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Finally it's here, the culmination of the ECL '22 Winter Elite season. Only the top two teams in Europe remain. There's many names for this top-tier rivalry, but now we'll call it the NHL Esports new 'battle of the titans'. We decided to reach out to the netminders on both ends of the ice for some thoughts about their history and the upcoming games. Faze, FILADELPHIA, now Frölunda HC, in the finals last season. How did it feel to win the  ECL in just your second Elite season? ”It felt awesome, we have an amazing group of players and we all knew that we were capable of sweeping them. And we really did perform to our best in that series. To win my first Elite championship was something special, I couldn’t imagine sitting there when I started playing NHL back in NHL 20. And to do it with this group of guys couldn’t have been better”, the hREDS netminder Filip @Faze91- Azri noted. Cappe, in the last ECL Finals your team took a beating. What's your mindset going into the rematch and by that, the ECL '22 Winter Championship?  ”We know what we can do and we have shown that against hREDS in the last five games we’ve played against each other in the FCL and ECL”, Frölunda goalie Casper @ICappeI Lundgren briefly comments, and seems very focused on the task ahead.  You have faced each other in the finals several times in the last year, does this matchup have any special significance? @Faze91-:  ”It’s for sure always fun to play these big games, and Frölunda in the Finals is something special. I'm sure it's gonna be an exciting series to watch.” @ICappeI: “It's definitely special to play in the Finals!! It's always fun to test yourself against the best out there and I believe hREDS is right there with us.” What is your greatest strength as a goalie, and have you changed your play style from NHL21? @Faze91-: ”Reading the play for sure, reading the opposition's plays and always being one step ahead. That’s my biggest strength. Of course I've changed my game style a bit, but that’s something I want to keep for myself.” @ICappeI: ”Playing goalie in NHL 22 is quite different from what it used to be. So much random stuff is happening so it can be quite frustrating to play between the pipes. I’m not a big fan of the gameplay right now and kind of miss NHL 19-21. However, I enjoy playing this game because of my teammates, I love being able to compete with such a great group of people.” How will the series end and which things will show up in the deciding matches? @Faze91-: ”4-0 to us, we are a really strong team and we have been feeling it the whole season. If we play our best I feel like there is no team that can challenge us. I think the deciding factors will be the focus and the form coming into the games, which team will score the first goals and have the routine to close down the games.” @ICappeI: ”The first games will be huge in this series as we’ve seen in the past two ECL Elite Finals. Paul @PleeMaker Arontie has looked amazing recently so I’m excited to see what he can do in the matchup against Tuukka @Tuukka.R Röpelinen (KingOfApes)! I think we’ll win it 4-2.” Tune in for the ECL '22 Winter Elite Finals this weekend! The broadcast will start at 19:30 CET on both Friday and Thursday. You'll find us at www.twitch.tv/SportsGamerGG with Cody "Tougie" Tougas and Paul "Cyn" Anderson in the booth to call the action!

After a couple of months we have finally arrived at terminus of the Winter season - only two teams remain. This season has again offered us some big surprises and exciting moments. It's been a grind throughout, but we're now seeing the new ECL El Clasico get a Finals trilogy, when hREDS and Frölunda HC will clash for the third time in a row. We will see what the future holds for us, but it's also interesting that the winner of this series will be the first one to claim their ticket to the June Grand Finals. If one team manages to win both the ECL Winter and Spring seasons, they will automatically be crowned the Grand Champions. Tune in for the ECL '22 Winter Elite Finals this weekend! The broadcast will start at 19:30 CET on both Friday and Thursday. You'll find us at www.twitch.tv/SportsGamerGG with Cody "Tougie" Tougas and Paul "Cyn" Anderson in the booth to call the action! hREDS (1) vs Frölunda HC (3) TOP SCORER Niklas @NikkeDangles Tukiainen 9 GP, 7+10=17 vs Paul @PleeMaker Arontie 9 GP, 7+8=15 GOALTENDER Filip @Faze91- Azri 9 GP, 8W, 80,28 SV%, 1.56 GAA, 2 SO vs Casper @ICappeI Lundgren 9 GP, 8W, 83,33 SV%, 1.22 GAA, 1 SO REGULAR SEASON RECORD 25-2-3 vs 22-5-3 REGULAR SEASON SERIES 0-1, 4-5OT After winning the regular season and dominating all player statistics, the red beasts are looking for their second consecutive ECL Elite title, this time not YET crowning them the European Champions, but earning them a spot in the Grand Finals, awaiting in June. In the semifinals, hREDS were able to stop Granit Gamings dream for their first final spot in the highest league of Europe by besting the Swedish group 4-1. Like the whole season also in those games every guy from red and black jerseys had their shining moments and proved that there are no missing pieces to the puzzle that is this team. hREDS made their Elite debut in ECL 10, and since then, every season they have managed to get into the semifinals. This season, hREDS got to start with the same lineup as last season. The main changes they made after the ECL 11 season were on the left side where they got Aaro @xDoumi Ruuhinen and Vili @Vilupoika Häkkinen to boost their squad. Especially the latter one of these two has been able to find a new level to his game in hREDS. There's also some history of player movement betwee the two finalist teams, as Teemu @Teemuyy Polttila played for hREDS in ECL 10 and 11, but left for Frölunda HC after his tenure there. Last season, he made his debut in the new jersey and he's had time to make both good and bad memories in this squad - first losing to his old team in the ECL 12 Finals, after which they made up for that with a FCL 2021 Finals win in the rematch. This regular season was the most difficult in a long time - if not ever - for Frölunda HC. Despite that, the multiple European champion was able to secure the third seed and go into the playoffs just behind SAWO ESPORTS and their final rivals hREDS. By the numbers, it looks like the playoffs have been a cakewalk for Frölunda, but especially the sweep against HAVU Gaming looked like a way tighter series than the result would suggest. Their semifinals opponent Färjestad BK was familiar for the Indians because it was actually the third time in four seasons those teams went head-to-head in the semifinals. The record from those games is a miserable story for Färjestad BK as Frölunda has a 12-2 stranglehold on that rivalry series. Frölunda has been a dynasty over the last few years and there's no denying that. Since ECL 7, they have three ECL titles and they've appeared in the finals every season. However, even this group hasn't been able to get two championships in a row. Their offensive trio has stuck together throughout the years, which definitely gives them the edge of superior chemistry, and it's easier to trust the guy next to you when having all that experience together. Defensively, they've seen some changes like mentioned earlier, but Aleksi @loimmu Loimuvirta has been a lock down low since ECL 7, with one season of absence in ECL 8. @loimmu centerman Joonas @PatzlafPaatiala also have some memories together with a few hREDS players way back from the days with Carlsberg HC. All ECL seasons combined, Frölunda and hREDS have clashed eight times in the regular season. The record is 6-2 in favor of Frölunda including this seasons wins in both games in the season series. A strange coincidence between these two is that both ECL Finals and the FCL finals have ended in a sweep in either way. Every one of these series have been expected to be really tight but it seems that in every series the first win has started a snowball effect and the winner has gained the momentum. We will see which way this series starts to go but maybe now it's time for us to see a longer series than four games. Two very skilled teams are going up against each other again but right now it feels like hREDS has a slight advantage on their side. Prediction: hREDS will become the first team to win back-to-back ECL Elite champion titles with a 4-2 series win. Read more: ECL '22 Winter Elite Finals: "You haven't seen the best of us yet" - with Paul @PleeMaker Arontie from Frölunda HC Read more: ECL '22 Winter Elite Finals: "We have some aces up our sleeves" - with Tuukka @Tuukka.R Röpelinen (KingOfApes_) from hREDS

