN11 kept his scoring touch from the regular season, and put up 11 points (3+8) in 4 games vs Vizio, with his center buddy @smay96 not far behind. The experience between the pipes for both teams will be a good matchup in this series, with both @eliekamel87 and @jubex0r both having a great postseason so far. A tight series for Golden Sticks in round 1 of these playoffs surely boosts their confidence heading into the quarterfinals; they were down 3-2 in their series and managed to win both games 6 and 7. And with 7 games played, comes more points: newly acquired @LucePro is leading the team in points (5+8) in the postseason so far. He showed everyone that even in 6s he belongs in the playoffs. He can surely take his game to another level, but he’ll need the help of his teammates. @HopeaKypara99 and LucePro can make for an interesting duo on offense, but will it be enough versus the all-so-experienced defense of Falun? Tune in to find out! We caught up with the captains @LucePro of Golden Sticks and @l-Furyan-l of Falun Coal Miners and here's what they had to say: What are your opponent's biggest weaknesses? LucePro: "Falun haven’t played in a while, a week's break or so since their last game could show in the beginning, and their consistency is also a weakness we are looking to exploit." l-Furyan-l: "I don’t know if Golden Sticks really have any weaknesses per se. However, I would like to add that they do have an in-form player we absolutely need to stop; LucePro, if we want to have a chance to win we need to take him down." And how are you going to win this series? LucePro: "We’re creative in the offensive zone, and can create a lot of good chances, we defend well as a team and that is how we’re going to win this series." l-Furyan-l: "If we want to advance to the semifinals this season, we need to play our own game, dare to be ourselves, and most importantly, have fun." Predictions: @hifk_FANI Falun 4-1 @ripKeisari: Falun 4-1 @Pensasmies: Falun 4-2 A player who shouldn’t be overlooked: @jubex0r Watch the series live: twitch.tv/CoalMinersTV, twitch.tv/goldensticksnhl SERIES 2: (2) TIKI TALKvs Mustaa Kultaa (10) This series has the potential to be an interesting one, both on and off the ice. Both teams play entertaining hockey and seem to be quite active on social media. Hopefully, both teams can keep it going as this matchup sure will be an entertaining one. Mustaa Kultaa coming off their ECL '23: Spring Championship season in Lite were eliminated in the Pro Quarterfinals last season by Renascor, who we saw in ECL Elite in ECL '24: Spring. This season Mustaa Kultaa are back at it again with a successful playoff run and seeing them back in the quarterfinals this year has come to nobody's surprise. In the first round, they took down a skilled team in Otukset 4-1 and are now facing a similar opponent in TIKI TALK. it will be a test for them to see if they can make it one step further. If they want to advance to the semifinals and secure that lock for Elite qualification, either @Allupekkaz or @jaageri_ will need to stand out in a big way and carry the mantle. Will their trust in sensational rookie @LatveX in goal pay off? So far so good, as he boasts an insane 93,83 sv%, which - if he can keep it up - is certainly an ingredient for winning and potential for a record-breaking stat. TIKI TALK who undoubtedly has stuck it to those who didn't believe in them this season, by taking down a good team in Herlev Eagles, with an incredible comeback from being down 3-1 and winning the series in game 7. As per usual a goal-hungry @itspardytime leading the team in points (8+11), but now having a great player alongside him who can put up points - can @NuariJamal be the guy he needs to get back to the Elite division? We caught up with the Mustaa Kultaa captain @jaageri_ for some comments about the series. Tiki Talk were unfortunately unavailable for comment. What are your opponent's biggest weaknesses? Jaageri: "The opponent's biggest weakness is definitely defense." And how are you going to win this series? Jaageri: "We will win this series by defending the way we did in the first round. Even though TIKI TALK have a different playbook and a lot of skill, they also have a guy who isn’t afraid to “kärkkyä” (=to cherry pick), so we need to keep their breakaways to a minimum. Our strength lies in counter-attacks and we need to exploit that." Predictions: @hifk_FANI: Mustaa Kultaa 4-2 @ripKeisari: Mustaa Kultaa 4-3 @Pensasmies: Mustaa Kultaa 4-1 A player who shouldn’t be overlooked: @itspardytime Watch the series live: twitch.tv/nuarijamal-_-, twitch.tv/allupekkaz SERIES 3: Deadly Phantoms (3) vs Almost Famous (8) Both teams possess the talent, the quality, and the determination to advance from this series, but what sets these two teams apart? We can’t overlook the fact that both teams can score, and I bet both teams will prepare accordingly. One team has more experience whilst the other possesses that eagerness to compete