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SportsGamers, We're going to be in for a treat on Monday and Tuesday night with the ECL '22 Winter Pro Finals. Two very hungry teams have paved their way to this stage, and they're approaching the big games from very different angles. While JYP is eager to get back to the highest level of competition after a slip-up last season, Reality Check has only recently made a return to ECL action after an abrupt halt to their story after the ECL 10 Pro season. Both teams have a lot to prove and we can certainly expect some fireworks come Monday night! Who will grab the golden ticket, for a crack at the ECL Elite title in the Spring season? Reality Check (1) vs JYP Jyväskylä (2) TOP SCORER Harri @Pursuitti Haaksiala 19 GP, 15+20=35 vs Ilmari @Buantso Lehkonen 18 GP, 11+18=29 GOALTENDER Sebastian @FINSeRe Remes 19 GP, 12 W, 84,65 SV%, 1.63 GAA, 3 SO vs Kasper @Kaz_zu Ramstedt 18 GP, 12 W, 80,92 SV%, 1.61 GAA, 6 SO REGULAR SEASON RECORD 24-4-2 vs 23-5-2 Let's start off with JYP Jyväskylä, who have had an interesting run over the past 6 months or so. ECL 12 was a flat out disaster for the experienced squad, as it was evident that the joy from their game was gone and a soft performance led to them losing the divisional spot among the European top 16. After acquiring former HAVU Gaming X-Factor Ilmari @Buantso Lehkonen to bolster their offense, expectations were set high for the hurricanes, but the start of the season looked about as difficult as the end of their last one. In fact, despite eventually recovering from a terrible start, JYP have never really achieved the level of excellence that could be expected from them. Perhaps the finals is their chance to set the record straight? Reality Check had a time of absence after a sensational ECL 10 Pro campaign, that put them in the Elite Qualifiers to end that season. Now they've bested their old record and are one series win away from securing that fabled Elite spot. Now it's time for their current ensemble to prove themselves against a JYP that on paper at least, looks like a very tough opponent to beat. Whereas JYP have had some struggles along the way, the same doesn't apply to Reality Check, who have marched on towards their spot in the finals without too much of a hassle all season long. Only in the playoffs has the team needed to work a bit harder, and after two consecutive game seven series, it's easy to state that they should at least be mentally prepared for what's to come. Statistically speaking, both squads look very similar, with some minor variations to their respective styles of play. JYP has that traditional cycle game down to a tee and they've been utilizing it effectively, at least throughout the playoffs. Reality Check, on the other hand, like to use their defensemen quite much, even in the offensive zone. Both teams have a clear #1 breakout man, and we're speaking of Väinö @vSilenttio Pietilä for JYP and Jesse @jezbaru Ruuskanen for Reality Check. Especially the latter has been a bit of a puck hog for his team, having carried the bisquit for almost a third more than some of his teammates. One thing to note is that JYP is definitely the more well-rounded team, which should gain them the advantage in a long series. When it comes to the goaltending duel, we're in for an exciting one. The JYP netminder is one of the most interesting prospects out there, as Kasper @Kaz_zu Ramstedt is looking for his opportunity to break out and establish himself as a winning goaltender at a higher level. Facing him is season 1 veteran, and inaugural season champion Sebastian @FINSeRe Remes, who has definitely been around and seen it all when it comes to competitive gaming on the European ice. It's tough to give an edge in either direction, but you could speculate that whereas @Kaz_zu has the higher ceiling, @FINSeRe is a more reliable and steady backstopper. If the youngster is on top of his game, however, JYP can rest easy. We're thinking this one isn't going to be one of those 'blink and you'll miss it'-series. It'll be a tight battle and it's going to be a struggle to find high-quality scoring chances. Expect to see a lot of greasy goals and for the teams to resort to finding deflections if the middle doesn't open up. In the end, JYP Jyväskylä will regain their spot in Elite by winning a game seven. PS: We would love for you to follow our social channels, as they are an integral part of the ECL season. Discord Instagram Facebook Twitch Twitter

