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NHLGamers, Did you score the sweetest goal, make the greatest save or biggest hit? Whatever your clip from FCL 6v6 may be - please send it in by linking it in the comments below! Some of the nicest clips will be featured on Gigantti Gaming's Instagram. The submission determined the nicest clip will be awarded an NHLGamer hoodie and T-shirt. We will also randomly award one submission with a t-shirt or hoodie - so even if you don't win, you can win. Makes sense, right? The first deadline for submissions is Saturday 12th of Septemer, but please send in your clips throughout the playoffs too. If your clips are good enough quality, they might be featured on the FCL broadcasts too. Reminder about social media Twitter: When posting tweets of your lineups, matchups, recaps, clips, articles - or any other content you might want to create - can you please make sure to tag the following accounts and hashtag: @NHLGamerCOM @Gigantti @esm_gg #FCL #eSM Instagram: When posting on Instagram, can you please make sure to tag the following accounts and hashtag: @NHLGamerOfficial @GiganttiGaming @esmkisat #FCL #eSM

We have reached the conference semifinal stage of the Northern Arena Cup co-produced by NHLGamer. It was a fairly upset free round 1, with Anaheim Ducks Gaming being the only low seed to advance to the next round. This makes for some very exciting rounds, and a lot of very good teams about to be sent home. #1 Seattle Entourage vs #6 Anaheim Ducks Gaming 12-1-2 Record 9-4-2 3.33 GF/GM 3.07 1.73 GA/GM 2.53 52.17 PP% 10.53 86.36 PK% 92.31 Round 1: Seattle defeated #8 Arizona Mars in 4 games Anaheim defeated #3 Chicago Phantoms in 3 games Seattle made it through relatively easy getting through the west coast team in Arizona. While they did put up a very solid fight, Seattle’s experience and skill shined through in the end, advancing in 4 games. Anaheim made a relative upset in terms of seeding, although winning in exciting fashion sweeping Chicago. I said in my previous preview that they need to play better defensively, and they did exactly that in the series, allowing only 5 goals in 3 games. Despite being the lowest seed left in playoffs, they deserve to be considered a contender, and will make this series a barn burner. Prediction: Seattle in 5 games, 3 of 5 games will be 1 goal games. #2 Calgary Prodigy HC vs #4 San Jose Chilltown HC 10-2-3 Record 10-4-1 3.33 GF/GM 3.13 2.87 GA/GM 2.20 7.89 PP% 24.24 91.3 PK% 85.29 Round 1: Calgary defeated #7 Winnipeg Denial in 4 games. San Jose defeated #5 Dallas Walking Dead in 5 games. The young guns in Calgary continue rolling from their late-season winning streak, beating Winnipeg in 4. Their offense continues to shine through, even against a good defensive team, scoring 13 goals in 4 games. Their powerplay continues to struggle, going 0/5 in the series, which is pretty surprising given their offensive prowess. San Jose ran into a trending upwards Dallas and weathered the storm with a game 5 shutout to win the series. Despite the final 2 games going well in the way of San Jose, the first 3 games were 1 goal affairs with games 2 and 3 going into overtime. It will be another offense vs defense series, and it will be which team can establish their gameplan most effectively. Prediction: San Jose in 5. Game 5 will be a 2-1 game. Eastern Conference #1 New York Underdogs vs #4 Philadelphia Problematic 13-1-1 Record 11-3-1 4.47 GF/GM 3.93 1.73 GA/GM 2.40 41.18 PP% 30.43 41.67 PK% 80.95 Round 1: New York defeated #8 Long Island 6th Sense in 5 games. Philadelphia defeated #5 Boston Nationalz in 5 games. New York had a bit of a scare as the top seed in the east, going up 2-0 early before Long Island came back to bring it to game 5, an overtime win for New York. This team carries a ton of expectation being the top seed and with a fantastic record of 13-1-1, and perhaps the first round scare will give them some added fire in the next round. Philly was a bit of a surprise team after finishing the regular season with a 11-3-1 record. They have proven they can hang with the best, and most recently beat Boston Nationalz in a nail biter 5 game series. It’s hard to consider them a dark horse with a record of 11-3-1, but it will be a tough task going up against New York. Prediction: New York in 4 games. #2 Toronto Composure vs #3 Tampa Bay Vertigo 12-2-1 Record 12-2-1 3.47 GF/GM 4.73 1.20 GA/GM 2.47 56.25 PP% 26.32 88.89 PK% 83.33 Round 1: Toronto defeated #7 CBJ Gaming in 4 games Tampa Bay defeated #6 Canadiens Esports in 5 games Toronto came out swinging in the first round, taking the series over CBJ in 4 games, including a 5-1 and 6-0 win. After a disappointing CBJ Cup, they are hungry for another event win before the year ends. They’ll look to replicate their success from the regular season against Vertigo after a 3-1 win in week 2. Tampa Bay is on the opposite end of the spectrum, after winning the CBJ Summer Cup, and look to make it back to back event wins. They certainly have the talent to do it, but have come off a tough 5 game series against Canadiens Esports. It is quite the shame that one of these teams have to be eliminated before at least the semifinals, but this should make it for that much more of an exciting series. Prediction: Toronto in 5 games. There will be some very close games for sure, and some heartbreak for one of these teams to go home too early. Thanks for reading! Good luck to everyone competing!

NHLGamers, The FCL is rolling on nicely and with that we're in for some exciting times of playoff hockey to cap off the prestigious Finnish championships. 32 of the best teams remaining will starting tomorrow go all out for the title and of course the biggest share of prize money. Now also the defending champs HAVU Gaming get to hop in on the action as they'll be facing seed 32 Cheers Hockey in their first bout of the competition. According to the above excerpt from the FCL 6v6 rulebook, the first round of playoffs are played in best-of-five manner and are to be played between 14.9 and 18.9. With the formalities now out of the way, let's present our first round playoff matchups with brief previews of each battle: (1) HAVU Gaming vs Cheers Hockey (32) The reigning champions HAVU Gaming get their first taste of competitive hockey since early June in this best-of-five series against Cheers Hockey, who are a skilled team in their own right but in all fairness in an entirely different league compared to HAVU. The champs might be a bit sleepy to start it off, but should be able to advance without any issues. (2) FILADELPHIA vs Gotham Knights (31) FILA is another juggernaut who seem to top the tables in every tournament regardless who they are facing and when they are doing so. They'll be going up against Gotham Knights, who just barely squeezed through as a best 5th placing team, the prestigious franchise has had a troublesome FCL so far, trading points in unfavourable ways in the group stage. FILA advances with ease. (3) YMCA Esports vs SJ Gaming (30) Who'd expect two Elite caliber teams going up against each other at this stage? YMCA has proven themselves in the past few seasons and have continued performing at a high level whereas SJ Gaming had some turnover after ECL 10 and have run into issues at the start of the FCL. A big improvement will be required from SJ if they want to have the slightest chance of advancing. (4) hREDS vs Oulunsalon Pallo (29) The big, bad reds might just be the most skilled team on the virtual ice and they have shown that by dominating their group throughout the group stage. they should have no issues overcoming Oulunsalon Pallo, who are up for perhaps the biggest challenge of their competitive careers so far. (5) JYP Jyvaskyla vs Angry Cats (28) JYP is eager to get back to playing high stakes games after a heartbreaking disappointment in the ECL 10 playoffs. The team topped their group with ease and are looking to continue on that path from now on. Angry Cats have proven to be a capable team but will need to speed up their game by at least a few notches if they want to have a chance. (6) GHETTO FIREBIRDS vs Sulkavan Sudet (27) After flexing their offensive guns in the group stage games, GHETTO FIREBIRDS have proven to be a serious contender. Sulkavan Sudet will have their hands full if they want to contain the wide arsenal of the FIREBIRDS while maintaining some scoring danger of their own. (7) KOVA Esports vs Kouvola Screaming Eagles (26) KOVA was the lowest scoring group winner but also is among the teams with least goals conceded - playoff mode already perhaps? Kouvola has a dangerous offense but can compromise in their own end. They will need to find stability if they would want to salvage some wins in this series. (8) SAWO ESPORTS vs Frosty Kiekko-Vantaa (25) SAWO ESPORTS had some issues coming into the tournament, dropping points in unfortunate games for them, but the team managed to find their pace and finished the group stage in spectacular fashion, topping group 7. They'll be facing dear rivals Frosty Kiekko-Vantaa in the first round. The group stage games were even between these two, with the aggregate score 7-6 in favor of Frosty, though. SAWO should be able to win this series however. (9) Tunnel Vision vs Hundred Acre Wood (24) We'll be in for an interesting bout between the very young and talented roster of Tunnel Vision and the Finnish-Swedish connection in Hundred Acre Wood. Tunnel Vision should be able to notch the required victories if they can keep their cool and play true to their level. (10) GENESIS vs Roots (23) What happened here? You'd imagine these two should be switched around when it comes to seeding but the fact is that GENESIS put on a show in the group stage overcoming Roots twice in their matchups. Roots on the other hand dropped important points in the opening round against GENESIS, which pushed them down in the standings. An even battle should be expected, but I'd personally chalk up a series win for Roots. (11) Kaupallinen Yhteistyo vs TIKI TALK (22) Both of these teams have seen some turnover as of late, but it seems like the level of competition has remained high on both sides. Kaupallinenhas a skilled offense with lots of hours in the game, but TIKI is known to be strong on counters and dangerous from every position on the ice. This will be an even one. (12) Exerceo vs CRY IS FREE (21) The recently formed ensemble of Exerceo looks good on paper and is expected to improve even further when they get more games together under their belt. CRY IS FREE has a wide array of talent in their roster, but I'm expecting Exerceo to come away with the series victory, just like they did in both group stage games. (13) Black Horse vs Children of Ice (20) A slightly renewed Black Horse will be taking on Children of Ice consisting of some of the most experienced players around the scene. Black Horse gets a minor advantage in the amount of talent but Children of Ice should prevail through sheer experience. (14) HC Dynastia Hockey vs Blackdawgs (19) These two faced each other already in the group stage, where the tight games both ended in a victory for HC Dynastia Hockey. Hard fought battles are to be expected, but Dynastia should be the ones advancing. (15) Enigma vs SOPPAJENGI (18) Enigma didn't have the easiest start for their FCL campaign as they dropped points against the likes of CapeTown Kings and Hundred Acre Wood, but they clawed their way into the playoffs and have prove themselves before. SOPPAJENGI has an impressive roster with limited time together, it'll be a matchup to keep an eye out for and it's definitely one of the toughest ones to predict. (16) Nordic Stars vs Pata Hellalla (17) This has been said a million times before, but Nordic Stars is definitely one of those teams that seem to have a ton of hours in the game every year and it shows in their game. Pata Hellalla on the other hand seems to be rejuvenated since the acquisition of scene legend @JOHTAJAVIRTANEN. This series in anyones for the taking! Make sure to follow the teams on social media for information on possible broadcasts!

