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ECL ’25: Winter Sign-Ups Open – The Stage is Set for Europe’s Finest With the start of another thrilling season in European NHL esports fast approaching, the ECL ’25: Winter season opens its doors to a new wave of competitors. Since its inception in 2015, the European Championship League (ECL) has established itself as the pinnacle of eHockey, where top players from across the continent face off in a 6v6 format that leaves no margin for error. Every position on the ice—forward, defense, and even the goalies—is controlled by human players, creating a uniquely competitive environment. With divisions ranging from elite to entry-level, the ECL provides a platform for all skill levels to prove themselves. This winter, the stakes are higher than ever. As teams finalize their rosters and strategies, the countdown begins: who will rise to the challenge and who will fall short? With registration now open, the road to eHockey glory starts here. With a total prize pool of 24,000 EUR on the line—spread across both 6v6 and 1v1 formats—the stage is set for the most competitive season yet in European NHL esports. 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. The ECL '25 Pre-Season tournament does not require the license, but purchasing the license early on is recommended for faster processing. Rules: The ECL '25 rulebook will be published closer to the season, you can 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 few weeks back. ECL '25 Competitive Year For a more comprehensive read about the European NHL 25 year, please see the ECL '25: Season Presentation and NHL 25 Annual Calendar article The sign-ups close on the below-mentioned dates: ECL '25 Pre-Season: 15.10.2024 (Click to read more) Pro Wildcard Battle: 25.10.2024 ECL Lite Qualifier: 28.10.2024 ECL Pro Qualifier: 28.10.2024 ECL Neo: 13.11.2024 ECL Core: 13.11.2024 ECL Lite: 28.10.2024 ECL Pro: 28.10.2024 ECL Elite: 28.10.2024 * Signups will close at 23:59 CET on the day mentioned unless otherwise specified. Schedule Qualifiers: The schedule for the qualifiers will be tight - as usual, to allow the maximum time for sign-ups - so please prepare to play quite intensely during the qualifiers stage. Lite Qualifier start: 1.11 Pro Wildcard Battle: 30.-31.10 (if necessary) Pro Qualifier start 3.11. Elite Qualifier start: 2.11. (if necessary) The exact details will be shared once the number of teams is known. Regular Season duration: 17.11-19.12.2024 Estimated finals dates: Below are estimated dates for the Finals to be approximately played. We reserve the right to changes in schedule. All ECL Neo Finals 9.2. ECL Core Finals 31.1.-1.2. ECL Lite Finals 4.-5.2.2025 ECL Pro Finals 29.-30.1.2025 ECL Elite Finals, Thursday 20.2.2025 @ Assembly Winter 2025, Helsinki PLEASE NOTE: ECL '25: WINTER 1v1 SIGNUPS WILL LAUNCH LATER Free Agents & Teams Looking for Players 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! Early Bird Offer on Player and Team Licenses Below you’ll find the pricing of the team and player licenses for ECL ‘25. You can pick up the ECL ‘25: Winter Team license and the ECL ‘25: Player License (Winter + Spring) for the Early Bird pricing listed below. After that, we will offer a slightly elevated 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. PLEASE NOTE: ECL '25: WINTER 1v1 SIGNUPS WILL LAUNCH LATER 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!