again at this level. Deadly Phantoms have that rare ability to beat almost anybody, their style of play allows them to be able to compete with any team in this scene, it comes with its perks but also with its implications in offense. With a defense like theirs comes some outstanding goaltending from @RPH_31, a GAA of 1.00 & 92,42% save percentage, putting him in 2nd place in both categories so far in the playoffs. Forwards will need to step up in the next series if they want to advance - they can’t rely on their defenseman @xXPsykoSkillsXx to carry them for too long. After rebranding to the name Almost Famous, the team carried itself well in the regular season, and now with a solid first-round win in six games, they have a much harder task at hand in taking down a much more defense-heavy opponent. With the teams splitting the points in the regular season, this series could go either way. The question for this series will be whether Almost Famous can find a way through the German defense and score enough goals. Will the central server play a big part? Can @xrikardo55 find his groove? We’ll find out soon enough. We caught up with the Almost Famous captain @Ikavalko for some comments about the series. What are your opponent's biggest weaknesses? Ikavalko: "Wouldn’t say they have a specific weakness in their team, they don’t have too much individual talent and their gameplay goes through the blueline so we need to take advantage of that." And how are you going to win this series? Ikavalko: "By taking away their tips and rebounds." Deadly Phantoms were unfortunately unavailable for comment. Predictions: @hifk_FANI: Deadly Phantoms 4-2 @ripKeisari: Deadly Phantoms 4-3 @Pensasmies: Deadly Phantoms 4-3 A player who shouldn’t be overlooked: @Jalkkin- Watch the series live: twitch.tv/ProfaneKiss SERIES 4: (4) POGGERSvs RYHTIC(7) Both teams have a roster full of players with an extremely high knowledge of how the game mechanics work and talented goalies. Both rely on playing together as a team, and creating plays together which is why this series has the potential to be the best to watch for new players and teams, who want to rise in the ECL ladder. POGGERS have been around for a while and are now looking to get back to where they came from: ECL Elite. On their good days they can fight for a playoff spot in the highest division, but their ability to stay consistent is why they are currently playing in Pro. If @JaKurrii can get his team to play the way they need to, they’ll advance with the help of @Ghettomasi who led the team in the regular season, and now needs to get back to his regular season form. RYHTIC who took down a great team in Södertälje in the first round has a round 2 monkey on their back they really need to shake off. They are known for having a great season and making the playoffs, but not quite being able to finish the job in the end. The team is once again being led by veteran @yrjoo, and focuses on keeping games close and not giving their opponent an inch in the offensive zone. If they can stick to their game plan and keep POGGERS off the board, they might just make it to the semifinals. With @Naikou88 back in the team, and @JussinSisko being a playoff performer, this might just be the year for RYHTIC. We caught up with the captains of RYHTIC @yrjoo for some comments about the series. What are your opponent's biggest weaknesses? Yrjoo: "Has to be their inconsistency." And how are you going to win this series? Yrjoo: "By continuing where we left off versus SSK." POGGERS were unfortunately unavailable for comment. Predictions: @hifk_FANI: RYHTIC 4-3 @ripKeisari RYHTIC 4-1 @Pensasmies POGGERS 4-1 A player who shouldn’t be overlooked: @MCH_98 Watch the series live: twitch.tv/yrjoo FOLLOW THE ECL PRO PLAYOFFS LIVE You can watch live coverage of the Pro Division Quarterfinals on Twitch, YouTube, and X on Tuesday, June 4th. Additionally, you can follow the teams' own coverage using the links provided above. Who do you think will win each series? Are there any key points or factors that we may have not covered? Let us know in the comments!

MATCHUP 1 (1) Valokuitunen Esports vs (5) EXEN Regular Season Results: 7-1 Valokuitunen Esports W 3-2 Valokuitunen Esports OTW Valokuitunen: Phew, well that was close. Despite punching their ticket to another Semifinals last week, their series probably ended up being a bit too close for comfort, as the defending champs were pushed to a Game 7 against (8) The Black Jacks last week. Some could maybe even argue that Valokuitunen was fortunate to escape the series, but they did escape, and in the playoffs that is all that matters. Valokuitunen were led by many of the usual names during their Quarterfinals victory. Niklas @NikkeDangles Tukiainen led the way for the group with 9 points, putting up 3 goals and 6 assists in his six games played. They also saw major contributions from their captain and center Perttu @Beniittto Kemppainen, who pitched in 8 points with 4 goals