This season, Niklas @uhNikke Nieminen had a career performance with his new team SAWO ESPORTS. Their run fell short of complete success in the quarterfinals recently, but we still decided that now is the time to take a look at the up-and coming goalie talent a bit closer. Niklas @uhNikke Nieminen, who is only 20 years old, has been one of the biggest names of the current Elite season, as he truly had a career season this ECL. The youngster has taken some very big strides forward and ended up dominating the regular season in several statistical categories. The new kid on the block has left several superstars, like Casper @ICappeI Lundgren and Filip @Faze91- Azri in the dust. "One of the enabling factors of my success was definitely the spirit in our team. I know a lot of the guys really well and the confidence level is very high. I spend a lot of time studying how other goalies play and draw inspiration from them into my own game. The team has been great to this point, but we can be even better. Personally, I didn't think I could be this good after the break I had, so I've even surprised myself", the young netminder goes over the success he had this season. More and more young players are pushing for their own spot among the European Elite. Nieminen states that it isn't enough just to claim a place in the lineup, but you have to be prepared to continue developing after that, otherwise the next big talent will pass you soon enough. He sees that in the future Roots' Linus @Limu95 Christiansson and GOONS’ Arttu @laitineen64 Laitinen are some of the names to keep an eye on. To get a better idea of the personality of the man of the hour, we asked the other players at SAWO Esports what kind of teammate and player Nieminen is like. ”As a player, Nikke is the most self-critical person I've ever encountered, no matter what happens, he always strives to do even better. In the party, Nikke isn't the loudest guy, but mainly focuses on stopping the pucks swung at him. I think he's a really relaxed and supportive teammate”, says SAWO winger Valtteri @Vattuyy Virtanen. ”Nikke is calm and is quite demanding for himself, he always tries to think about what he could do better and that's why Nikke is one of the best goalkeepers in Elite. Nikke has quite an elite skill to read the game that sometimes also helps the skaters out there”, Tomi @tombo_02 Laitinen praises his teammate. Nieminen tells how he eventually became a goalkeeper in the early days of his competitive playing career: ”So I ended up playing goalie when I joined HokiDogs for ECL 6 Lite. Before that, I had never even touched the virtual pads. Previously I had played on defense in various groups.” The Lohja, Finland native says that the first game in the NHL game series was NHL 13, after which the yearly iteration has been a must-have. It was only at a later stage that competitive gaming stepped in. He says that the games in the NHL franchise have been his favourites for a long time, but in his free time he also enjoys playing FIFA and CS:GO. hREDS captain Perttu @Beniittto Kemppainen gets a shoutout as a player whose helped Nieminen progress along his career: "One of my best memories is definitely back when I got involved with hREDS, and how Perttu helped me become a better player while being a part of that team." Nieminen says that he doesn't have any actual routines on the day of the game. He usually goes for a longer run and enjoys a gameday Red Bull. He notes that his absolute strengths as a player are calmness and perseverance. He tells me that always when on the ice, he tries to give it his all. Nieminen's team TUNNEL VISION signed with SAWO ESPORTS just a few days before the season started. We asked the goalie how this change has affected the team. ”Moving to SAWO ESPORTS has been a good thing and I really enjoy the responsibility I'm being given. I've been able to develop as a goalkeeper with the increased playing time. While i was in the army, I was in a backup role for hREDS because I couldn't get the right to practice and play from the army. I was quite close to quitting for a while at that point, but I decided to venture into the free agent market and that's when @tombo_02 reached out to me. When I hear that @Vattuyy was also getting on board, the deal was signed”, Nieminen goes over some events of his career. SAWO ESPORTS had a sensational regular season, securing the #2 spot into the postseason to everyones surprise. However, in the playoffs, Granit Gaming ended up being too much for them to handle, and their season ended in the Quarterfinals this past week. Despite their success, Nieminen still sees a lot to improve moving forward. ”From the goalkeepers point of view, our possession play and teamplay play has been very good in both directions. I expect that we will be able to continue in the same way and improve in all areas to become a more well-rounded team.”