Last spring the Finnish Hockey League, as many other sports leagues around the world, was canceled. As a response to the feedback from the hockey community, the season was finished unofficially online through the NHL 20 console game. The ePlayoffs finals gathered over 165 000 unique viewers in total. The fan reception was overwhelmingly positive throughout the execution. “It is safe to say that ePlayoffs exceeded our wildest expectations. We received tons of positive feedback from both the teams and the hockey community. The positive feedback is what inspired us to move forward with an official esports league. We are thrilled to launch the first-ever season of eLiiga,” says Aija Saha, Marketing Manager of Finnish Hockey League. eLiiga will be played using the NHL 21game and every team in the league will be represented by Finland’s top 1v1 players. Games are broadcasted by Telia and MTV, the biggest commercial TV-channel in Finland. NHLGamer is involved in this project as part of the production. “We are very thrilled to continue our cooperation with the Finnish Hockey League after our first successful outing with the ePlayoffs. The new series aims to reach fans of traditional hockey as well as esports. We see eLiiga as an important part of bringing new fans to the whole esports scene,” says Niklas Segercrantz from Telia Esports Series. In 2019 Telia launched Telia Esports Series and ever since its foundation the series has steadily grown and this year alone they have successfully expanded from Finland to Sweden, Denmark, and Norway. This summer Telia Esports Series also announced an official eFootball league together with Veikkausliiga, the premier division of Finnish Football. “Launching eLiiga means that Finland’s two largest sports series now have their esports counterparts. Finland is embracing esports on a truly impressive level and we are proud to be a part of it. We aim to help esports players of all levels to rise to the top,” concludes Segercrantz. eLiiga will begin on the 1st of November and the premium partner for the league is PlayStation. “PlayStation is excited to be a partner of eLiiga as the +500k strong Finnish PlayStation community loves sports games. Ice hockey is clearly close to the heart of our players with EA SPORTS NHL being the most popular sports game in Finland,” says Suman Rath, General Manager of PlayStation in the Nordics. How to participate Aside from being involved in the league production, NHLGamer will be organizing the official eLiiga Näytön Paikka (=showcase) tournament, which allows players a platform to show their skills in hopes of impressing the Liiga clubs. Each club will be represented by two players. To participate in the qualifying tournament, sign up here. Please fill in the form carefully, as it allows both our staff and the clubs participating in the eLiiga to contact you if necessary. NOTE! Participation in the Screen Place tournament is NOT a guarantee that you will represent clubs. Each club conducts its own player selection and contract negotiations. Other relevant information: Telia Esports Series website Tournament Rules: eLiiga Näytön Paikka tournament rules Please join NHLGamer's Discord server to make it easier to communicate with the other players and our staff:

It’s officially time for the playoffs in the Northern Arena Cup presented by NHLGamer. Over 90 teams signed up for a chance at glory, 32 teams have run through the qualifiers, played 15 games across 2 weeks, and we are now down to the top 16 teams left to battle it out for the $10,000 prize pool. Of course, due to the real-life NHL teams being represented here, we will see 8 teams in the western conference and 8 teams in the eastern conference. The competition and parity in the league was actually very strong, as there were many teams that were separated by only a couple of points. This could create some powerhouse matchups, where if some teams slipped up for a day could have changed their seed from a 3rd seed all the way to a bottom 2 seed potentially. There will be lots of action-packed games and series, so let's go through all of the matchups. #1 Seattle Entourage vs #8 Arizona Mars 12-1-2 Record 8-5-2 3.33 GF/GM 3.13 1.73 GA/GM 2.67 52.17 PP% 5.26 86.36 PK% 66.67 Seattle came into the event with high expectations of finishing in the top seed, and they did exactly that, only dropping one game in regulation in the process. The team felt in control throughout the season and rarely had any hitches. They were top 5 in a large amount of categories, which is no surprise given their very solid 12-1-2 record. Arizona Mars came off a very solid run in the CBJ Summer Cup finishing top 8 as Complex. While they may not be a team you first think of for playoff contenders, they managed to get back into a playoff scenario squeaking into that final spot in the west. Keys to the series: Seattle needs to stick to their gameplan and not get derailed by any antics from Arizona. As Arizona is a west coast connection, there will be some factor there, but this team has pulled through it before, and are riding high heading into the series. Arizona need to stay out of the penalty box. Seattle has the best power play in the west, operating at a massive 52.17%, while their penalty kill sits second last with a 66.67%. If they can keep games close throughout and not give Seattle too much confidence they can steal some early games and make it a battle. Prediction: Seattle Entourage in 4 #2 Calgary Prodigy HC vs #7 Winnipeg Denial 10-2-3 Record 9-4-2 3.33 GF/GM 2.93 2.87 GA/GM 1.73 7.89 PP% 20 91.3 PK% 77.78 Calgary Prodigy went through some roster changes prior to the event, and while I thought they would be within the playoff bubble, they went on a late-season run and managed to finish in a respectable 2nd place. The young guns on this team all love their high skill plays, and the entire lineup can be weapons. Winnipeg Denial ended up being the opposite, where I thought they would be pretty smooth sailing, but a slow start to the season forced them to have some second-half heroics to get back into the playoff picture. The team does have the chem and the event pedigree where any seed they finish in they can make a run and compete. Keys to the Series: Calgary will need to break through Winnipeg’s defense and use their skill to score plenty of goals. This team had good offensive numbers, but they were below average defensively, so they will either have to tighten up or prepare to pot some goals. Winnipeg will need to continue their tight defensive game. Unlike Calgary, Winnipeg Denial had very solid defensive numbers, and it could prove to be the x-factor for them in the series. With Calgary’s powerplay fizzling out with a 2.63%, it could be another leg up in the series. Prediction: Winnipeg Denial in 5 #3 Chicago Phantoms vs #6 Anaheim Ducks Gaming 10-4-1 Record 9-4-2 3.07 GF/GM 3.07 1.53 GA/GM 2.53 29.41 PP% 10.53 86.36 PK% 92.31 Chicago Phantoms came together and reunited for this event under the Phantoms banner, and they continued where they left off with a respectable 3rd seed in the west. They were consistently solid throughout the season, and have good underlying numbers in all categories. Their special teams have been red hot as well, being top 4 in both in PP% and PK%. Anaheim Ducks Gaming picked up BBB for their team, and they finished decently. To be honest, they started off strong but kind of stumbled into the playoffs, but a good squad nonetheless. They have had a lot of close games in the season, which could benefit them heading into the playoffs, where the games are usually much tighter. Keys to the Series: Chicago will need to capitalize on their strong powerplay. They finished with a 3rd ranked 29.41%, and will look to get an early lead potentially with a powerplay goal. This series will be very tight, so a good performance from the defense and goaltending could prove to be the difference. Anaheim needs to play a tighter defensive game. This team has very active puck-moving defensemen, and can score when needed, but it will be the defensive side of the game that will carry them through the series. They had a relatively high goals against per game compared to other playoff teams at 2.53, so they will need to be better in their own end. Prediction: Chicago in 5 #4 San Jose Chilltown HC vs #5 Dallas Walking Dead 10-4-1 Record 10-5-0 3.13 GF/GM 2.93 2.2 GA/GM 1.87 24.24 PP% 10.34 85.29 PK% 76.92 San Jose Chilltown made a couple of changes heading into the event, bringing in some experienced players like TheGreatMP7 and Vaporize 17 into the fray. This roster has the benefit of having multiple players who can all be solid contributors to any team out there, and can play at multiple positions. It’s a unique trait to have as a team, but the rotation could prove to be useful. Dallas Walking Dead have been known as a high offense team, with lots of chemistry between the forwards from many events. However, Northern Arena has given them new light in being a fairly solid defensively responsible team. I never would’ve expected Walking Dead to be a middle of the pack team offensively but a really good defensive team, but perhaps this is a factor to their recent success. Keys to the Series: San Jose will need to use their playoff experience to their advantage. This team doesn’t have a player that hasn’t had some sort of event playoff experience, and can most certainly be a factor heading into a big series. This team has been known for its defensive prowess, and I would say their regular season was more of an anomaly. Dallas will need to continue with their defensive play. It’s going to be a tight series, and before I wasn’t sure if they could compete in those tight games because of their all offense gameplan. They seem to have found a good balance between both sides of the puck, so it could be very fun to watch this team heading into the playoffs. Prediction: San Jose in 5 #1 New York Underdogs vs #8 Long Island 6th Sense 13-1-1 Record 9-4-2 4.47 GF/GM 2.47 1.73 GA/GM 1.60 41.18 PP% 33.33 41.67 PK% 90.91 New York Underdogs came into this event slated to finish first, and did they ever do that. They quite frankly have looked rather dominant at times, and with only 2 losses all season it’s definitely showing in the stats department. Not only are they scoring lots of goals with 67 goals in 15 games, they only are allowing 26. Long Island shifted some players around, and their new look team finished in the final playoff spot with a 9-4-2 record. While they didn’t score nearly as many goals as their counterpart, they certainly played a good defensive game, only allowing 24 goals in 15 games. Keys to the Series: I guess New York just needs to continue what they’re doing. They have been blowing the competition away so far, and they just need to stick to whatever their gameplan is to continue through the playoffs. Their penalty kill has been rather lackluster with a 41.67%, so they should try and stay out of the box. Long Island will look to continue to play a strong defensive game. Going up against an offensive force like the Underdogs, the best counter for it will be playing a defensively sound game. They have shown they can do it in the regular season, and keeping the games low scoring will give them the chance to shock the top seed. Prediction: New York in 4 #2 Toronto Composure vs #7 CBJ Gaming 12-2-1 Record 9-3-3 3.47 GF/GM 2.47 1.20 GA/GM 1.33 56.25 PP% 10.0 88.89 PK% 80.95 Toronto came into this event looking for some redemption after a disappointing top 16 finish in CBJ Gaming. They did just that again in the regular season with a fairly dominating performance in the regular season. Their powerplay was an astonishing 56.25%, and they had the lowest goals against per game with a 1.20. CBJ Gaming brought their own roster to the event featuring lots of local Columbus talent. Despite this, I thought they were going to struggle with the top tier competition. They ended up making playoffs in a Cinderella story manner, and look to make a dark-horse run. Keys to the Series: Composure will need to establish their tight possession game and give CBJ no space to maneuver. They always seem to have high TOA numbers, and in combination with their very good defensive system makes it extremely difficult to play against. CBJ needs Welsh to continue his monstrous run. He has been lights out for them, and a key reason why they have such a good goals against per game. They are going up against the only team with a lower goals against than them, so they will need to match their play to sneak in some tight wins. Prediction: Toronto in 3 #3 Tampa Bay Vertigo vs #6 Canadiens Esports 12-2-1 Record 10-3-2 4.73 GF/GM 3.47 2.47 GA/GM 2.27 26.32 PP% 22.22 83.33 PK% 91.67 Tampa Bay have always been a threat in all events they play in. This one is no different, finishing with a 12-2-1 record. They also have been goal-scoring machines, scoring 71 goals across 15 games. Montreal picked up their own roster for the event, and it paid off with a very solid 10-3-2 record. They started off somewhat slowly, but picked it up for the second week finishing with an 8-2-0 record in the final 10 games of the season. Keys to the Series: While their goals for is tops in the league, Tampa Bay had a somewhat average defensive performance, with only a 2.47 goals against per game, good for 8th in the east. For a team looking to make a deep run in the playoffs, they will need to be better in their own end to make that happen. Montreal will need to keep their momentum going from their final week success. This team has a solid roster that can challenge Tampa Bay and potentially make an upset, but if they can use their confidence gained from a solid string of games in the final week, it could certainly increase their chances. Prediction: Tampa Bay in 4 #4 Philadelphia Problematic vs #5 Boston Nationalz 11-3-1 Record 11-4-0 3.93 GF/GM 3.07 2.40 GA/GM 2.53 30.43 PP% 29.63 80.95 PK% 76.19 Philadelphia Problematic picked up the Road 2 Glory roster for the season. I thought they would find themselves within the playoff bubble, but they impressed with an 11-3-1 record. Their additions to their roster paid off and they have had a respectable season. Boston Nationalz started off very hot being the last team to be undefeated in the regular season before dropping a couple of games late in the season. An 11-4-0 record to finish in the 5th seed is still very respectable. Keys to the Series: Philadelphia will need to continue to score at the clip they are in the regular season. With 3.93 goals for per game, they have been scoring in waves and can prove to be their largest asset. Their powerplay has also been solid with a 30.43%, so it will need to continue to be impactful for them to advance. Boston needs to match the offense of Philadelphia. They are known as an offensive team, but they have only really been average with a 3.07 goals for per game. Also, their penalty kill has been mediocre compared to other top teams at 76.19% Prediction: Philadelphia in 5 Good luck to all of the teams in the playoffs, be sure to tune into the streams to catch all of the action!