and 4 assists in seven games, while also posting a 53.8% face-off percentage. Roope @pikkuroger Bergström was held to just 6 points during the series, but 5 of those were goals, so he was still able to step up in a big way, continuing to show his abilities as a goal-scorer. Sebastian @FINSeRe Remes also carried over his regular season success into the postseason, backstopping Valokuitunen with an 86.75% save percentage and 1.57 GAA in seven starts. He also had 14 shutout periods and made the second-most saves of any goalie in the Quarterfinals with 72, while also facing the second-most shots (83). Now they will turn their attention to EXEN, a team that they were able to get the best of in both regular season meetings. The regular season series was a tale of two games for Valokuitunen despite getting the win in both contests. In the first meeting, Valokuitunen outshot EXEN 21-7, had 9:42 of time on attack (4:22 more than what EXEN had), and scored 5 goals in the second period alone. The second matchup however was very different. They continued to find offensive zone time, earning 9:53 of time on attack, but they only posted 11 shots on net. Their five skaters also combined for 48 giveaways in the second game; a massive increase from their 21 giveaways in the first game. Valokuitunen will need to hope to find some of the same magic that they saw in the first matchup between these two teams compared to the second, especially in terms of winning the possession game and not hesitating to shoot the puck when at all possible. Valokuitunen Player To Watch: Roope @pikkuroger Bergström (Left Winger) In Valokuitunen Esports' two regular season meetings against EXEN, @pikkuroger had 9 points with 5 goals and 4 assists. He also took 15 shots in those two games, including 12 in their 7-1 win. He's established himself as one of the best goal scorers in Europe over the past few years and he's going against a team that he played very well against earlier this season. Expect him to be a big factor in this series. EXEN: After earning the only sweep in the Quarterfinals against Tohtorit, EXEN finds themselves back in the Semifinals for the first time since the ECL '23: Winter season. They were rather dominant and were possibly the most impressive of the teams that made it into the next round, especially on the offensive end. Each of EXEN's five skaters tallied 6 points or more during the four-game series and four of their five skaters scored at least 2 goals. Though EXEN has plenty of talent at forward, I would argue that it was the defense that led the charge for this group offensively. Aapeli @Lxndstrom Landström tied with forward Aaro @xAaro89x Aarvala for the team lead in points with 9, including 3 goals to go along with 6 assists. His defensive partner Aleksi @Mozjayh Kähkönen contributed 8 points in the series, with all of them being assists. The most impressive thing about the pairing? Each of them possessed the puck for over 27 minutes during this series, an average of just under 7 minutes per game. When you combine these numbers, that makes for almost 25% of the total game where one of them has the puck on their stick, so their importance to this team cannot be understated. Someone else to keep a close eye on in this series would be V-V @cTunkeilija Lampela, who in my opinion has been one of the most underrated centers in the Elite Division for a few seasons now. He'll be matched up with one of the best at his position, making for an intriguing position matchup in a series that is going to be filled with them. He also had 21 takeaways in the Quarterfinals against Tohtorit and contributed a point on each of EXEN's 3 goals against Valokuitunen during the regular season series. Keep an eye on him. Focusing now on their upcoming matchup, EXEN is going to have to prioritize playing the possession game and making their time in the offensive zone count. Though they lost both regular season meetings against this team, the quality of their play in both losses highly contrasted. In that second game, EXEN nearly doubled their offensive production and also saw drastic improvements in their defensive play, which is what I feel was the biggest difference between the two contests. In the first game against Valokuitunen, EXEN allowed 21 shots on net, in the second matchup they allowed just 11. They also forced Valokuitunen into many more mistakes with the puck, forcing 17 takeaways in the second game after only forcing 6 takeaways in the first matchup. EXEN will need to remember the lessons that they learned in their regular season series against Valokuitunen, while also carrying over the success that they had in the Quarterfinals. If they can, it could make for the perfect storm. A storm so perfect that it could lead the team to its first-ever Finals appearance in the Elite Division. EXEN Player to Watch: Aleksi @Mozjayh Kähkönen (Left Defense) There are lot of different options that I could go with here, but considering the fact