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Welcome to the ECL ‘25 season and the NHL 25 competitive year! Hey SportsGamers! NHL 25 is just around the corner and if I've done my math right this means we're embarking on the the 10th year of the ECL! We started back at the end of 2015 with ECL 1 in NHL 16 and are coming into the 19th season of the ECL with ECL '25: Winter. It's been a wild ride and I want to thank everyone who's been a part of it - many still around since day 1! Let's start with some great news - the prize pool for the ECL ‘25 Winter season will be 24 000 EUR and the ECL Elite Finals will be returning to the big spotlights - featured on the Assembly Winter 2025 main stage! Keep reading to find out more! Before we go any further, if you’re reading this and find yourself wondering “What is the ECL?”, or you're looking for a blast from the past listing of all ECL Champions so far you can find an article about that here. One of the more frequent requests from our community every year has been transparency in terms of upcoming plans. The benefits are clear, as it will help teams with preparation, strategizing, and assembling rosters, and of course, help players plan their holidays, trips, or other activities without sacrificing the opportunity to partake in the eHockey season to the fullest. So, without further ado, here is what the NHL 25 competitive year looks like for Europe. Please keep in mind there are still lots of details being put into place, but we want to provide as good of an overview on the timing of the ECL ‘25: Winter and Spring seasons, as well as the National Championships, that are played in between the ECL seasons. ECL '25 Competitive Year ECL '25: Pre-season The ECL ‘25: Pre-season tournament will kick off on October 17th, giving teams the ability to get right into action, get familiar with NHL 25, and test their line-ups against teams of equal skill levels. The Pre-season will consist of the following groups: Elite & Pro - Sign up now! Lite & Core - Sign up now! Neo & Newcomers - Sign up now! The best news? You can sign up right now using the links above! Qualifiers The ECL ‘25: Winter - Lite & Pro Qualifiers are scheduled to kick off approximately between October 21st and November 1st. For this reason, we suggest that teams participating in the qualifiers skip the Pre-season tournament. We will get into the specifics within a couple weeks. ECL '25: Winter Season The ECL ‘25: Winter - Regular Season will start on November 17th and be completed just in time to wind down for Christmas and the New Year. The last round of games before the holiday break will be played on December 20st. The ECL ‘25: Winter - Playoffs will start after the holidays, on January 3rd. Most of the ECL ‘25: Winter divisions will be completed by the end of January, whereas the date for the Elite Finals is still locked in for Thursday February 20th at Assembly Winter! National Leagues After the end of the ECL ‘25: Winter season, it’s time to battle in the National Leagues, such as the CSCL, eHockey SM, GCL, SCL & WECL. Many of the details are still work-in-process, but rest assured weeks 6-14 are reserved for National League play. ECL '25: Spring Season The ECL ‘25: Spring season will commence with the Lite and Pro Qualifiers in weeks 12-14. The regular season will be played weeks 15-19, and the playoffs will be played after that, with most divisions done before midsummer and the Lite Champions being decided just after. Please keep in mind that there is always a possibility for the timeline to change and we will be keeping a close eye on e.g. the IIHF World Championship schedules to avoid collisions with those games as well as possible, as we know many of our viewers and players love to watch the games. Early Bird Offer on Player and Team Licenses Below you’ll find the pricing of the team and player licenses for ECL ‘25. Starting today and for the next two weeks (until September 19th), you can pick up the ECL ‘25: Winter Team license and the ECL ‘25: Player License (Winter + Spring) for the Super Early Bird pricing listed below. After that, we will offer a slightly elevated Early Bird price from September 20th - October 19th, and finally, the regular pricing from October 20th onward. PURCHASE YOUR ECL '25 LICENSES HERE For those of you participating in the qualifiers and unsure which division your team will play in for the ECL ‘25: Winter season, you can still take advantage of this offer; Purchase the Super 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 Super Early Bird price for the division your team ends up in. For example, if you enter the qualifiers for the Lite division, purchase the Super 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 does not require a team license, however, we are introducing an ECL Neo Player license at the cost of 10 EUR per season. This will enable us to improve our coverage of the division, cover the finals broadcast and offer access to the two formats: the ECL Cup & the 4v4 tournament. Read more about them below. Please refer to this ECL Ranking in order to understand which teams are eligible to sign up for each