NHLGamers, Since last night at approximately 21 CEST, the NHL 21 closed technical test is live. If you signed up for the test, you might want to check your email including spam folder for a possible code. Keep in mind not everyone was guaranteed one. The NHL 21 technical test is held for the purpose of collecting data and feedback on the available features in gameplay, the new dekes, improved AI, and the goalie controls and positioning. The technical test does not include all new features coming to the final product and does not represent the final product in any way. Remember that as per the terms and conditions of the closed technical test, you are not permitted to capture or share any video or screenshots of the test build of the game. No information about the duration of the technical test is currently available. We will update this article when we learn more. We will be sending EA our collective thoughts, so please discuss the test build of the game in the comments section below, in our allocated thread or send your feedback directly to the EA Forums.

NHLGamers, The first week of 6v6 competition is in the record books, but the 1v1 action is just getting started. With starting the action, you'll naturally also need some information. We're happy to have around 200 participants that all are looking to challenge the champion Kristian @kriketski17 Veijola for the throne. Below is a quick walkthrough of the most important information for participants: Schedule Regular season: 31.8.-20.9. Playoffs: 21.9.-1.10. Finals (Top 4): 10.10. The schedule is accessible through the league page, please remember to contact your opponents in time before the scheduled date. Brief season description The regular season will commence with group stage play. Players will be divided into 15 groups with approximately 13-14 players in each group. In these groups, all players will face each other once and finally the top eight players from each group will advance to the playoffs (a total of 120 players). The playoffs will be played in best-of-five manner with the exception of a live-event, where the semifinals and finals would be best-of-three. The fourth round of the playoffs will hold 32 players, as invitees Kristian @kriketski17 Veijola and Arttu @Artuzio Mustila will join the tournament at that stage. The remaining 32 players will be divided into groups of four players, where they will play to face each opponent twice. The two best players in each group will advance to the top 16 finals, which are again played in a best-of-five manner. Rulebook You can find the rulebook here. It is also always available through the league menu. We strongly suggest every player gets familiar with the rules before jumping on the ice. League Administration All league related verdicts will be decided by the League Administration. To open up a case, visit the Support section. Please note: before contacting League Administration, players are expected to do their best and solve issues they might have on their own. Familiarize yourself with our rules first, as they include lots of guidance for different issues. League Administration is always to be used as the last resort to solve any disagreements. Communication In order to get in touch with your opponent, you can use the private message function on our site or the FCL 1v1 discord channel which can be found on the NHLGamer discord server You can join our discord server by clicking the button below. Please communicate with your scheduled opponent in time. In the NHLGamer Discord you will find an FCL 1v1 group with designated channels for each group, and own channels for general chat, announcements and to share your streams (image below) Licenses All participating players must acquire a SEUL license, which costs 5€ to obtain. Participating without a license can lead to sanctions such as point loss or in grave cases disqualification. Acquire your license here Social media Twitter: When posting tweets about your tournament progress or any other related content - can you please make sure to tag the following accounts and hashtag: @NHLGamerCOM @Gigantti @esm_gg #FCL #eSM Instagram: When posting on Instagram, can you please make sure to tag the following accounts and hashtag: @NHLGamerOfficial @GiganttiGaming @esmkisat #FCL #eSM We hope everyone has a great FCL. Good luck to all players!

NHLGamers, It's time to jumpstart also the 1v1-action in our national leagues, with that you'll obviously also need some information on how to get the ball rolling. We're happy to see so many signups this year with a total of over 90 Swedish gamers signing up to fight for the championship title, defended by Henrik @Eken45jr Eklund. Below is a quick walkthrough of the most important information for participants: Schedule Regular season: 31.8.-12.9. Playoffs: 14.9.-24.9. Finals (Top 16): 2.10. The schedule is accessible through the league page, please remember to contact your opponents in time before the scheduled date. Brief season description The regular season of SCL 1v1 lasts for two weeks. Players will compete in 9 groups with approximately 10 players in each group. Games are scheduled but can be rescheduled as desired within the given time constraints. All players within a group will face each other once. The top six players (54 in total) and the six best 7th placed players will advance to the playoffs (60 players in total). The playoffs are played in best-of-five manner. The finals with the top 16 players will consist of a group stage with four players in each group. All players in a group will face each other twice and the top two players in each group will advance to the eventual playoffs with the eight best players. Rulebook You can find the rulebook here. It is also always available through the league menu. We strongly suggest every player gets familiar with the rules before jumping on the ice. League Administration All league related verdicts will be decided by the League Administration. To open up a case, visit the Support section. Please note: before contacting League Administration, players are expected to do their best and solve issues they might have on their own. Familiarize yourself with our rules first, as they include lots of guidance for different issues. League Administration is always to be used as the last resort to solve any disagreements. Communication In order to get in touch with your opponent, you can use the private message function on our site or the SCL 1v1 discord channel which can be found on the NHLGamer discord server You can join our discord server by clicking the button below. Please communicate with your scheduled opponent in time. In the NHLGamer Discord you will find an SCL 1v1 group with designated channels for each group, and own channels for general chat, announcements and to share your streams (image below) Licenses All participating players must acquire a SESF license, which is free to obtain. Participating without a license can lead to sanctions such as point loss or in grave cases disqualification. Acquire your license here Social media Twitter: When posting tweets about your tournament progress or any other related content - can you please make sure to tag the following accounts and hashtag: @NHLGamerCOM @swehockeyse @svenskesport #SCL #NHLGamer #esports Instagram: When posting on Instagram, can you please make sure to tag the following accounts and hashtag: @NHLGamerOfficial @swehockeyse #SCL #NHLGamer #esports We hope everyone has a great SCL. Good luck to all players!