that he played for this team last season as a forward and has played against them in the ECL Finals and Semifinals multiple times, I think that @Mozjayh has to be the pick here. He has been a perfect match with this EXEN group and his experience in the playoffs as a three-time Elite champion, as well as his history and knowledge of their opponents will be invaluable in a critical series like this. Prediction This series has a lot of different storylines with a lot of different angles. These two teams are two of the most experienced in the division but in a completely different way. Valokuitunen Esports have cemented themselves as one of the best teams in Europe over the past few years and have the pedigree and history to back that up. They've won four championships, are the only team in ECL history to win three straight titles, and are the defending champs in these playoffs after winning the trophy last season(formerly under the hREDS brand). Meanwhile, at the same time that their opponents were dominating the European scene, EXEN went through a rollercoaster experience. This team had to completely rebuild itself from the ground up, going from being the Elite's top seed in the ECL 11 playoffs to being relegated to the Pro Division not long after. They then won the Pro Division title in ECL '22: Winter in their first season there to earn their way back into Elite; and now they are back to competing for championships in the ECL's top flight (all formerly as JYP Jyväskyla). They've built well over the years and have grown significantly, but in their entire time in the Elite Division, they have yet to make it to the Finals. Is this the season they can get it done? This team certainly has a different feeling than its past teams did and we've already seen Valokuitunen get pushed to the brink in these playoffs, narrowly escaping against the ECL's eighth-seeded team to get here. There were moments in that series where they felt hesitant, made uncharacteristic mistakes and at times even seemed to let their frustrations show and get the best of them. I'd expect this group to step up their game in the Semifinals and be much better than what we saw two weeks ago. It's what they have always done and they've had a 10-day break to regroup as a team, which I think will benefit them after a series that I highly doubt that they were happy with, even despite advancing. I think this series will be close and that EXEN has a true shot to potentially pull off the victory, but I'm not going to go against this Valokuitunen team. It rarely goes well when you do. Valokuitunen Esports in 6 MATCHUP 2 (2) Straikers vs (3) Tunnel Vision Regular Season Results: 2-0 Straikers W 5-2 Straikers W Straikers: In what was another close call in the Quarterfinals, Straikers were able to avoid the upset against Unwanted for a second straight season. Straikers' experience in clutch situations again helped them in this series, and their big moment players were the ones that really stepped up and led the way for them when things began to look questionable in that series. Offensive production was distributed rather evenly in their series, as all five skaters score a goal in the series and each of them contributed at least 4 points during the series. Erik @Eki Tammenpää led the way for the group with his 8 points, which included 3 goals and 5 assists. He was huge for Straikers in pretty much every phase of the game and showed why he's seen as one of the top players in the league regardless of what position he plays. He also had 32 takeaways and won 57.9% of his face-offs; all while being the only Straikers skater to not take a penalty during the series. Not only this, but all three of his goals in the series came in Game 7 alone. That's clutch factor if I've ever seen it. Along with him was fellow-veteran forward Ilmari @Puantso Lehkonen, who posted 6 points in the series with 4 of them being goals. His long-time teammate and goaltender Hannes @Hansulinho Kettunen was also critical to the series victory, as he stepped up between the pipes with an 82.86% save percentage and a 1.71 GAA. Two of his four victories in the series were shutouts, blanking a strong Unwanted offense in a critical victories in Game 2 and in Game 5. Focusing now on their Semifinal matchup, Straikers have reasons for optimism but also showed that they have some room to improve from their Quarterfinals performance. On the positive side of things, they will match up against a Tunnel Vision team that they beat twice in the regular season. Additionally, Tunnel Vision has some similarities stylistically to Unwanted, as both teams love to utilize counter-attacks and can create quick offense. This is something that could help Straikers, as they just went against this for seven games last week at a more extreme level. However, Tunnel Vision is a more experienced side and is also a better offensive team than what Straikers' faced in the Quarterfinals (with all due respect to