Leaderboard

SportsGamers, It's time to kick off the ECL '25: Winter - Elite & Pro Qualifiers and in this article, we'll cover everything you need to know about the structure and schedules for the qualifiers of these two highest levels of play in the European Championship League.   ECL Elite Qualifier: The ECL Elite Qualifier consists of six (6) teams competing for two (2) open ECL Elite spots. The six teams meet in a group stage where every team plays each other twice - meaning each team will play 10 games. The TOP 4 teams go into a final round where #1 of the group stage plays #4 and #2 plays #3. The winners of these two matchups will win the promotion to Elite. The losers of the final round, along with the bottom two teams of the group stage will play in ECL Pro for the ECL '25: Winter season.   ECL Elite Qualifier Schedule Group Stage: 30.10-6.11.2024 Finals (BO7): 7.-10.11.2024 #1 vs #4 & #2 vs #3 Click here to find the standings and schedule The following teams were eligible to register to the Elite Qualifiers:   ECL Pro Qualifier: Stage 1: Four promotions The ECL Pro Qualifier consists of nineteen (19) teams competing for twelve (12) open ECL Pro spots. The group stage consists of four (4) groups of four (4) or five (5) teams where every team plays each other twice - meaning each team will play eight (8) or ten (10) games. The winner of the group stage in each group is directly promoted to ECL Pro. Teams finishing in positions 2-4 will move into Stage 2. Teams finishing 5th in their group will play in ECL Lite for the ECL '25: Winter season. Stage 2: Four promotions Groups 1 and 2 will merge into one group (A), and Groups 3 and 4 will merge into a second group (B). The points earned among the teams who already met in Stage 1 will be added to the standings and the teams will only play the three (3) teams they haven't met before. Once the games have been played and the standings have been tallied up, the top two (2) teams of both groups A & B will be promoted to ECL Pro. The remaining eight (8) teams will move on to Stage 3. Stage 3: Four promotions The remaining eight (8) teams will be seeded based on their performance and meet in one final best-of-7 matchup and the winner of each matchup will be promoted to ECL Pro. #9 vs #16 #10 vs #15 #11 vs #14 #12 vs #13 The losers of the final round will play in ECL Lite for the ECL '25: Winter season.   ECL Pro Qualifier Schedule Pro Qualifiers | Stage 1: 30.10-5.11.2024 Pro Qualifiers | Stage 2: 6.-10.11.2024 Pro Final Round (BO7): 11.-14.11.2024 Click here to find the standings and schedule The following teams have secured their place in the ECL Pro Qualifiers:   ECL Lite Qualifier: The Lite Qualifiers are set to kick off later this week as well. We will have an update with all the information during Thursday. ECL Lite Qualifier Schedule Lite Qualifiers: 1.-10.11.2024 We aim to have the matchups and schedule available for you soon, so games can be started as early as possible.     Frequently asked questions Do I need a license to play in the qualifiers? Yes. A player license is required (backup rules apply), but a team is not required to have a team license to enter the qualifiers.   What does "Wildcard team" mean? A Wildcard team is a newly created team consisting of experienced community members with such experience and skill that could warrant playing at a higher level than the one the current team would otherwise be assigned to. Alternatively, a team that has strengthened significantly over the offseason can also be considered a Wildcard team.   Big Tipper is banned as an ability, what do we do if the Grudge Match feature gets activated despite both teams selecting NO? The League Administration has decided to ban both Gold and Silver Big Tipper (both Gold and Silver) from the ECL ’25: Winter season for all divisions. However, due to a bug in NHL 25 that we hope to be patched soon, the Grudge Match feature may activate even when playing private club games and having selected to not have grudge matches appear. Due to this bug, a player may get special abilities that can boost all kinds of areas of their game.  Teams can try to search again and see if the game starts without the grudge match, but it is our understanding that it is hard to avoid. As we have no control over the grudge match feature at the moment, the League Administration cannot and will not handle disputes over the grudge match abilities, until the feature is patched. 