NHLGamers, The time has come for the Swedish Champions League to kick off. Last year when the SCL was introduced for the first time, 22 teams signed up for the competition. This year we’ve seen a massive increase in numbers as an outstanding 40 teams have registered for the race! We are happy to see such big growth happening in the Swedish community. Let's make sure we are as welcoming to new members as possible to make sure we continue on this path. Below we have collected the most important information for our teams and captains: Schedule The season kicks off today, Saturday 28th of August, after which we will be following the following default game days and times: Tuesday 20:00 CEST Thursday 20:00 CEST Sunday 20:00 CEST The schedule is available through the menu both on the main page and here on the community side. Please note that some scheduled days feature two matchups. Schedule for SCL 6v6: Group stage: 29.8-13.9 Play-in Round: 14.-15.9. (BO5) Playoffs Round 1: 17.-20.9 (BO7) Quarterfinals: 22.-25.9 (BO7) Semifinals: 27.-30.9 (BO7) Bronze series (BO3) + Finals: 3.10 (BO7) Groups Below is the complete list of the teams participating this season and in which groups they will play (teams displayed in random order): The reigning Swedish Champion Vesa Pompa HC was invited to round 1 of the playoff stage as the #1 seed, but the team announced that they have decided not to accept this invitation, as they would rather work on their team play by participating in the group stage. Brief season description The regular season lasts 3 weeks. The top 3 teams of each group advance directly to the playoffs. Teams finishing the regular season in spots 4 and 5 will play a BO5 Play-in Series to determine which team in each group takes the 4th and last spot into the Playoffs. The Playoffs will be played in BO7 series'. Please see the rulebook for a more detailed description. Rulebook You can find the rulebook here. It is also always available through the league menu. We strongly suggest every player gets familiar with the rules before jumping on the ice and at the very least that the captains do so. The rulebook is in Swedish, so any foreign players will have to turn to their captains for a recap. The rulebook strongly builds on the ECL 10 rulebook, but there are some minor differences, such as the instigation of fights being forbidden. League Administration All league related verdicts will be decided by the League Administration. To open up a case, visit the Support section. Please note: before contacting League Administration, teams are expected to do their best and solve issues they might have on their own. Familiarize yourself with our rules first, as they include lots of guidance for different issues. League Administration is always to be used as the last resort to solve any disagreements. Communication In order to get in touch with your opponent, you can use the "Message all captains" button (pictured below) on the team's page. This will send a private message on the NHLGamer community to the three listed captains. Additionally, we offer an NHLGamer Discord server, which you can join by clicking the button below. We ask that at the very least the captains of each team join the server, as messaging through Discord is instant and it is a great way to communicate quickly and briefly. In the NHLGamer Discord you will find an SCL 6v6 group with designated channels for each group, and own channels for general chat, announcements and to share your streams (image below) A cool feature on Discord is also being able to get a team role (example above), which enables people to see what team you represent. See the channel #team-commands-guide for instructions on how to get your own role. If you need help with this, please see the #discord-support channel. Broadcasts The official NHLGamer broadcasts will be on NHLGamer's Twitch channel. Please follow our channel to support us and to get notified when we go live. The broadcast schedule and more comprehensive instructions will be published later. Team management tools All teams have been created, the team management tools on the main page have been unlocked for the team captains. All players need to be invited to the team rosters ahead of playing their first game. Please note that all invited players need to accept the invitation (there will be a popup alert on the main page for them) before they show up on the team roster and can start playing! In case you have further questions, feel free to use the comment section below this article, or contact support. Licenses All Swedish and Finnish players require a player license from their respective esports federation, acquire your license by following instructions provided in the links below. For players of other nationalities, a license from their respective esports federation is recommended, but not required. Acquire your license here (Swedes) Acquire your license here (Finns) Please note that playing without an active license is against the rules and can lead to forfeits and/or disqualification. All captains have been sent a Private Message last night and are expected to email in a response per email. Social media Twitter: When posting tweets of your lineups, matchups, recaps, clips, articles - or any other content you might want to create - can you please make sure to tag the following accounts and hashtag: @NHLGamerCOM @swehockeyse @svenskesport #SvSeHockey #SCL #NHLGamer #esports Instagram: When posting on Instagram, can you please make sure to tag the following accounts and hashtag: @NHLGamerOfficial @swehockeyse #SvSeHockey #SCL #NHLGamer #esports We hope everyone has a great SCL. Good luck to all teams!

NHLGamers, During this past week the NHLGWC regional finals and in that also the final events of the GWC season were completed. Due to the worldwide pandemic situation, all live events were cancelled and with that also the grand finals will be absent this year. Instead, fans around the world got to enjoy the play of our regional finalists in what would be some incredibly high stakes regional finals that we would cap off by crowning three regional champions - one in Canada, one in Europe, one in the US. Each of the regional champions took home a total of $10,000 USD and runner-ups earned a hefty slice of prize money with $2,500 USD. Here are your 2020 NHLGWC regional champions: 🇨🇦 Canada: Justin @Regs84 Reguly 🇺🇸 US: Josh @OFs Fuss 🇪🇺 Europe: Arttu @Artuzio Mustila Artuzio had a massive comeback year after a somewhat disappointing showing in the 2018 NHLGWC finals and came back determined to show his doubters this time around. The long time gamer based in Tampere, Finland did so in style and ended up beating Roni @MrNipsuli Kajan in the finals and claiming the EU regional championship. In the US regionals, OFs_HK showed up big and was something of a surprising winner as he managed to overcome the reigning world champion Matthew @TSCCookie Gutkoski in a thrilling final series! Our Canadian gamers brought on a show this year, but it was eventually two very familiar guys who fought for the title at the end, Regs and Matthew @YungGren Grenier went head-to-head in the final series, with Regs eventually walking away as the victor. We got a hold of the European champion Artuzio for a short interview: In 2018 you made a run all the way to the Grand Finals in Vegas. Did you utilize the experience and how have you developed in the last two years? "In Vegas i wasn't a consistent player. My offense was good back then but the defensive side needed improvements. After the 2018 GWC I reviewed my game and found some points on which to improve and since then, I've layed more focus on strategic defense and the hitting game, which i feel has been a great improvement for me." Which opponent do you think was the hardest this year? "Without a doubt @PleeMaker. I know his style very well, but he's always so dangerous, you really need to pay attention on defense in order to win. In both semifinal games, it looked like Plee was close to making a comeback, how did you stay calm during those moments? "I've tried to play a lot of wager games and smaller tourneys this year in order to improve my work under pressure and I feel like it's really paid off, just check the scoreboards!" Finally, what are you going to do with the prize money? "Haven't decided yet, so it'll be put into savings for starters." Congratulations to all participants! We're hoping to see you back next year, hopefully at live events! 🏆 Art: Chris @RyanDesigns Ryan

Tendy Heaven! Goalie Guild Gaming’s New G3 Prospects Program is Here If this is the first time you’ve heard of Goalie Guild Gaming, allow me to quickly introduce myself. My name is Justin Goldman and I am the founder and president of The Goalie Guild, a 501-c3 nonprofit foundation based in Colorado, USA. I am the author of four books on goaltending, an emergency backup goaltender (EBUG) for the Colorado Avalanche, a former writer for NHL.com, and have been involved with USA Hockey goalie scouting and development for seven years. Since 2009, The Goalie Guild has been creating and hosting some of the largest goalie coaching symposiums and learning experiences in the world. In 2015, I transformed The Goalie Guild into a nonprofit focused on grassroots development. In my opinion, goaltending is an amazing life experience, but the position has many barriers to entry. That is why I have been dedicated to giving back to the game by building free educational resources and opportunities for underprivileged kids and goalies around the world. Along with Lift The Mask, Gear Givers, and the Global Goaltending Retreat, G3 also falls under the umbrella of our nonprofit organization. While I have been a gamer all my life (just for fun, as I’ve yet to hit the sticks in the competitive NHL scene), over the past three years, I’ve become very passionate about taking my equity-centered and holistic approach to goalie development and applying it to the NHL esports community. Thanks to @Kenu and our partnership, I can bring this passion project to the NHLGamer community. The G3 Prospects Program Shortly before the first puck dropped on the Northern Arena NHL 20 Cup on Tuesday, Goalie Guild Gaming officially launched a new development program called G3 Prospects. Nearly two years in the making, this innovative platform supports the growth of NHL esports goalies and inspires them to learn through a free-to-play rewards system. To get started, here’s a walkthrough video on YouTube. This breaks down how the program works, how to register, and how to begin competing. Once approved, G3 Prospects that play in our sanctioned leagues, events, and tournaments are eligible to earn rewards and prizes for their gaming and goaltending excellence. We also host different monthly G3 Challenges, which are an assortment of gaming-based activities that vary depending on theme, time, and subject. The first monthly challenge will kick off in September. Thanks to our strong partnership with NHLGamer, we’re also excited to announce that the FCL (6v6) and SCL (6v6) tournaments have already been sanctioned and sponsored by G3, meaning active goalies in both events will be eligible to earn various rewards and prizes! These rewards are as follows: FCL & SCL 6v6 TOURNAMENTS PuckEaters (Most Saves): $25 Save of the Tourney: $25 The Donut King: $25 Vezina Trophy (MVP): $50 Sickest Setup: $25 *Prizes awarded for each tournament in $USD Another new feature we rolled out yesterday for the NHLGamer community is our G3 Depth Charts. This free interactive data tool helps bring more exposure and awareness to NHL esports by offering the community a way to discover and directly connect with active esports goalies. Just like in real life, there are always good teams looking for goalies, and good goalies looking for teams. Centralizing the active goalies that compete in our sanctioned events is a great way to bring the community together and open doors for more playing opportunities. A good example of what this may look like in the future can be found on our NHL Goalie Depth Charts feature. Now that the Northern Arena #NHLCup 6's tournament is underway and goalies are already pitching shutouts left and right, it’s time to dive right in and get this party started. If you have any questions about Goalie Guild Gaming, feel free to add me on Discord at TGG_Goldy#9818 as I’m excited to meet, mentor, and support as many NHLGamer goalies as possible. Good luck and keep that stick on the ice! ~Goldy