Unwanted). Tunnel Vision plays a high-octane style that will see them have more offensive zone time than Unwanted did and they'll also shoot the puck significantly more. Not only this, but they even showed significant signs of improvement in their defensive play last week; something that was the team's biggest weakness coming into the postseason (something that we will talk about further in a bit). To win this series, Straikers will have to be smart and cohesive. They will also need to be more opportunistic on the power play. After sporting the league's best power play at 36.84% during the regular season, Straikers was held to just 1 power play goal on 10 attempts; that's 10% against a penalty kill that ranked at just 10th in the division during the regular season. We all know what this team is capable of when they are firing on all cylinders and they know that last week was far from their best work. I'd expect them to look better than what we saw in the Quarterfinals. Straikers Player to Watch: Tuukka @FlyerKungen Kuha (Right Defense) I wanted to stray away from what could be viewed as the more obvious pick in @Eki and I think that @FlyerKungen has served as one of the most reliable two-way defensemen in the league since moving from RW to RD last season. During the regular season series against Tunnel Vision, he was able to contribute 2 points (1 goal and 1 assist) while also racking up 7 takeaways and 11 interceptions defensively. He's the definition of reliable and rarely makes any big mistakes on either side of the ice. Exactly what you need when going up against a familiar foe and a fellow former champion. Tunnel Vision: Right when it seemed fair to doubt them, Tunnel Vision responded by turning in its most complete effort of the season last week They defeated a scrappy sixth-seed in Bjorkloven Esport team in five games; reminding the ECL world of who they are in the process. Two-time Elite Division champions and finalists in each of the past four seasons. Their offensive production continued to thrive as it did in the regular season, as Tunnel Vision scored a total of 14 goals in its five games (an average of 2.8 per game). This included two games in which they scored five goals in Games 2 and 5. All of these goals came from their forwards, as Arttu @Laiitinen Laitinen, Valtteri @Vattuyy Virtanen and Väinö @Pikkarii Pikkarainen each had at least 8 points and 4 goals in the series. However, this offensive production was to be expected. After all, Tunnel Vision dominated on the offensive end during the regular season and have been doing so for years. Where people's concern lied was in their own-zone play and they were able to put many of those concerns to rest in this series. As I mentioned in the Quartefinals preview, Tunnel Vision allowed 2.7 goals against per game during the regular season, which ranked third-worst in the Elite Division. During the Quarterfinals it was a completely different story, as they allowed just 6 goals throughout the entire five-game series, that's an average of 1.2 goals against per game. To cut your goals against in half in such a short time is a remarkable turnaround, and it's something that Tunnel Vision deserves credit for. They also allowed just an average of 8.2 shots per game, so they didn't even allow for many chances. Similarly to Straikers, Tunnel Vision has reasons for both optimism and caution. For optimism, Tunnel Vision should look like a much different team than what Straikers saw in the regular season. For starters, their usual starting winger @Laiitinen was out of the lineup in those two games, forcing @Vattuyy to move out of his usual winger position to play at the center spot. Though this sounds like a small change at face value, the differences between a winger and a center can sometimes be drastic depending on the player's style, so it's not an easy transition to make on short notice. It also means more when playing against a top-end team like Straikers; especially when you are matched up against one of the league's best centers on the other side. Not only this, but this seems to be a different Tunnel Vision team in terms of effort and focus. During an interview that was featured on our broadcast during their Quarterfinals series, I asked Tunnel Vision's captain Tomi @tomboo- Laitinen about the improvements in their defensive play and he immediately mentioned the team's increased efforts with it being the playoffs. This difference was immediately noticeable when watching them and quite frankly, it makes Tunnel Vision a totally different team from the one that we saw during the first 30 games of the season. However, they will be going up against an opponent in Straikers that has gone far too long without hoisting the ECL Elite trophy. Bjorkloven's lack of Elite-level playoff experience was a clear advantage for Tunnel Vision in that series and that is something that won't be there for them this time. Also, Straikers were a far better offensive team than