  After further deliberation and in light of the unanimous motion to ban the Big Tipper ability, the League Administration has decided to ban both Gold and Silver Big Tipper (both Gold and Silver) from the ECL ’25: Winter season for all divisions. This change will take effect from the Pre-Season starting immediately, and will also apply to the ECL Qualifiers. It’s been inspiring to see how the community discussion around abilities has gained momentum, with many well-reasoned perspectives and innovative ideas on the table. We’re especially intrigued by the proposals to either ban all abilities or allow each ability and/or player class only once per team. While both options could offer fresh layers to gameplay and enhance the broadcast experience, we recognize these are complex changes that shouldn’t be made hastily. Therefore, we’ll be following how the season progresses and reserve the right to revisit these discussions later. While there will always be strong opinions and a push for fast action, we want to make sure that we give these ideas enough time for the community to think about and have conversations. Thus, we urge you to be active and weigh in with your constructive thoughts. Player Ability Bans - ECL '25 Season Discussion We appreciate your continued contributions to this evolving conversation.

SportsGamers, We're getting closer and closer to the beginning of the ECL '25: Winter season and in fact it's the last chance to sign up for the Elite, Pro and Lite divisions today, as well as signing up for the Elite, Pro and Lite Qualifiers. For all info about signing up, read our ECL '25: Winter - Sign-Ups info article. In this article, we'll cover everything you need to know about the Elite, Pro and Lite Qualifiers. Please note that any list below with eligible teams is not necessarily the final list of qualifier teams. Without further ado, here's your info. ECL Elite Qualifier: At the moment, it looks like there are two spots up for grabs in ECL Elite. ECL Elite Qualifier Schedule Registration ends: 28.10.2024 ⚠️ Qualifiers: 30.10-7.11.2024 We aim to have the matchups and schedule available for you early this week, so games can be started as early as possible. The following teams are eligible to register to the Elite Qualifiers: ECL Pro Qualifier: The Pro Qualifiers are set to kick off later this week as well. With there being only 5 eligible Wildcard teams, there is no need to play the Wildcard Qualifier and we are actually able to kick off the Pro Qualifiers earlier than anticipated. ECL Pro Qualifier Schedule Registration ends: 28.10.2024 ⚠️ Wildcard Qualifier (if needed): 30.10-31.10.2024 Pro Qualifiers: 30.10-10.11.2024 We aim to have the matchups and schedule available for you early this week, so games can be started as early as possible. The following teams have secured the right to register for the Pro Qualifiers: ECL Lite Qualifier: The Lite Qualifiers are set to kick off later this week as well. ECL Lite Qualifier Schedule Registration ends: 28.10.2024 ⚠️ Lite Qualifiers: 1.-10.11.2024 We aim to have the matchups and schedule available for you early this week, so games can be started as early as possible. The following teams have secured a spot to register for the Lite Qualifiers: The rest of the spots for the Lite Qualifiers will be filled through the Lite Qualifier sign-up process: 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. Frequently asked questions Do I need a license to play in the qualifiers? Yes. A player license is required (backup rules apply), but a team is not required to have a team license to enter the qualifiers. 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 Qualifier Wildcard requirements to apply for a wildcard spot in the upcoming pro qualifier Three former Elite starters Four former Pro starters A starter is defined as having played 16 or more games in the ECL '24: Spring season, or 16 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 does "Wildcard team" mean? A Wildcard team is a newly created team consisting of experienced community members with such experience and skill that could warrant playing at a higher level than the one the current team would otherwise be assigned to. Alternatively, a team that has strengthened significantly over the offseason can also be considered a Wildcard team. How many Wildcard spots are there? There are 5 Wildcard spots up for grabs for the upcoming ECL Pro qualifier. How have the Pro Qualifier Wildcard spots been decided? If there are more Wildcard-eligible teams than spots are available, Wildcard qualifiers will be played. The final format is determined by the number of teams and the lineups of the registered teams. Special rules for Wildcard teams To prevent teams from taking advantage, specifically recruiting players to bolster your chances in the qualifier that have no intention of remaining in the team beyond that, we have decided to enforce a soft roster lock post qualifier play. If a former Elite player wants to participate in a qualifier for a Wildcard Pro team, then they will be locked into that division at where the team ends up throughout the season Transfer to a lower division is possible If a former Pro player wants to participate in a qualifier for a Wildcard Pro team, then they will be locked into that division at where the team ends up for 2 weeks (starting from the first game played in Pro that season) Transfer to a lower division is possible Wildcard Qualifiers and Lite & Pro Qualifiers are part of the season so it is good to remember that only one transfer is allowed during the season Teams with a Lite division spot can apply for Wildcard status for Pro Qualifiers without losing their spot