NHLGamers, Last year, the FCL concluded at the Summer Assembly event and we finished by crowning Kristian @kriketski17 Veijola (1v1) and HAVU Gaming (6v6) champions. This time we’re proud to announce our recurring partnership with Gigantti to bring you another immensely exciting season of FCL action. Like last year, the FCL holds the official Finnish Championship license (eSM 2020) from the Finnish Esports Federation (SEUL) and the league will feature both the 1v1 and 6v6 game modes. The FCL will be played through August and September and is planned to finish on the 10th of October with a live event* in the capital area of Finland. The combined prize pool is 10 000 EUR. Like last year, this iteration of the FCL will allow for non-Finnish citizens to challenge for the throne in the 6v6 league. The upcoming league will feature a foreign player quota, which entails that a majority (51%) of the team's roster (and line-up) must be Finnish. In addition, all captains must be Finnish citizens. All players require an eSM 2020 license in order to participate in FCL 6v6 and/or FCL 1v1. The cost of the license is 5 EUR and it can be obtained at esm.gg/pelaajalisenssi/ (click here for instructions in English). The one-time purchase of the license allows you to take part in all eSM 2020 leagues and tournaments (for 1v1 you must be a Finnish citizen). SIGN UP FOR 1v1 HERE! Sign-ups for 1v1 are open now and will be open until 27.8. Preliminary schedule for 1v1: Group stage: 31.8-20.9 Playoffs: 21.9-1.10 TOP 4 Finals: 10.10 (BO3) Sign-ups for 6v6 are now closed. Schedule for FCL 6v6: Group stage: 24.8-11.9 Playoffs round 1: 14.-18.9. (BO5) Playoffs round 2: 21.-25.9 (BO5) Quarterfinals: 28.9-1.10 (BO5) Semifinals: 3.10-5.10 (BO5) Finals: 10.10 (BO5) *Prizes are subject to tax as per Finnish law and the tax is withheld before payment. Prizes will be paid out within 90 days of the FCL 2020 Finals. Due to the majority of the FCL being played online and cross-platform play not being available, this year FCL will be played only on the Playstation 4 console. The final formats and schedules for both the 1v1 and 6v6 portions of FCL will be determined based on the number of signups. Invitations FCL 6v6: Reigning Finnish Champion HAVU Gaming will be invited to round 1 of the playoff stage as the #1 seed as per eSM 2020 rules (restrictions apply). FCL 1v1: Reigning Finnish Champion Kristian @kriketski17 Veijola will be invited to the playoff stage as the #1 seed as per eSM 2020 rules. The Finnish player who finishes highest in the NHL GWC 2020 European Finals will be invited to the playoff stage as the #2 seed. *Note: NHLGamer and Gigantti reserve the right to alter or cancel the live portion of the FCL in accordance with regulations and restrictions that may apply, or based on the judgement of the event organizer. Photo: Arttu Kokkonen / SEUL About us Since its inception, NHLGamer has continuously strived to offer the best possible experience for any and all gamers who have come to enjoy the competitiveness of playing the EA Sports series of NHL games. Created by gamers for gamers, we are very much in touch with the growing community and want to understand the fundamental desires of our end customers fully. The international competitive leagues in Europe (ECL) and North America (NACL) are our crown jewels, which have proven to draw interest from the very best teams and players worldwide. While proud of our achievements and the success we've had in creating and maintaining such a great community of talented gamers, we are not done yet. Our long-term goals include growing the community, hosting larger leagues with prize pools, and working together with organizations at the cutting edge of gaming and esports. About our partners Gigantti is the largest consumer electronics retailer in Finland, with 41 stores and 1200 employees. Gigantti has been an active player in the esports scene for a few years already. Their Overwatch-squad Team Gigantti bears the flag of Europe's most successful team, whereas the Gigantti CS:GO Cup and last year's FCL finals have proven to be great examples of what the tech retail giant can do in the field. Gigantti will continue on the path of developing Finnish esports and a key factor of that is partnerships with the industry-leading players. The Finnish Esports Federation (SEUL) works as the umbrella organization for Finnish competitive electronic gaming. SEUL's mission is to improve and promote electronic sports and the activities of our members. The federation was established in December 2010 to respond to the growing need for an organization to promote esports as a hobby and as a respectable sport. The activities performed by SEUL are divided into the development of esports, protection of player’s interests and communicational work. The development of esports is done partly by utilizing workgroups, which are based on the work of our volunteers. The board is responsible for the day to day operations in co-operation with employees. The federation co-operates with many national organizations such as VERKE, EHYT ry and KAVI, promoting a positive image of gamers and gaming in general. The federation’s participation in the international field is strong, since they represent Finland in the International Esports Federation (IESF). SEUL is also on the receiving end of the yearly grants given out by the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture for youth programs, and represents Finnish esports as a member of the Finnish Olympic Committee. What are you waiting for? Sign up now for the chance of winning the Finnish Championship and some great cash prizes! We sincerely hope to see as many of you there as possible! Also, since the sign-up period is rather short, we'd appreciate it if you spread the word to everyone!

Anyone keeping tabs on NHL 21 news recently will no doubt have spotted a link to the “Technical Test” that has circulated around a little recently. If you haven’t seen it yet, you can find the link here. While not being referred to by EA as a Beta (open or closed), as well as not being posted on any of their official social media accounts, we nevertheless believe that this will be the beta for NHL 21. As such, we recommend that everyone sign up to it as soon as they can due to the potential that there may be a limited number of codes available. The above is a screenshot, click here to sign up for the NHL 21 Beta As for what we know (or more accurately, what we don’t know). We do not currently know what game mode(s) will be included in the supposed beta, but if previous iterations are anything to go off then expect to see a slimmed down EASHL and HUT. Of course, given the cloak-and-dagger approach that EA are taking I personally would not be surprised if this coming beta is extremely lacking in content. Additionally, we also do not know who the cover athlete will be - something that was typically revealed alongside the ‘main reveal’ of the game that took place at the NHL draft. What we do know however are the release dates. As usual there will be a Standard, Deluxe, and an Ultimate edition on both consoles, with the Deluxe and Ultimate editions letting players download and play the game 3 days prior to the Standard release date. Furthermore, just like years past, EA Access will allow members to play NHL 21 a week before the Standard release date. Of course, this comes with the caveat that you will only be able to play the game for 10hrs over that time period. Therefore, NHL 21s release schedule will look something like this: EA Early Access - 9th of October 2020 (TBC) Deluxe & Ultimate Editions - 13th of October 2020 Standard - 16th of October 2020 As always EA are offering unique pre-order bonuses for each of the three editions on offer: Standard - 1 Hockey Bag Deluxe - HUT Cover Athlete Choice Pack (Choice 1 of 6); 2 Hockey Bags Ultimate - HUT Cover Athlete Choice Pack (Choice 1 of 6); 5 Hockey Bags What are your hopes for the beta - which mode(s) would you like to see included? And who do you think will be named as the cover athlete? Let us know in the comments.

Good evening NHLGamers, On the starting-line, there were 84 teams to take part in this ECL 10 Neo tournament. Tonight two are remaining and ready to fight for Neo's title. Jarnkamineerna and ScandinavianFishingGroup will play the full best-of-5 matchup tonight. The Finals will be covered by Drew Goldfarb and Paul @Cyn Anderson, starting at 19:20 CEST on the NHLGamer Twitch Channel. We couldn’t say this final is a surprise, both teams played great during the whole season. They both dominated their championship group. SFG made a 16-2-0 in group 3 while Jarnkaminerna concluded group 9 with 14-0-2. Wednesday, June 17th 19:20 CEST - Full Series ScandinavianFishingGroup vs Järnkaminerna The road to the finals: First round Jarnkaminerna (4) - Bonusambers (61): 3-0 ScandinavianFishingGroup (6) - HC Berlin Eagles (59): 3-1 Second round Jarnkaminerna (4) - Morganchipsen (48): 3-0 ScandinavianFishingGroup (6) - Bauer Ranger GmbH (46): 3-0 Third round Jarnkaminerna (4) - MAXIMUM EFFECT (31): 3-0 ScandinavianFishingGroup (6) - Masiina (21): 3-0 Quarterfinals Jarnkaminerna (4) - Otukset (12): 3-1 ScandinavianFishingGroup (6) - Veikkolan Veikot (10): 3-1 Semifinals Jarnkaminerna (4) - Taavetin Starat (3): 3-0 ScandinavianFishingGroup (6) - Ringette HC (1): 3-0 The key points - Jarnkaminerna played a massive season and the credit goes in particular to Fcoy_faze, MVP of the regular season and best goalie of the event. He stays at a huge 88.3% in playoffs (89.8% in RS) - ScandinavianFishingGroup also achieved an immense performance by eliminating from a sweep in the previous round HC Ringette, a big favorite in the title race. May the force be with both teams. Remember to join us on the NHLGamer Twitch Channel.

NHLGamers, Approximately two months ago we started the ECL 10 Lite season with 64 teams in four groups. After the regular season we had a strong vision of teams that were going to fight for the promotion and final spots this season. The playoffs were as exciting as they always are and several teams had the quality to compete for the cup this time. In the end there were two teams that no one could stop. Now they will go head-to-head in the ECL 10 Lite finals! Here are the finalists of ECL 10 Lite: Sack Brothers (1) Road to the finals Regular season: (28-1-1) 1st in group 4 Round 1: vs HockeyProfessorn HC (32) 4-1 Round 2: vs Tic Tac Toes (25) 4-2 Round 3: vs GENESIS (18) 4-1 Round 4: vs HUIPPUPASSI (10) 4-2 LW: @snippystatue (22GP: 22+31=55 pts) C: @luosttin (22GP: 18+37=55 pts, FOW: 48,9%) RW: @Datupeijooni (Datzonee) (22GP: 26+21=47 pts) LD: @Kucherov86 (22GP: 9+22=31 pts) RD: @Persusta95 (22GP: 4+11=15 pts) G: @mikeruud (22GP: 234svs, 47GA= 83,27 SV%) Ducktales BK (7) Road to the finals Regular season: (21-4-5) 2nd in group 2 Round 1: vs Remparts de Tours Esport (26) 4-2 Round 2: vs ECDC Memmingen eSports (11) 4-3 Round 3: vs HV71 eSHL (3) 4-1 Round 4: vs Angry Cats (5) 4-3 LW: @Zidso (21GP: 17+22=39 pts) C: @cHIIMEERa (23GP: 21+20=41 pts, FOW: 49,8%) RW: @Craig (oskuldsfull) (23GP: 11+20=31 pts) LD: @J-Foppa (23GP: 5+17=22 pts) RD: @tokFan (ItokFanI) (23GP: 1+5=6 pts) G: @Rymaan (23GP: 200svs, 34GA= 85,47 SV%) To spice things up we decided to contact the teams to ask them couple of questions before the the games and had the pleasure to interview @Rymaan from Ducktales BK and @snippystatue from Sack Brothers: How does it feel to be in the finals? Was the finals your goal right from the beginning or where were the expectations set before the season started? @snippystatue ‘’Of course it feels great! The ECL finals are the best that the season can offer and as the captain told us in the beginning of the season, our minimum goal is to win the title after last seasons disappointment.’’ @Rymaan ‘’Feels great! Our main goal for the season was to get that Pro-spot. Achieving that, of course our next goal is to win the tournament.‘’ What is your teams strengths and the reason for success? Why are you in the finals instead of your playoffs opponents? What makes you the champions of ECL 10 Lite? @snippystatue ‘’Counter-attacks, tight team defense and good chemistry. We have practiced with the same players from the beginning of the off-season and the level of play has stayed good the whole time. The reason we are in the finals is that we have been able to minimize our opponents scoring opportunities with solid defending and the attacking has been working in every series. The reason we will be the champions is that we believe in our own playing. Even if we were losing with 4 goals we never give up and the atmosphere stays positive the whole time’’ @Rymaan ‘’Structure, defense, experience and a will to win. We had a game plan for every series and followed it well enough to be victorious. All opponents we played so far have been a challenge and played well, but we don’t want to comment other teams shortcomings. Beating us in 4 games takes great teamplay, individual skill and a solid defense. We've seen 2 out of 3 in Sack Brothers.’’ How well do you know your opponent in the finals? Have you faced them in the club games or earlier seasons? Done any scouting through the streams etc? @snippystatue ‘’We don’t know them very well. Of course we noticed that they were playing really well already in the regular season but we haven’t faced them in club games. We haven’t done any special kind of scouting from the streams but we have seen couple of playoff games from them’’ @Rymaan ‘’Played them a lot during NHL20 (not with Ducktales though) and to be honest they have evolved a lot. They had a fantastic season so far, obliterating their opponents on the way. We scout every opponent in playoffs to learn their tricks.’’ What do you think is your opponents strengths? Will you adjust your own gamestyle to make their playing harder or will you continue the way you have done so far and trust that it will bring you the desiredresult? @snippystatue ‘’We believe their strengths are especially in the defense but it’s hard to say yet since we haven’t faced them before. We will trust our own style of play since it has worked so well but of course we are ready for adjustments if the game isn’t working’’ @Rymaan ‘’They play a fast game and they are deadly when they get to scoring opportunities. We are confident in our style of play but will make adjustments if needed.’’ What will be the score of the series in the end? @snippystatue ‘’It’s going to be tight but I’ll say 4-3 to Sack Brothers’’ @Rymaan ‘’Ducktales wins in 7.’’ The confidence is high in both camps. As the interview tells us, both teams will trust their own style of playing and that’s exactly what they should do. Watching back the opponents that both of these teams have been able to beat it’s obvious that they have done everything right so far. Both teams are also prepared for a tough battle and it’s easy to join their predictions that the champions will be decided in a game seven. As the stats tell, Sack Brothers have been really effective in the offensive zone which has been their theme through whole season, while Ducktales BK have been the team that is extremely hard to score against. It’s going to be really interesting to see how well Ducktales BK are able to shut down Sack Brothers attacks. I believe it’s also a new kind of challenge for Sack Brothers to play against team that is really disciplined at their defense. There may be a possibility that Ducktales BK could make their opponents frustrated which would most likely turn the series in favour of Ducktales BK. But as @snippystatue stated in the interview, the mental side shouldn’t be a problem for his team. While Sack Brothers are figuring out how to get through Ducktales BK they can’t give any leeway in their own defense. Even though Ducktales BK are known having the special quality at their team defense they are also to score if the chances are given to them. Prediction: There is no doubt that the two best teams of the season are facing in the finals. This will be a battle of two different gamestyles and only the matches will tell us which approach will be the right one. If I was asked at the start of the playoffs which team was going to win from these two, I would have said Sack Brothers 4-1. I’m glad no-one asked because watching Ducktales BK journey through the playoffs I would have made a clown of myself. However I still believe Sack Brothers have the quality to break Ducktales BKs defense and captain @Datupeijooni will lift the cup at the end of the day. Sack Brothers will win the series with score 4-3. What a great season we have had and now it’s coming to an end. It will be a season to remember for both of these teams but only one can be crowned as champions. Play hard and fair, respect your opponents and enjoy the finals! How to watch? The ECL 10 Lite finals will be streamed at www.twitch.tv/nhlgamer. Thursday, June 11th 20:00 CEST Games 1-3 Sack Brothers vs Ducktales BK Sunday, June 14th 20:30 CEST Games 4-7 Sack Brothers vs Ducktales BK