division. Introducing two new formats - ECL Cup & ECL 4v4 We've been cooking up some extra fun to be had during the season and we can't take all the credit, as there have definitely been suggestions coming in from the community. ECL Cup is a knock-out type tournament that is played with your ECL 6v6 team. The Cup is played as a single elimination bracket populated by ECL teams from all divisions. The bracket is played at a slower pace and the action will go on for weeks, but if you lose - you're out! A bit dramatic perhaps, but oh boy are we expecting some drama! ECL 4v4 is exactly what it sounds like - a tournament played in the 4v4 mode of the game. All positions are to be filled with human-controlled players. We understand this game mode might not be for everyone, so the 4v4 tournament will not be a requirement for anyone to enter. ECL 1v1 is also back and we're excited to announce that we will be seeing some structural changes for the upcoming season, which we'll tell you more about in the near future. We'll have more info about all of these fun events in the coming weeks, but you may absolutely feel free to speculate and come with your wishes in the comments below, as there could still be time for adjustments! New License perks We're excited to share that we will be able to offer the following perks to ECL '25 license owners: Assembly Winter 2025 Tickets Limited Time Offer: Get a free ticket to Assembly Winter 2025 for Thursday, February 20th! Come and enjoy the ECL ‘25: Winter - Elite Finals and hang out with the community. Once you’ve purchased your license, fill out this form to apply for your free ticket. Act fast—tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis. We would also love to see attendees from outside of Finland join us for the Finals event. If you’re interested, please fill out this form so we can assist you with travel advice and answer any questions you may have. Stay tuned for more news about Assembly Winter 2025 and read more about the event itself at https://assembly.org/en/events/winter25. SportsGamer Health & Performance Program Get premium access to the SportsGamer Health & Performance Program, free for an extended period to help you reach your peak performance. Introducing the SportsGamer Health Program, a cutting-edge wellness platform with content specifically designed for gamers. While the platform offers a comprehensive range of workouts, home exercises, and courses, it also includes specialized content to boost your gaming performance. All materials are crafted by leading fitness professionals, ensuring you get the best in physical training. The program features gamification elements, making it fun and engaging to stay active on the platform. Additionally, it includes a dedicated section of short lectures from professional mental coaches, helping you dive deeper into individual and team-based approaches to gaming. This blend of physical and mental training ensures that you can stay healthy and sharp, both in and out of the game We’re excited to share more details with you as we approach the start of the new season. In the meantime, we’re seeking volunteers to test out the platform and its content as we continue to develop it. We’re looking for a small, diverse group of people of all ages, nationalities, and physical conditions. So, whatever your situation, if this sounds interesting to you, please fill out this form to apply. New Initiative - Social Program We’re committed to growing NHL gaming and esports! As part of a new initiative, we want to inspire teams and players to focus on their social media presence. We’re excited to showcase the best goals, biggest hits, and epic fails, and highlight them across SportsGamer broadcasts, programs, and social platforms. Introducing the ECL Social Program – designed to spotlight the best content from around the league and reward those who go the extra mile. While we’ll be focusing on video content, exceptional overall social media coverage is also appreciated. Stay tuned for more details and specifics on how you can get involved! Rule Changes & Community Opinion We would like to raise two items up for a community vote and open up the floor for discussion. Zone & Superstar Abilities - Yay or nay? For the ECL ‘24: Spring season we decided to ban a selection of Zone & Superstar Abilities. As NHL 25 is a new release, and we haven't had a chance to test it out yet, our initial instinct is to start with a clean slate and not ban any abilities until the community gets to know the new game and has a chance to make up its mind about whether the abilities are working or not. While we have preliminarily set our minds on not banning any abilities for the first season, we welcome the discussion and would love to hear your opinion. You can discuss player abilities here. Are there some rule-related changes we’ve missed? Now is your chance to discuss and suggest what type of changes you would like to see in the rulebook. Sign up NOW for the ECL '25: Pre-season tournament and stay tuned for the official kick-off of the ECL ’25: Winter Signups, launching mid-September! Edit: Added clarification to Qualifier date.