Bjrokloven this season, as while Straikers ranked as the third-highest scoring team in the league with 2.87 goals per game, Bjorkloven ranked at 9th, averaging 2.33 goals per game. They have plenty of reason to feel good about things going into this series, but Straikers are a team on a clear mission. It's going to take Tunnel Vision's most complete version of themselves to knock them out. Tunnel Vision Player to Watch: Ben @benuh_ Rinnet (Goalie) After a stellar Winter season that saw him as a Goaltender of the Season nominee, Ben @benuh_ Rinnet took a step back statistically this season, as his save percentage went from 85.19% during the Winter campaign to 78.74% during the Spring. Now obviously not all of this falls on him. A goalie can only do so much and every netminder's success is somewhat determined by the quality of play in front of him; which defensively also took a step back during the regular season. However in the postseason so far, @benuh_ has completely flipped the script like the rest of his team, playing phenomenally in between the pipes. He averaged an 85.37% save percentage in the series victory and a 1.2 GAA. He also had shut out Bjokrloven Esports in 10 of the 15 periods played during that series (that's roughly 66.7% of the entire series). If Tunnel Vision is going to have similar success in the Semifinals, @benuh_ is going to have to be at the level that we saw him at last week and throughout all of last season. Prediction To be quite honest, you could flip a coin to pick this series and have just as good of a reason to make that pick as you would doing hours of research. That is how close these two teams are to each other. Considering this, I'm just going to make a prediction based on what I feel as I am typing this. The drama is palpable and the storylines create themselves. In recent times, Tunnel Vision has gotten the best of Straikers in the playoffs, including in multiple Semifinals and Finals series. They were knocked off of their championship throne against hREDS last season in a 7-game Finals series and now they are on a mission themselves, hoping to remind the ECL that they are still the team to beat in this division. They will feel confident coming into this matchup and they have every reason to do so. Meanwhile, Straikers are on a a mission that trails back a bit further. They were swept in the Semifinals last season by hREDS and they've come so close to touching gold again multiple times over the last few years, but for one reason or another, it hasn't happened. It's been three years since Straikers last won the Elite Division, so they are hungrier than ever. They want to end the talk of their championship drought, and they want to do it this season. Fine, I'll stop stalling and will make my pick. I think that there is something to be said about consistency. Though Straikers were far from their best in the Quarterfinals, they have been the more consistent and complete team between the two this season and I'd expect them to make significant improvements in their game from what we saw last week against Unwanted. These two teams also have different-looking lineups than when they met in the playoffs a year ago, so this series should look a bit different from each of their past series matchups. I'm just going to go with my gut and not have any expectations of being right or wrong on this. Straikers in 7 FOLLOW THE ECL ELITE PLAYOFFS LIVE You can watch live coverage of EVERY GAME of the Elite Division playoffs on Twitch, YouTube and X. Semifinals Sunday 2.6 - 19:45 CET | 2# Straikers vs #3 Tunnel Vision & #1 Valokuitunen Esports vs #5 EXEN | Games 1-2 Monday 3.6 - 19:15 CET | #1 Valokuitunen Esports vs #5 EXEN | Games 3-7 Wednesday 5.6 - 19:15 CET | 2# Straikers vs #3 Tunnel Vision | Games 3-7 Who do you think will win each series? Are there any key points or factors that I may not have covered? Let me know in the comments!

It's time to take a look at the second round in Lite of the ECL ‘24 Spring season, and oh boy do we have some juicy matchups! Disclaimer, all of the predictions were made before any games played. (1) Nordic Stars vs Refuse Too Lose (25) With Nordic Stars absolutely destroying their round 1 opponent Hirvikolari, there was no doubt who is the current favorite to win the championship, with 32 goals scored in 4 games we do not need to debate that any further. On the other hand, Refuse Too Lose had a tighter battle with better-seeded Vitosvitja, closing out the series in a thrilling game 6 overtime win. Nordic Stars are heavy favorites as one can imagine, like all teams they have their weaknesses and it’s for this Refuse Too Lose team to figure it out, one could point out that Nordic Stars did have trouble keeping the puck out of their net in their round 1 win, with goalie @SakkeTheEngineer boasting a 2.5 GAA in 4 games, the question here is can Refuse Too Lose stop @Vire30 and @Jerax13 from stacking the points even further, with both players raking in 21 points