NHLGamers, With Saturday night and game seven of the finals still in fresh memory, what a way it was to end the season. The past ECL was a wild run with a diverse selection of storylines all around the league, perhaps more so than usually. As customary, we'll be taking you through the events of the past in this snapshot into ECL 10 Elite. First of all, on behalf of NHLGamer, I'd like to extend a thank you to our sponsors Prisma Gaming and IS Esports, without whom none of this would have been possible. It was a record-setting season and we're proud to have hosted a league with the biggest prize pool yet. We're at a good place as a community - a strong foundation is built and the trend is looking great! Naturally, we also want to thank the players who are at the very core of all that we do, for putting on such a show over the course of the season. Last but not least, thank you also to each and every one of you who have tuned in for a stream, given a like on social media or shared the notion of our league with a friend - your input to growing the community is invaluable. To differ from the usual, the season had a fair bit of uncertainty at the start. Live-events were put on hold due to the still ongoing COVID-19 situation which naturally didn't effect the online side of things but let's be frank - all of us love that live action. Unfortunately, due to the circumstances out of our control we couldn't deliver on that front this time, but as things slowly get back to normal we're looking forward to providing the next live-event soon enough. Regular season With the eSHL jumpstarting things, we saw a great influx of new organisations into the scene before ECL 10, which naturally is greatly appreciated. Some of these new teams included JYP Jyvaskyla, hREDS, KOVA Esports and SJ Gaming, who joined competition at the Elite level. Out of the new orgs, JYP and hREDS immediately signed up for title contention and put up a warning for HAVU and Linköping - a duo that had been reigning supreme for quite some time already. As seen in the final standings of the regular season, competition was tough. JYP came in hot right out of the gate and didn't let up, managing to close out the competition and secure a regular season win, whereas LHC and HAVU performed along the expected level. On the other hand, hREDS came in fourth but due to a less ideal start to the season, the talented bunch didn't quite keep up in pace with the other three big names. None of the four top teams made large adjustments over the course of the season, as hREDS were the only team to really have rotation in their lineup when founding member Tuukka @Tuukka.R Röpelinen stepped in for a few games here and there. The top four was a collective according to expectations, whereas the rest of the playoff-bound teams could have been a multitude of teams from the wide selection of remaining competitors. After a tough start, Unlucky Boys HC managed to pull it together by acquiring familiar face Ville @Viltzup Poutiainen and finished the season in 5th place with one of the hottest streaks in the league. Close behind came German powerhouse BRAYCE Phantoms, who have been causing waves in the community for a long time due to their impressive skill level, but also due to being the only Elite team from outside the Nordic countries. This has come with some downside for BRAYCE, since they have had trouble finding adequate practice games - an issue which evidently hasn't had too much of an effect on their play in the end. In seventh place, we find Roots who played a very balanced season. The team consists of some of the more experienced gamers in the scene, which was evident in their play throughout the season. While the team dropped points in some unfortunate matchups, they also managed to steal some important games against the likes of JYP and hREDS. Closing out the segment of playoff-bound teams is Farjestad BK, who were a somewhat unexpected addition to the playoff race with a high player turnover in the offseason. Both wingers were new faces, a new defenseman joined the squad and even the starting goaltender was acquired before the season. Despite being so new to each other, FBK managed to stay around .500 throughout the season and eventually edged out Checkmate for a spot among the top eight teams. Moving on to the bottom half of the standings, we have four teams within a points margin of each other - possibly a mere point away from making it into the postseason. Checkmate, KOVA Esports, Vesa Pompa HC and GHETTO FIREBIRDS all put forth very solid efforts but ended up coming just short this time around. Out of these teams Vesa Pompa and GHETTO were making their first run in the Elite division and immediately managed to make an impact around the league. Vesa Pompa had a difficult start but started improving after acquiring legendary scoring machine Vili @Vilupoika Häkkinen, who naturally finished with the highest points/game average in the team - by far. GHETTO FIREBIRDS came in with a bang and made questionable ECL Elite history right out of the gate. The team took a whole 12(!) games to overtime throughout the season and managed to win the extra point in only one of these contests. With eight victories, the newcomers pushed to 12th place only a point away from tying 8th place (by points). The unfortunate part about sports is that someone always has to lose, and that's what the bottom four teams did a lot of this season. SJ Gaming had a solid start but drifted in the wrong direction rather quickly, dropping down to 13th which puts them in a relegation battle against HanaaHC (2-1 for SJ currently). Lulea Hockey has been in a somewhat turbulent state for the past few months with a disappointment in the eSHL and now not being able to produce as expected in the ECL either. The team faced off against Reality Check in a relegation battle and retained their Elite spot with four straight wins. Gotham Knights came in 15th place in their return to the Elite level, not the kind of performance the team would have hoped for, but one of the most long-lived teams in the scene now has a chance to redeem themselves against Pro runner-up Enigma in a relegation battle. The last team and therefore facing direct relegation was Almost Famous, who made a brave attempt at coming back from losing almost their entire roster in the offseason, but the struggle was in vain this time. Playoffs I'm going to start off by using one of the most overused hockey clichés known to man - the playoffs are a different beast. That's the reality that Farjestad BK force fed JYP with in the quarterfinals, running over the #1 seed in five games with their unorthodox stretch passing and excellent play by goaltender Johan @Rundqviiist Rundqvist. Linkoping HC made quick work of Roots whereas HAVU Gaming provided the same treatment for BRAYCE Phantoms, who weren't a match for the #3 seed this time. One of the most exciting quarterfinal series in a while was seen between hREDS and Unlucky Boys HC. The series was taken all the way to a game 7, where Unlucky Boys looked like a certain winner with around 30 seconds to spare in the third period of game seven. UB were awarded a powerplay when Teemu @Xteemuz Polttila headed to the box for hooking at 59:34. After that - mayhem ensues. Joakim @Joukki Nyholm takes of directly from the faceoff, splits the defense and ties the game up shorthanded with 20 seconds to spare in the game. The teams headed into overtime and it was evident that UB had the wind knocked right out of them, as hREDS had the control for most of the 15 minutes until Niklas @NikkeDangles Tukiainen put the nail in the coffin and sent hREDS to the semifinals. Farjestad BK providing one of the greatest upsets in ECL playoff history certainly shuffled the playoff picture around a bit, but that did not stop the inevitable from happening. Both Linkoping HC and HAVU Gaming were set on making it back to the finals and getting their shot at the title. With 4-1 victories in both series, there was really no question about who we were going to se fight it our for the ultimate prize. The finals The ECL 10 Elite Finals were a two-day event, this time online due to the COVID-19 pandemic putting plans on hold when it comes to live-events. Both Linkoping HC and HAVU Gaming had been at this stage multiple times before, in fact three straight times in the ECL between the two of them. Going into the first three games on Friday, tensions were high as the stakes were higher than ever before. Eventually we saw some exciting and low-scoring hockey for three games straight, all ending in a 2-1 result in favor of HAVU Gaming who were set on reclaiming the throne. Going into Saturdays games with a 3-0 chokehold on the series almost set the stage for an early finish but that was not what LHC had on their mind. The reigning champions completed an impressive comeback from a 3-1 series deficit in ECL 9 and looked to do even better this time when they came back step by step eventually tying the series at 3-3 and pushing the finals into a game seven that was one for the ages - a phrase that seems to be repeated opver and over again when it comes to battles between Linkoping and HAVU. Once again, the seventh game of the series was an intense back and forth battle that wasn't finished until overtime with who better to close out the season than HAVU Gaming captain Tuukka @FlyerKungen Kuha, who managed to find an open opportunity head-to-head with LHC goaltender Casper @ICappeI Lundgren. Here's the madness that ensued: 🏆 AWARDS Playoff MVP: Hannes @Hansulinho Kettunen, HAVU Gaming Most Points: Paul @PleeMaker Arontie, Linkoping HC, 78 Goals, 44 Assists, 122 Points in 46 games Most Goals: Paul @PleeMaker Arontie, Linkoping HC, 78 Goals, 44 Assists, 122 Points in 46 games Most Assists: Erik @Eki Tammenpää, Linkoping HC, 42 Goals, 75 Assists, 117 Points in 46 games Most Hits by a Forward: Kristian @kriketski17 Veijola, JYP Jyvaskyla, 409 Hits in 35 games Best +/-: Joel @jtorro1233 Tourunen, Linkoping HC, +91 in 46 games Most Points by a Defenseman: Aleksi @loimmu Loimuvirta, Linkoping HC, 13 Goals, 43 Assists, 60 Points in 46 games Most Goals by a Defenseman: Wille @willekunq Juntunen, HAVU Gaming, 14 Goals, 27 Assists, 41 Points in 46 games Most Assists by a Defenseman: Aleksi @loimmu Loimuvirta, Linkoping HC, 13 Goals, 43 Assists, 60 Points in 46 games Most Hits by a Defenseman: Saku @Sakkem Saaranluoma, GHETTO FIREBIRDS, 245 Hits in 30 games Best goaltender (SV%):Hannes @Hansulinho Kettunen, HAVU Gaming, 340 saves on 403 shots, SV% 84,37 in 46 games

