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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.

Hey SportsGamers, The new NHL 25 Gameplay Deep Dive trailer is out now and @sopuli04 and I sat down to watch it for the first time and react to it . Think of it as “NHL 25 Talk,” where we dive deep into the details that we see on the screen and try to make sense of it all. 😄 You can check out the video below:    Looking for the NHL 25 Gameplay Trailer? Click here!  Looking for the NHL 25 Reveal Trailer? Click here!   If you haven't read @bMaJuH's post about what's new in the game, check that out below:  

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

EA SPORTS has officially released its reveal trailer for NHL 25. With the trailer came information about all-new gameplay features, presentation enhancements, and the reveal of this year's cover athlete. We also got recent news about when the game will be released, what to expect from each edition of the game, and additions that will be seen in multiple game modes. Click here to watch the Official NHL 25 Reveal Trailer Hughes Brothers Named Cover Athletes For the first time ever, an EA SPORTS title will feature siblings together on its cover, as brothers Quinn, Jack, and Luke Hughes will grace the cover of NHL 25’s Deluxe Edition together. For the game’s Standard Edition, all copies that are purchased in the United States will feature New Jersey Devils forward Jack Hughes, while Vancouver Canucks defenseman and captain Quinn Hughes be featured on the cover in Canada and the rest of the world. Along with being NHL 25’s cover athletes, the Hughes brothers also took the ice to contribute motion capture to the game; providing NHL 25 with authentic animations that represent the modern style of hockey that fans love and enjoy today. ICE-Q Intelligence System NHL 25 will introduce the new “ICE-Q” intelligence system, which gives players the time and space to control every facet of their game and every inch of the rink. The new system is highlighted by three major components; Next-Gen Vision Control, Empowered AI, and Reactive Actions. Next-Gen Vision Control - This new skating system grants players more mobility both with and without the puck; allowing for players to move for more time and space on the ice. Gives players the ability to navigate the ice with more precision. The new system includes over 250 new skating animations. For example, now you can do things such as walk the blue line and execute precise turns while still staying locked on goal; helping players utilize the half circles and small spaces available on the ice. When activated with the puck in the attacking zone, the net becomes the target to give you a better chance for quality shots, passes, or increased options when keeping possession. When activated off the puck, your player will target the puck to allow you to open up your body. This allows players to utilize body positioning and certain skating angles. These new capabilities will also give players more ways to defend. All of these abilities will also apply to AI and CPU players. Empowered AI - This system is intended to be an overhaul of the AI system from previous NHL titles; giving CPU skaters increased agility and more accurate awareness of the play that is in front of them. Empowered AI also helps CPU players recognize player positioning and will help them be more consistent positionally. This is something that I’m sure will catch many players' attention, as AI awareness and positioning has been one of the most common criticisms of the NHL titles over the last few years. Refreshed and updated playbooks will also be a part of this new system. Reactive Actions - This improves on-ice positioning and collision avoidance with new animations and is aimed at making skaters more reliably responsive in critical situations. Reactive Actions will trigger animations that will make sense for specific situations on the ice; meaning that if your player should ideally react to a situation in the way that a player ideally would in the context of real-world hockey. These actions include things such as panic turns and changing direction quickly, and players being better aware of where they are on the ice and improving to avoid players around them. The hope is that this feature will help scenarios in-game play out as you would expect them to in modern-world hockey. Skill Based One-Timers Another new feature that will be talked about is the addition of “Skill Based One-Timers”. This feature will reward a player’s ability to read the attacking zone and find an open teammate for a high-danger scoring chance. Doing so will reward you with a high-impact one-timer that the player can see, feel, and hear. These are triggered through an in-game indicator that will identify a player that is ready for a skill-based one-timer based on their openness and their position on the ice. Once you pass the puck to the player, you must time the shot input as the puck arrives at his/her stick. A well-timed shot will create more velocity and will also impact goalie fatigue. This feature will be most prevalent on power play opportunities, but can be triggered at any point in the attacking zone. These skill-based one-timers are intended to create authentic gameplay tension; combining the excitement of creating a high-quality chance on offense with the importance of anticipating the play on defense and trying to deny that high-danger opportunity. This is a feature that will be an interesting addition for players with NHL 24’s full pressure system and new fatigue system being back in the game for NHL 25. This means that possession time could become even more critical to player success than it already was in NHL 24. More details about gameplay are expected to be released in late August. Presentation Improvements NHL 25 sees expansive improvements to character likeness and creation. ALL in-game characters have received a serious face-lift for NHL 25.; utilizing the power of the Frostbite Engine to do so. With these new next-gen characters, players will notice new cloth wrap and new strands, hairs, and beards that give players realistic hair. NHL 25 will also be introducing Sapien Technology to the NHL series; providing the game with anatomically correct skeletons to give players authentic lifelike models. Players will also notice that jerseys and clothing will dynamically flow to react and adapt to player movement. Also featured will be the new “Grudge-Match System”, which will keep track of the competitive history between teams. This system will be featured in both offline and online game modes to create additional context within games across all major modes. These rivalries will also feature special X-Factor abilities that can be earned from previous matchups against rival teams; making the stakes even higher against your fiercest competition. A deep dive into the presentation is anticipated to be released in early September. Game Mode News Franchise Mode will receive a complete revamp in NHL 25. One of many updates to the mode will be the Franchise Hub. This will provide players with streamlined navigation in the mode to access new, relevant, and easy-to-digest information. A deep-dive regarding Franchise Mode is expected to be released in mid-September and will feature additional updates. World of Chel will be getting an expanded schedule for live events with new ways to play. Though there is no specific timeline for when details about World of Chel will be out, news can be expected to be released at a time closer to the game’s launch on October 4th. Hockey Ultimate Team will now feature a Single-Path XP Progression System in NHL 25 that will be shared across HUT. HUT players can also look forward to the new “Wildcard Mode”. A deep dive for HUT will be coming in late September. Release and Pre-Order Information NHL 25 will be released worldwide on October 4th on Xbox Series S/X and PlayStation 5, however, players who go for the Deluxe edition will be able to lace their skates up already on September 27th. Players who pre-order the game will receive the following benefits based on the edition. NHL 25 Standard Edition 500 NHL Points HUT NHL Player Pack WOC Battle Pass XP Boost (x2) Immediate Reward In NHL 24 with digital pre-order (Choice of Jack, Quinn, or Luke Hughes at 99 OVR) NHL 25 Deluxe Edition 7-Days Early Access, including a head start in initial HUT campaign and WOC season 4600 NHL Points HUT NHL Player Pack HUT “Hockey is Family” Objectives Choice Pack (x2, 82 OVR) HUT Cover Athlete Choice Pack (85 OVR, 1 of 8 ) HUT Wildcard Starter Choice Pack (84 OVR, 1 of 6) WOC Battle Pass XP Boost (x2) WOC Season 1 Premium Battle Pass Exclusive WOC Player Set Immediate Reward In NHL 24 (Choice of Jack, Quinn, or Luke Hughes at 99 OVR) Players that pre-order the Deluxe Edition by September 13th will also receive an 84 overall Hughes Brother choice pack with their pre-order content. Finally, here are some more NHL 25 screenshots that you can feast your eyes on!