The ECL '22 Winter Lite playoffs are rapidly advancing to their Quarterfinal stage. All in all, it's been a rather straight forward run of matchups round after round, and we haven't seen that many upsets. Despite that, I'd say that Alliance HT and Hunters might be minor surprises to being seen at this stage of the season. All of the top seeded teams are still in the race for the title. Let's move on to previewing our clashes of the round: FILADELPHIA ACADEMY vs Alliance HT FILADELPHIA ACADEMY are continuing their strong playoff campaign. Apart from one loss and few tighter games along the road, FILADELPHIA ACADEMY eliminated Toxicity quite comfortably. Offensive trio @xAaro89x, @mikaasi and @TEST0-RYTZE were the biggest stars in that series. Alliance HT had an exhausting seven game series against Bellizzi, so they're coming away from that carrying some baggage, but also with some valuable experience. They eventually were able to turn the series in their favor but we'll see the price they've paid when facing an even tougher opponent in the Quarterfinals. Alliance HT are definitely in a state of flow now and are confident as they got away with the series in round 2. @Awptim and @Artyom (Zakhod_99) did great last round, so keep an eye on them for Alliance.  Prediction: 4-2 to FILADELPHIA ACADEMY Prima eSports vs Powerhouse HC Powerhouse HC eliminated the better seeded EHC TATNEFT AK BARS in the previous round in a seven game series. Despite being on the receiving end in several games, they were able to turn the tide and come away with crucial victories. @Jooonte90, @L4nnisto and @Burritokuningas scored many of the important goals in crucial moments and @Eiteam assisted on many of them. Powerhouse HC showed in that series by winning after hard moments the determination and skill that you need in the playoffs. They are now one of the serious contenders for winning the title. Prima eSports have cleared both the previous rounds with relative ease, winning 4-2. @Philip Deemus has been one of their most important players. Prima eSports must have noted Powerhouse HC's great form and are ready for it. Unless we'll see one team run away with this one early, it's looking like an extended series, possibly even game seven. Hard to say in this series but I have been impressed by the Powerhouse HC streak and will continue predicting in their favor. These teams also clashed in the regular season, where Prima won both games with a one goal margin. With improved form since then Powerhouse HC has all the tools to turn the tables in the most important moment of their season.  Prediction: 4-3 to Powerhouse HC Golden Nights vs Hunters Golden Nights is moving forward in a very convincing way. Hunters is definitely a good team and deserving of their place by reaching this far. In Golden Nights, we see an almost complete package of the parts that are essential to a good and successful team: great puck movement, skilled individuals, and excellent teamwork. These are the factors that put them ahead of so many teams in my books. Hunters dominated against Valco and all credit to them for that, it isn't an easy thing to do against an experienced squad. Now in Golden Nights, they're facing a club that is on a different level defensively which will draw away from their offensive firepower. They'll need to find new ways to play, but if they can adapt, they could challenge. Keep an eye on @xSaski_ for Golden Nights and @Laama777 for Hunters to make things happen. Prediction: 4-1 to Golden Nights Linköping HC vs Mora IK Swedish Derby! Linköping HC is one of the four top seeded teams, whereas Mora IK is arriving to challenge them. Both had tough series in round 2 and extended to a full seven games. We'll see some great goaltending on both ends of the ice, indicated by the impressive 3 shutouts for the goalies. Linköping's goalie @RaNtA is the slightly more experienced netminder and his counterpart @Jeqque44 is still looking to make his mark on the scene. This is a great chance for a success story, but due to the experience Linköping might have a minor edge in most areas. Despite that, I expect Mora to pull through and find that little bit of extra talent from their back pockets. Prediction: 4-2 to Mora IK As always, we're wishing all teams good luck! Play hard and have fun!