each so far. Whilst scoring 21 goals in 6 games is not bad, Refuse To Lose needs to keep this up versus a much better team defensively than their last opponents, if @Loghi89 can keep this scoring touch throughout the series, they might have a chance. Player to watch this series: @Jerax13 Predictions: @hifk_FANI: 4-0 Nordic Stars @Pensasmies: 4-1 Nordic Stars @Juhaniz-: 4-0 Nordic Stars @Pekedipeks: 4-0 Nordic Stars (2) The Oldtimers vs Hopfensmoothie HC (24) This series will be an interesting one to follow since both teams had very interesting first rounds. The Oldtimers had a tight game 7 series win in the first round and SSK Academy really put up a fight. Hopfensmoothie HC was an underdog coming into the first round at least seeding-wise, but they managed to do a reverse sweep of Nelos Kenttä. A reverse sweep is something that always helps a team perform in future rounds as it shows mental strength and also gives hope to the team even if they find themselves in a tight spot in future rounds. If Hopfensmoothie HC wants to win this series, their offense needs to step up and I am especially expecting @Original-SnuS to carry the team on his back. Player to watch: @Original-SnuS Predictions: @Pensasmies: 2-4 Hopfensmoothie HC @hifk_FANI: 4-2 The Oldtimers @Juhaniz-: 4-2 Hopfensmoothie HC @Pekedipeks: 4-3 Hopfensmoothie (3) Zenegeim vs Schrute Farmerz (23) Another series in which the better team swept their first-round opponent, Zenegeim taking down Hockeyholics in 4 games, was not as lopsided with 3 out of 4 games ending in a one-goal game. Schrute Farmerz need to capitalize on their chances in this series, because in these 4 games Zenegeim only conceded 4 goals, this shows that the defense of @Juhaniz- and @Saviinainen is no easy task for forwards, even if you do beat them they have an outstanding and experienced goalie in @Esko-etikka guarding the net. With Schrute Farmerz coming in as a clear underdog, they really need to study the game of Zenegeim to have a chance, they have a new team, and surely a lot of excitement to be here and have a chance to play in the playoffs. Defense might be the way to go here, if their defense holds up and the games are tight, they can steal a few games but their goal scorer @I-Jeppe-I needs to have a golden touch to put in those few chances they will be able to create. I had a chance to talk to the captain of Zenegeim @Juhaniz-, let's see what he had to say. Have you prepared for the next round in any way? "We talked after the first round, what went well and if something needs to be changed " What do you know about your opponent? "Not much new team but we do recognize some of the players." What will be the difference maker in this series? "This is always a hard question… It'll depend on who can read the game better and react to the opponent's playbook better. " Player to watch this series: @rakkauspakkaus- Predictions: @hifk_FANI: 4-0 Zenegeim @Pensasmies: 4-0 Zenegeim @Pekedipeks: 4-0 Zenegeim (4) Mights vs Ruuti (21) This series is one that can go both ways despite the seeding, with Ruuti a great series win over Carpe Diem and Mights barely getting through the first round it has surely woke the team up and reminded them of not underestimating these lower-seeded teams. Ruuti plays a really high-paced game and Mights plays a very patient playstyle that always includes that one extra pass to trick the defense. At the end of the day this series will come down to which team is more adaptable in their play. I'm expecting @Saloust77 to make some noise in the offensive zone from Mights and from Ruuti I'm expecting more balanced point production which can also be one of the deal breakers in this series. Player to watch: @Saloust77 Predictions @hifk_FANI: 4-1 Mights @Juhaniz-: 4-3 Mights @Pensasmies: 4-3 Ruuti @Pekedipeks: 4-3 Mights (5) BushWhackers vs Seinäjoki Noms (20) Firstly, let's have a look at these teams in round 1: While BushWhackers got a confident win with a gentlemanly sweep after only a game 1 loss, Seinäjoki Noms had to battle until the last moment with a sweaty game 7 overtime win. So far in playoffs BushWhackers goalie @HiBaZiBa- has been as awesome as previously in the regular season. He has an enormous 6-0-1 record with 90.91 SV%, 0.86 goals against average (#1 in playoffs) and 4 shutouts (Tied-#1 in playoffs). I would say this guy would not be far from it if we had a Goalie of Season award in lower divisions too! Assistant captain @hifk_FANI is the most experienced player of the lineup and you can definitely see that on purely scoring sheet with 7G+10A=17P but also watching their games noticing often him being the brains of offensive plays. But the other guy with an A on his chest @LeiskaViis7 has stepped up significantly and is currently #1 in defensemen playoffs points with 2G+10A=12P. All regular season long and in playoffs so far @Simbee434 has been the top-scorer of Seinäjoki Noms. Besides him, the big point in their gameplay is that their powerplay