NHLGamers, The season in our ECL 10 Pro Division ended recently as Black Horse managed to win the Pro Division title and with that gain direct promotion to Elite for next season. With all of the skill level and excitement involved, the finals were the best possible PR for console hockey and our beloved 6v6 game mode and most of all - the ECL and it's players. The ECL 10 Pro finals had a bit of everything: tight games, great goals, great defending, tactical and disciplined play and a very dramatic game seven conclusion. All in all a very worthy series to conclude our 10th season. The winner overcame tough phases during the series and Enigma´s title would not have been a major injustice. Black Horse held up against the opponents momentum in critical phases of the games and at the most important moment, scored the winner in overtime. Regular season The best team definitely won the Pro title although there were several good teams in contention throughout the season. Over the course of the regular season, Enigma was obviously one of them and the youngsters of Riven Johdolla also made an impressive run in their first Pro season. Växjö Lakers HC had a slow start but improved their record as the season progressed. Another great showing by a newcomer was seen from HanaaHC, who also played well in the regular season and eventually continued their form into the postseason. In the regular season, Kaupallinen Yhteistyö had to fight hard for their playoff position, it's a bit surprising for a team that after all participated in the Elite Qualification series before the ECL. Also, Blackdawgs was a minor surprise for finishing 6th in their regular season group. The team is generally strong but improved the longer the season progressed. Exen Esports (former Alliance HT) I would have expected to finish a little higher at the end of the regular season, due to the sheer amount of experience in the team. Leksands IF won Group 1 with a tight margin but faced immediate elimination in a major upset against HanaaHC in the first round. The Swedes have to go back to the drawing board after an impressive eSHL run that did not continue in the ECL. Playoffs In the playoffs the most impressive contribution was made by Enigma and HanaaHC, who also left off where they ended their regular season - top form. Växjö Lakers HC improved from below average to their high standard level just in time for the playoffs but ended up running into Enigma in the second round whereas Reality Check also was a team that seemed to peak at the end of the regular season, in time for the playoffs. Riven Johdolla played a tremendous regular season but faced quick elimination and disappointment in the playoffs. Blackdawgs caused a minor surprise by knocking TIKI TALK out in the first round. The bigger surprise was Hanaa HC knocking out the Group 1 winner Leksands IF - rumbling heard throughout the division as the newcomers were gunning for bigger opponents now. Kaupallinen Yhteistyö played against Black Horse in the first round - the future champion to be - and fought bravely taking the series into a seventh game. Notable players in the regular season The forward trio of Riven Johdolla were one of the most dominant collectives in recent Pro history throughout the regular season, continuing into the playoffs. Their playoff performance was slightly weaker than in the regular season but still significant - one of the biggest reasons for the newcomers faring well in their first Pro season. @Nieppii transferred to Enigma for this season and instantly made a great contribution to his new team. He was one of the most impactful players in the regular season and a big factor to Enigma´s great performance in the playoffs and that fact they were able to challenge Black Horse as well as they did in the finals. Notable Players in the playoffs As previously mentioned, @Nieppii was arguably one of the most visible individual players that made a huge performance in the playoffs and had a major effect in Enigma´s journey to the finals. Black Horses @Tapparafan and @PCJP were also other great names in the playoffs and there's no doubt about the fact that both of them had an instrumental role in the fact that their team eventually won the championship. The solid star players combined with competent backup led to the victory of BH. Especially in Game 7 @PCJP kept the team alive saving the crucial penalty shot at the later part of the third period. Vaxjö Lakers HC star @EDHOLMINHO also deserves a shoutout for being one of the key factors in elevating his teams play. @EDHOLMINHO boosted his own standard of play significantly and helped his team to upgrade their level. The top 6 of ECL 10 Pro @Tapparafan (Black Horse) - @Pasi Modry (Black Horse) - @laitineen64 (Black Horse) @Crisu_rottis (Enigma) - @Raikkoneeh (HanaaHC) @PCJP (Black Horse) These "top 6"-lists are always controversial and that's something to love in itself. Playoff performances and consistency was valued highly in these selections and that's why you'll see many finalists among the selections, but also a player like @Raikkoneeh was selected due to a high level of play throughout the season. This season it seemed like the competition at the LW spot was extremely tough, players such as @Nieppii and @EDHOLMINHO were left out due to the extreme scoring power of @Tapparafan. Which players would our NHLGamers pick? Please comment below.

NHLGamers, What a showdown the two most prevalent ECL dynasties HAVU Gaming and Linköping HC put up for us over the course of these two nights! Based on the ECL 9 finals, we were expecting close games and the teams delivered. All seven games of the ECL 10 Elite finals were decided with a margin of one goal and four games required overtime to sort out a winner. Friday was all about HAVU Gaming as we witnessed three straight games ending 2-1 in favour of the green squad, when in turn Saturday was all about flashbacks galore when Linköping managed to clutch three games and push it to a seventh. Memories from the wild comeback in ECL 9 flashed through our minds, but ultimately - HAVU Gaming prevailed! HAVU Gaming 🏆 Group stage record: 26-3-1 (3rd) Quarterfinals: vs BRAYCE Phantoms (6th) 4-0 Semifinals: vs hREDS (4) 4-1 Finals: vs Linköping HC (2) 4-3 GOALIES #88 H. Kettunen @Hansulinho DEFENSEMEN #28 E. Koski @Eemil #43 W. Juntunen @willekunq #78 K. Katajisto @Nassustelija FORWARDS #6 I. Lehkonen @Buantso #13 R. Järvi @Dominointi #87 T. Keränen @topikeranen # 91 T. Kuha @FlyerKungen Conclusively, it's been one wild ride throughout this season. 16 teams went into battle with the same ambition - some more set on the final objective than others. We were expecting a tighter season than ever before and through some surprising turns of events along the road to the finals, we saw a three-peat of the HAVU & LHC duo in the last series of the season. On behalf of the NHLGamer staff congratulations to our champions HAVU Gaming! We also extend a warm thank you ta everyone who tuned in to the streams over the weekend, if you happened to miss some of the action, the streams are archived on our Twitch-channel. Please find yesterdays broadcast here:

NHLGamers, The first championship of the ECL 10 season was crowned on Wednesday when the two ECL Pro title contenders Enigma and Black Horse clashed for games 4-7 of their final series. Going into the games, Enigma had a 2-1 series lead, but Black Horse came in strong and managed to turn the series around as they managed to win games 4 and 5, going into game 6 in a 2-3 lead. Enigma force a game 7 and teams went scoreless into the third period. With just 6 minutes remaining in the 3rd, Enigma received a somewhat questionable penalty shot. As @PCJP managed to make the save, the viewers were blessed with the most exciting thing a hockey fan could witness: game 7 overtime action! The digitals stopped at 77:01 as Wirtsuuu (@Tapparafan) managed to get the only goal of the game, securing Black Horse the ECL 10 Pro Championship and a place in ECL Elite for next season! Black Horse 🏆 Group stage record: 23-5-2 (1st) Round 1: vs Kaupallinen Yhteistyö (16) 4-3 Quarterfinals: vs Children of Ice (15) 4-0 Semifinals: vs Hanaa HC (14) 4-0 Finals: vs Enigma (10) 4-3 GOALIES #92 P. Pelkonen @PCJP DEFENSEMEN #4 R. Reijonen @bot_dole #24 Originaljets29 @Mika #81 M. Laitinen @Miika (MiiQu81-) FORWARDS #19 M. Virtanen @Tapparafan (Wirtsuuu) #22 M. Vanhala @Pasi Modry (Makkeez22) #64 A. Laitinen @laitineen64 All in all, the Pro season once again provided some very exciting action and surely showed the amount of skill that runs deep throughout the divisions framework. As mentioned above, as a reward for their ECL Pro Championship, Black Horse will be directly promoted to ECL Elite. Enigma will continue their season for one more series, as they meet Gotham Knights in a best-of-seven series to determine which of these two teams will play in ECL Elite next season. The decisive games of the finals were broadcast at the NHLGamer Twitch channel. @Tougie24 and @Cyn once again blessed us with their presence and put forth a great effort in the commentator booth. If you missed that action, you can watch it again below:

Last night we witnessed what was the start to the Elite Finals of the 10th ECL iteration. Giants HAVU Gaming and Linköping HC clashed in three expectedly tight games where the heart rates of both players and viewers skyrocketed from time to time. The teams are battling for a record-setting prize pool of 15 000 €, where the winner takes the biggest slice of cash, this being a hefty amount of 10 000 €. Action resumes tonight at 20:00 CEST as HAVU has a 3-0 chokehold of the series. Will LHC bounce back once again? In case you didn't read our preview yet, you can do so here. (3) HAVU Gaming vs Linkoping HC (2) SCORES SO FAR Game 1: HAVU Gaming - Linköping HC 2-1 OT Game 2: Linköping HC - HAVU Gaming 1-2 OT Game 3: HAVU Gaming - Linköping HC 2-1 How to watch? The last day of the ECL 10 Elite Finals will be played tonight, Saturday, 6th of June with a broadcast on our Twitch-channel. The broadcast is also available on Ruutu.fi & ISTV. Saturday, June 6th 20:00 CEST Games 4-7 (puck drop around 20:25) HAVU Gaming vs Linkoping HC Don't miss the afterparty! NHLGamer proudly presents the ELC 10 Elite Finals official afterparty! We'll be treated to a special one-hour B2B set by Luxonia, featuring artists NickyB & Samlight. The party will kick off on our Twitch channel right after the Finals!