We suppose it's safe to say no one has been able to escape the harsh reality we live in today, a world at war and very divided, truly difficult times. Our platform has always aimed to serve as a place to escape all that, and to focus on the games we all love together. However, today the need has come to take a stand and do what we can to help our brothers and sisters in need. Due to the hostile actions of the Russian government towards Ukraine and their people, and the entire Western world, SportsGamer has decided to hold all operations around the RCL effective immediately. This entails that the RCL 9 season will be terminated. In addition, SportsGamer has decided to prohibit the participation of Russian-owned organizations in upcoming tournaments and leagues indefinitely. The ban affects organizations, meaning that Russian players and their private created teams will be able to participate, but cannot be affiliated to a Russian-owned organization. Simultaneously, we must recognize that this is not a war of the Russian people, but its government. We appreciate and support all of our players of all nationalities and hope to see you join us in our continued journey. Let's come together wishing for peace.   If you're looking to help Ukraine, there are many organizations collecting donations right now. Here is one for Unicef: https://help.unicef.org/ukraine-emergency

SportsGamers, After a long ECL '22 Winter Elite season, this weekend we'll arrive at the culmination point, which will go down between the #1 seed hREDS and the #3 seed Frölunda HC. Does that ring any bells? Yes, we've got a rematch of the ECL 12 Elite and FCL 2021 Finals - the new ECL Elite El Clásico if you will. The Finals will be played over the course of two days (Friday 4.3 & Saturday 5.3) and the entirety of it will be broadcasted at www.twitch.tv/SportsGamerGG. Action starts at 19:30 CET on both days and in the booth you'll see Cody @Tougie24 Tougas and Paul @Cyn Anderson getting the crowd hyped up for the battles. We had a short chat with Frölunda HC winger Paul @PleeMaker Arontie ahead of the big games this weekend: We'll see a rematch of the ECL 12 Finals this weekend and you guys had an unusually fluctuant regular season. Has there been any certain factor that you feel has weakened you guys? We've been playing three tournaments simultaneously, often having six gamedays a week. That's lead to simply not getting the best our of ourselves every night. Also, in this iteration of the game, we haven't clicked like clockwork just yet, so we'll be looking to get back to that. How was the team spirit when going in the playoffs, and how are you preparing for the Finals? Our spirit has been the same as usual, very high. It was nice to get HAVU Gaming as our first round opponents, where we were really able to make a statement. We'll prepare for the finals quite normally, a few games Thursday night to get the feeling for the finals. Has your game reached its highest level yet, or can we expect you guys to step it up this weekend? I feel like you haven't seen the best of us yet this season. Our routine level has been enough for the wins, for the finals we'll need to kick things up a notch. How will the series end, and why? If I'd have to guess, I'd say it's going to be a sweep in either direction as that's been the trend. We'll take it 4-0. The form of the day and a little bit of luck will decide. Stay tuned for our extensive ECL '22 Winter Elite Finals Preview, dropping Thursday evening!