has been good and creative so far. If BushWhackers stay disciplined and Seinäjoki Noms can't build more weapons than their powerplay, this series will be a sweep. Predictions: @Pekedipeks: 4-0 BushWhackers @Juhaniz-: 4-1 BushWhackers (6) Sawolanche vs xBOTS (19) This matchup will be a very interesting one to follow as the xBOTS roster holds many big names from the HUT community. In my books, this series comes down to how well xBOTS manages to transfer individual talent into team play. Their attack at best can have most teams in Lite on their knees. Both teams have the nerves to win tight games as they both won a game 7 in the first round and personally, I really hope this series goes into 7 games so we can see which team has the nerves of iron. I had the chance to interview the captain of xBOTS so let's hear him out. What do you expect from the upcoming matchup? “I am expecting a broadly similar series to what we had in round 1 against Belissimo. As a team Sawolanche is not too familiar for us, so adapting to their play style will be key. In round 1 we made a drastic tactical decision after going down 2-0 in the series - we don't want to be in the same situation again, so we will try our best to counter whatever it is that Sawolanche is going for offensively.” What did you learn from the first round? “The first round was of course important for us gameplay-wise. But more importantly, this was absolutely MASSIVE for our team to relieve the pressure of making it through the first round. xBots in its history has played in 3 post-seasons, without making it past the first round - until now. This should help us to loosen up our grip on the controller - improving our gameplay. “ How will you prepare for the upcoming matchup? “To prepare ourselves for the upcoming battle, we have mostly tried to focus on our own way of playing. We have the capability to adapt our defense to match the offense of our opponents. We have a lot of discussions about how we want to play the game, how we want each other to move on the ice, and things of that nature. Being on the same page about the way we play is super important to us, and we are constantly improving on that.” Predictions: @Pensasmies : 4-3 xBOTS @hifk_FANI: 4-0 xBOTS @Juhaniz-: 4-2 xBOTS @Pekedipeks: 4-3 xBOTS (7) Modo Hockey vs Pata Hellalla (18) After many nights, and many days, MoDo finally played their last games of the first round, and it was a close one going to game 6 where MoDo drew the longer straw. This will for sure be a tight series with Pata Hellalla having the edge in experience, at least @Patadevils has a game or two under his belt, and maybe even the edge when it comes to offense. It's always nice to have forwards with the same amount of points and that's what we got here, can anybody stand out? Or will they rely on a solid team game to take out MoDo? MoDo plays tight defense which can cause trouble for their opponents, with 3 of their 4 wins being shutouts, this will surely be the story of this series. With a team defense like this comes great defenders, with their lineup not being the same so far, we will see who they scratch for the first games. Maybe @Sebbanejad or @I-Sjogren-I who both went without a point in three straight playoff games. Player to watch this series: @tilsuu Predictions: Hifk_fani: 4-2 Pata Hellalla Pensasmies: 4-2 Modo Juhaniz: 4-2 Pata Hellalla Pekedipeks 4-0 Modo (11) DEG eSports vs Technical Disaster (16) With interesting playoffs this year, these two teams are currently the closest two seeds in these Lite playoffs, with both teams overcoming their opponents in the first round they both have a difficult obstacle. Since both teams are quite even, this series will be decided by the team with more creativity, goaltending, and nerves. DEG eSports is not a new team by any means with 672 games played across all SportsGamer tournaments, their biggest weapon will definitely be their defense, conceding a mere 6 goals in 5 games, and their goalie @Meazza1704 rocking an 89,47% save percentage is no joke, with the recent connection issues arising these past weeks, will we see a significant change in either team's playbook? Technical Disaster's first-round series can be seen as a tight one, with all games being close, this will be a big test for this team to see if they can get past the 2nd round. With offense not quite being at the level they can be, this will be a difficult one, good defense vs a shaky offense? @Tecena needs to take his game to the next level once again, with only 5p (2+3) and a disappointing 39,2% faceoff percentage. Player to watch this series: @daaiim0n Predictions: @hifk_FANI: 4-2 DEG eSports @Pensasmies: 4-3 DEG eSports @Juhaniz-: 4-2 Technical Disaster @Pekedipeks: 4-3 DEG eSports Follow the Playoff streams: Please post dates, times and links for streams in the comments of this news story and social media, to help everyone find your team streams. Who do you think will win each series? Let us know in the comments!