NHLGamers, So, here we are - again. Facing down the third straight ECL Elite finals featuring HAVU Gaming and Linköping HC. The most intense rivalry in EASHL gaming. The “El Clasico of NHL gaming”. The words are my own, printed in the first part of our ECL Elite Season Preview here at NHLGamer. A piece entitled “The Big Two”. Because that’s really what they are, HAVU and LHC; in a league of their own. (3) HAVU Gaming vs Linkoping HC (2) PLAYOFF RECORD 4-0 (BRAYCE Phantoms), 4-1 (hREDS) vs 4-0 (Roots), 4-1 (Farjestad BK) TOP SCORER Tuukka @FlyerKungen Kuha (7+13=20) vs Erik @Eki Tammenpää (5+22=27) GOALTENDER Hannes @Hansulinho Kettunen (8 W, 86,05 SV%, 1,33 GAA, 2 SO) vs Casper @ICappeI Lundgren (8 W, 80 SV%, 1,44 GAA, 3 SO) The big two. It was not some sudden realization that struck me, inspiring me to put those words on paper. I didn’t suddenly develop the gift of foresight and managed to read the future. I’ve simply been around these teams and players long enough to know that their skill, experience and drive to succeed is simply unmatched in this community. It has been for the past year and a half, give or take. That’s why we are here - again. However, even if the destination we arrived at was the expected one, it doesn’t take away from the journey there. HAVU and LHC once again had to earn their stripes. Finishing 2nd (LHC) and 3rd (HAVU) in the ECL 10 regular season behind JYP Jyvaskyla, both teams sported identical 26-3-1 records and amassed 53 points each. LHC was the highest-scoring team in the regular season, lighting the lamp an impressive 129 times. Helped in part by Paul @PleeMaker Aronties record-breaking 58-goal campaign, no doubt. The second-best offense in the league? HAVU, of course, with 103 goals. When it comes to the defensive side of the puck, none were better than HAVU. Allowing just 40 goals in 30 games, goaltender Hannes @Hansulinho Kettunen and his men kept opponents to 1,33 goals per game. Allowing a mere six goals more (46), ECL 10 cover athlete Casper @ICappeI Lundgren and his teammates were no slouches in the defensive category either. When it comes to the man-advantage HAVU finished 2nd, connecting on an intimidating 34,39 percent of their chances. LHC finished 10th in the league with a powerplay percentage of 24,49 - solid, but not game-breaking. When it came to killing penalties, these two showed why they are the best in the business. HAVU killed 86,49% of their PK situations (1st in the league) while racking up 74 penalty minutes (8th most). LHC neutralized 84,21% of their penalties (2nd) but displayed military-like discipline by only collecting 38 PIMs. In the playoffs, both teams once again proved their mettle by earning identical 4-0 series wins over Roots Gaming (LHC) and BRAYCE Phantoms (HAVU) in the first round. The second round offered more resistance as Linköping took on fellow Swedish SHL team Färjestad BK – a team who had just pulled off a massive upset against #1 seed JYP. LHC took the first game but FBK fought back and evened out the series 1-1. On the second gameday, FBK came dangerously close to collecting a 2-0 win in Game 3. But with mere minutes remaining of the 3rd period, LHC showed why they are the defending ECL Grand Champions. Striking lightning-fast three times over and turning the game into a 3-2 win, LHC broke FBK’s spirit and soon thereafter snagged two more wins to take the series. HAVU faced hREDS – a team known for their high level of individual skill. HAVU got out to a 3-0 series lead but had to fight tooth and nail for their advantage, winning the first two games in overtime and the third by a single goal. In Game 4, hREDS stepped up and managed to win an overtime game of their own but in Game 5 – once again overtime – HAVU punched their ticket to the finals. Sidney Crosby vs. Alex Ovechkin. Boston Bruins vs. Montreal Canadiens. Boston Red Sox vs. New York Yankees. Sweden vs. Finland. Like all the great sport rivalries, there is a level of mutual respect between the players involved. Skill recognizes skill, winners recognize winners. But while the LHC and HAVU players may be cordial off the ice, friends even, don’t think for a second these twelve men wouldn’t do just about anything to make sure their squad is the one that comes out on top in the end. Strategy adjustments, hidden set plays saved just for this matchup – perhaps even some mind-games. You name it, we’ll probably see it. LHC are here to defend their ECL 9 title. HAVU are here to exact revenge for that very event, especially since they actually led that series 3-1 at one point. Forgive my indulgence, but I would like to end this Finals preview by including another quote from the ECL 10 season preview. Because if you’ve read this far and still don’t feel like you know what we’re talking about here, we’re talking about… Be there this Friday and Saturday. You’ll be sorry you missed it. How to watch? The ECL 10 Elite Finals will be played on Friday, 5th of June and Saturday, 6th of June with a broadcast on our Twitch-channel. The broadcast is also available on Ruutu.fi & ISTV. Friday, June 5th 20:00 CEST Games 1-3 (puck drop around 20:25) HAVU Gaming vs Linkoping HC Saturday, June 6th 20:00 CEST Games 4-7 (puck drop around 20:25) HAVU Gaming vs Linkoping HC Don't miss the afterparty! NHLGamer proudly presents the ELC 10 Elite Finals official afterparty! We'll be treated to a special one-hour B2B set by Luxonia, featuring artists NickyB & Samlight. The party will kick off Saturday on our Twitch channel right after the Finals!

NHLGamers, The days to the big finale are dwindling down as we eagerly await yet another clash of the titans. Tomorrow #2 seed and reigning champion Linkoping HC will be taking on HAVU Gaming in the third straight ECL Elite final between these two clubs. The score is even, who will take the advantage? As we interviewed LHC goaltender and ECL 10 cover gamer Casper @ICappeI Lundgren last time, it is only right that we turn to HAVU goaltender and ECL 9 cover gamer Hannes @Hansulinho Kettunen this time: Both Linkoping and HAVU have been dominating the scene for way longer than any other team in recent memory. What do you think is the key to success here? - A similarity is obviously that both teams have kept their core intact over their period of success. This has led to superior chemistry between the forwards and a suffocating defensive unit. This is your third straight final appearance where you meet Linkoping HC, what similarities or differences do you see in this season when comparing to the previous ones? - This time it was more of a surprise than earlier, thanks to JYP letting it slip in the playoffs 😅. ECL 10 was supposed to be the battle between three greats, but it turned out differently. In general I don't think much has changed - pokaali takas kotiin! How have you developed personally if we'd look back at ECL 8 for example? - ECL 8 was our championship season, so I've tried to emulate the same kind of game. Honestly, I don't think there's much development to be done, you do what you can and pray for the big man to give you fortunate bounces. Any last greetings to the fans or opponents? - Let's fight hard and put on a great show! How to watch? The ECL 10 Elite Finals will be played on Friday, 5th of June and Saturday, 6th of June with a broadcast on our Twitch-channel. The broadcast is also available on Ruutu.fi & ISTV. Friday, June 5th 20:00 CEST Games 1-3 (puck drop around 20:25) HAVU Gaming vs Linkoping HC Saturday, June 6th 20:00 CEST Games 4-7 (puck drop around 20:25) HAVU Gaming vs Linkoping HC

NHLGamers, Third time's the charm? As customary, ECL 10 Elite culminates at the pinnacle of the season - this being the final series between #2 seed Linkoping HC and #3 seed HAVU Gaming. It feels like I've written this text before and as a matter of fact I have. This duo has been dominating the scene for the past three seasons with this being the third straight ECL Elite final series, in which these powerhouses will be going to battle. This season, it was evident that competition are closing in, but for now it's time to find out who takes the crown once and for all, as reigning champions LHC defend the throne against former titleholder HAVU. We reached out to Linkoping HC goaltender and ECL 10 cover gamer Casper @ICappeI Lundgren for a few comments on the season and the upcoming series: Paul @PleeMaker Arontie has had an outstanding season, possibly drawing attention away from the fact that Aleksi @loimmu Loimuvirta also has performed at extraordinary level throughout the season. How does it feel to have these guys on your side and what do you see as the base for their excellent performances? - Yeah, it's amazing to play behind these guys every night. A natural reason for the performances we've seen is the incredible amount of individual skill that both of these guys possess combined with the chemistry they have together with @Patzlaf, @Eki and @jtorro1233 on the ice. Every guy knows they can count on the one next to them and the high morale is one of the greatest assets we've utilized to come this far. A while ago, you became a member of the gaming chapter at The Goalie Guild. The club consists of several of the worlds top goaltenders, how has that helped your game? - It's a great asset and a helping hand. The greatest thing is being able to talk things through and exchange thoughts with some of the greatest in the world. In this years iteration of NHL, you've had to make a number of changes and GGG has been a great help in finding the right adjustments to make. This is the third straight ECL Elite final in which these two teams will go at each other. You're definitely familiar with the other team - what would you say will be the decisive factor? - As said, we're two teams that certainly have become acquainted over the years. I'll give you the same old answer. The team that is better defensively will win the series. Any final greetings before the puck is dropped? - Kom igen Cluben! Photo credit: Elias Gammelgård How to watch? The ECL 10 Elite Finals will be played on Friday, 5th of June and Saturday, 6th of June with a broadcast on our Twitch-channel. The broadcast is also available on Ruutu.fi & ISTV. Friday, June 5th 20:00 CEST Games 1-3 (puck drop around 20:25) HAVU Gaming vs Linkoping HC Saturday, June 6th 20:00 CEST Games 4-7 (puck drop around 20:25) HAVU Gaming vs Linkoping HC