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 17th. 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. 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 ‘25: Winter team licenses in order to play. In addition, every player in the above-mentioned divisions needs to have a valid ECL ‘25: Player License or ECL ‘25: Winter Player License before taking the ice. Players in ECL Neo require only an ECL '25: Winter Neo Player License. Rules: The ECL '25: Winter rulebook will be an updated version of the '24 Spring season, you can check out last season's rules here. The divisions framework for the ECL ‘25 season will follow the same logic as for previous seasons. We will have a total of five divisions with the following team allocation: Elite 16 teams Pro 32 teams Lite 64 teams Core (up to) 128 teams and Neo 32+ teams. Please refer to this ECL Ranking in order to understand which teams are eligible to sign up for each division. Generally speaking, teams that are new to the ECL will start in the Neo or Core division. However, it is possible to apply for the ECL Lite qualifications to prove that you can compete at that level. 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. Hall of Fame: The ECL Champions so far ECL 6v6: ECL 1: Nordic Blizzard ECL 2: Mukimiehet ECL 3: X Factor ECL 4: Laser HT ECL 5: Aapon Taikasauva ECL 6: Carlsberg HC ECL 7: FILADELPHIA ECL 8: Written In the Stars ECL 9: Linköping HC ECL 10: HAVU Gaming ECL 11: FILADELPHIA ECL 12: hREDS ECL '22: Grand Champion: hREDS ECL '22 Winter: hREDS ECL '22 Spring: hREDS ECL '23: Grand Champion: Tunnel Vision ECL '23 Winter: Tunnel Vision ECL '23 Spring: Tunnel Vision ECL '24: Winter Champion: hREDS ECL '24: Spring Champion: Tunnel Vision ECL 1v1: ECL '23: Winter: Sisu "sisu33_" Nurminen ECL '23: Spring: Väinö "Pikkarii" Pikkarainen ECL '24: Grand Champion: Teemu "Temppanen" Karvonen ECL '24: Winter: Erik "EkiOriginal" Tammenpää ECL '24: Spring: Väinö "Pikkarii" Pikkarainen

SportsGamers, This news story is intended to help understand the ECL Ranking for teams at the end of the ECL '24: Spring season. This ranking determines the eligibility for teams entering various divisions this upcoming ECL '25: Winter season.  Below you will find a list of teams that have secured a division spot at the Elite, Pro, or Lite league level. If you didn't find your team on the list, don't worry! You can apply for a wildcard spot for your team in the Pro qualifiers or participate in the Lite qualifiers, which are open to everyone. Elite 1 Elite 🏆 Tunnel Vision 2 Elite 🥈 Valokuitunen Esports 3 Elite 3 Straikers 4 Elite 4 EXEN 5 Elite 5 Tohtorit 6 Elite 6 Bjorkloven Esport 7 Elite 7 Unwanted 8 Elite 8 The Black Jacks 9 Elite 9 Purification 10 Elite 10 Roots Gaming 11 Elite 11 Vesa Pompa 12 Elite 12 Polski Boys 13 ▶ Elite 14 Heimo 14 ▶ Elite 15 Renascor 15 ▲ Pro 🥇 Almost Famous 16 ▲ Pro 4 Mustaa Kultaa   Elite Qualifiers (if needed) 1 ▼ Elite 13 GOONS 2 ▼ Elite 16 Gotham Knights 3 ▶ Pro 🥈 Falun Coal Miners 4 ▶ Pro 3 RYHTIC 5 Pro 5 TIKI TALK 6 Pro 6 Deadly Phantoms 7 Pro 7 POGGERS 8 Pro 8 Golden Sticks     Pro 1 ▼ Elite 16 GOONS 2 ▼ Elite 16 Gotham Knights 3 ▶ Pro 🥈 Falun Coal Miners 4 ▶ Pro 3 RYHTIC 5 Pro 5 TIKI TALK 6 Pro 6 Deadly Phantoms 7 Pro 7 POGGERS 8 Pro 8 Golden Sticks 9 Pro 9 Otukset 10 Pro 10 Finnish Roosters 11 Pro 11 Supernatural 12 Pro 12 Södertälje SK 13 Pro 13 NOVA 14 Pro 14 Herlev Eagles 15 Pro 15 Cheeky Grinders 16 Pro 16 Vizio 17 Pro 17 ROBE Esports 18 Pro 18 NOSTREETSPORTS 19 Pro 19 HEXA eSports 20 Pro 20 Gunners HC 21 Pro 21 Nurnberg IceTigers eSport 22 Pro 22 Ismon Valinta 23 ▲ Lite 🥇 Nordic Stars 24 ▲ Lite 🥈 Zenegeim 25 ▲ Lite 🥉 Sawolanche   Pro Qualifier Wildcard requirements Three former Elite starters or four former Pro starters A starter is defined as having played 16 or more games in the ECL '24: Spring season, or 20 or more games in the ECL '24: Winter season If there are more players from the same team that were relegated out of the division Pro (in the same season) in the team applying for a wildcard, they may be counted as one player. The League Administration reserves the right to interpretations of this depending on the specific circumstances of the situation. What if all Pro Qualifier positions are not filled? Teams will not be promoted straight and all open spots will be filled through qualifiers (excluding automatically relegated/promoted teams). If there happens to be more open spots than anticipated (e.g. from teams disbanding which would have been invited to play in the qualifier) spots are filled as follows: Pro relegated teams Wildcard teams Lite #17-32 Pro Qualifiers 1 Pro 23 Ghost 2 Pro 24 Invasion 3 Pro 25 HC Lugano eSports 4 Pro 26 Company of Geeks 5 Pro 27 Devilz 6 Pro 28 Alliance HT 7 Lite 4 Mights 8 Lite 5 BushWhackers 9 Lite 6 MoDo Hockey 10 Lite 7 DEG eSports 11 Lite 8 Hopfensmoothie HC 12 Lite 9 The Oldtimers 13 Lite 10 Technical Disaster 14 Lite 11 Pata Hellalla 15 Lite 12 xBOTS 16 Lite 13 Seinajoki Noms 17 Lite 14 Ruuti 18 Lite 15 Schrute Farmerz 19 Lite 16 Refuse Too Lose 20 Wildcard   21 Wildcard   22 Wildcard   23 Wildcard   24 Wildcard   Lite 1 ▼ Pro 29 Eisbaeren Lauf Gaming 2 ▼ Pro 30 A Laget 3 ▼ Pro 31 Neptune Hockey 4 ▼ Pro 32 Ice Scream 5 Lite 17 VitosVitja 6 Lite 18 Nelos kentta 7 Lite 19 Red Bull Munich eSports 8 Lite 20 Carpe Diem 9 Lite 21 ACEsquad 10 Lite 22 Belissimo 11 Lite 23 SACK BROTHERS 12 Lite 24 HC VADELMA 13 Lite 25 Le Club Chat Noir 14 Lite 26 Woodhands 15 Lite 27 Toxic City 16 Lite 28 Aspyre Dragons 17 Lite 29 BK Skinnarna 18 Lite 30 Hockeyholics 19 Lite 31 SSK Academy 20 Lite 32 Hirvikolari 21 Lite 33 Trojans 22 Lite 34 Gleumes Hockey Krefeld 23 Lite 35 German Ice Gladiators 24 Lite 36 Dark Energy HC 25 Lite 37 Taisto 26 Lite 38 Carolus Icemen 27 Lite 39 Polarbears HC 28 Lite 40 Mora IK 29 Lite 41 SCB eSports 30 Lite 42 Sunne IK Esport 31 Lite 43 Rusty X 32 Lite 44 Turun Gasellit 33 Lite 45 PunaKala 34 Lite 46 Swedish Stars 35 Lite 47 Rouen Hockey Club 36 Lite 48 Bustdown Rollie Avalanche 37 Lite 49 Viitapohjan Viikingit 38 Lite 50 The Solution 39 Lite 51 EHC Olten eSports 40 Lite 52 Puck Over Glass 41 Lite 53 Stone Age 42 Lite 54 Chiefzz HC 43 Lite 55 Iserlohn Roosters eSports 44 ▲ Core🥇 KohKae Esports 45 ▲ Core 🥈 Darra Stars 46 ▲ Core 🥉 Saucer Hockey   All teams without an Elite, Pro, or Lite league spot can participate in the Lite Qualifiers without restrictions. The format of the qualifiers will be decided according to the number of participants, but a maximum of 64 teams can participate in the qualifiers. Spots will be filled in the order of registration, but the teams on the list below will have priority if the number of teams is full.   Lite Qualifiers 1 Core 4 ARMEIJAN KURI 2 Core 5 Prowlers 3 Core 6 CapeTown Kings 4 Core 7 Wida 5 Core 8 Silver Sword Griffins 6 Core 9 Lutunilkat 7 Core 10 NAM3LESS 8 Core 11 Koskenlaskijat 9 Core 12 HC Lugano Academy 10 Core 13 Moscow Capitals 11 Core 14 EV Duisburg 12 Core 15 Taskubilis 13 Core 16 Huskies eSports