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The ECL '22 Winter Elite season came to a worthy conclusion when hREDS won their second consecutive ECL Elite (season) Championship and with that, made history being the first back to back champion. We got to talk about their journey with team captain Perttu @Beniittto Kemppainen, ECL '22 Winter defender of the season Aaro @xDoumi Ruuhinen and Niklas @NikkeDangles Tukiainen, the team's young star player. Simply put, over the past two seasons not a single team has been able to stop hREDS. The team also exudes a very good team spirit and they play as a team with great individuals. These are some of the factors that make the redshirts as strong as they are at the moment. The question is, what made hREDS such a great team and why can't no one seem to stop them right now?  @xDoumi: ”We've put the hours into the game, carefully thinking of how we could improve or what we could do differently. I can't think of many Elite players that are able to perform at their best level throughout the season, but for us even if that would happen, we're fine since there's a top player patching up at every position.” @Beniittto: ”All of us are really skilled and versatile, chemistry is great on and off the field, we can discuss how to play as a team or individuals very openly in the best interests of the team. We're very confident and we're used to playing under pressure.” @NikkeDangles: ”Every player has that little extra that makes the player beside them even better. Also, our chemistry is definitely top notch - that's what makes us the almost perfect team.” Before the start of the Winter season, hREDS was definitely considered one of the biggest favorites and the pressure for success was mounting. What makes these two consecutive championships so special is not only the historical feat, but also the stranglehold they've now taken on the rivalry series against Frölunda HC. Looking at your game, it's obvious that you've put a lot of hours into perfecting the craft, what is the secret to achieving such a clinical level? And how do you discuss improvements within the squad? @xDoumi: ”After the release of the new NHL, we try to reinvent ourselves as much as possible with the offseason so that when the season starts, our game is as ready as possible and adjusted to the meta. For example we talk a lot about minimising mistakes or understanding what's wrong in certain situations and making sure such things won't happen again in the future. If you make the same mistakes over and over in practice, you'll continue doing that in competitive games too. Small mistakes often decide big games. Often we'll try to play a warmup match before any competitive game and otherwise practice consistently at least on four days a week. Break from the game are also good to unwind a bit." @Beniittto: ”What makes our game look great is individual skill and chemistry, the clinical approach is based very much on those same things. The exact number of hours is difficult to say, but in fact every time you we play, we always try something new, such as breakouts, passing combinations, diversions and different shots from different places.” @NikkeDangles: ”We try to play a few times, if not every day, every week. We have a clear game plan and we've only refined it for the better with time. We usually focus a lot on team defense and how we could be more dangerous in the offensive end.” Road to the back-to-back ECL Elite Championship hREDS was superior in the ECL '22 Winter regular season and held first place almost continuously from start to finish. The top spot in the regular season guaranteed the team a very good starting point for the playoffs. In the quarterfinals, the redshirts faced #8 seed GOONS, and although the playoff series ended in a 4-0 sweep, the result doesn't always say everything about the matches. In fact, during the playoff series, three matches were decided only after overtime, so the playoff series against GOONS was very even overall. If the Quarterfinals were a tight ordeal, then that was also the case in the Semifinals, even more so. This is when the redshirts faced the Swedish side Granit Gaming. Perhaps evident of how tough the series were is the fact that almost all games were decided by a one goal margin. In the end, the Semifinal series ended with a 4-1 win for hREDS and as expected, they earned a Finals spot in the ECL '22 Winter season. The matches against GOONS and Granit were really even but your were able to turn those series in your favor. What impact did these GOONS and Granit series have for the continuation of your playoff run? @xDoumi: ”Experience, routine, skill, etc. Both GOONS and Granit went into the past season with a couple of player changes. We have had the same composition for some time now, and it definitely matters. We know where Vili  @Vilupoika Häkkinen is able to score from at will, we know that @Beniittto has his silky mitts when he needs to, we know that @NikkeDangles is the best passer in the game, it is known that Tuukka  @Tuukka.R(KingofApes) Röpelinen has the poke down to a tee, and finally it is known that Filip @Faze91- Azri can make gamesavers when the team most needs them.” @Beniittto: ”In this NHL, the games are more even than in the previous ones, but we managed to win the games with routine and experience. Winning the playoff series brings nothing special, other than the ability to see what was done well as a team and what was bad, and you can start to improve from there.” @NikkeDangles: ”All that matters is a win, so we didn't care that most of the games were held tight. I think we've got a bit of a mental edge on most teams and we're a really confident team. We know that we can win tight games even if there's the occasional setback." Let's get back to the moment before the finals. When hREDS started the season as the biggest front-runner, their confidence in success helped deal with the pressure. In practice, it can even be said that any other outcome but a championship would have been a disappointment to this team. Looking back at the past ECL Elite season, no other team held as high of a level as hREDS. These Finals were also a repeat of the two latest ECL Finals, where Frölunda and hREDS have clashed. Despite the tendency of several playoffs series to be over rather quick as of late, many people expected to see this one extend past the five games it did. hREDS definitely showed the way right from the very first matches in the Finals. At times, it even felt like Frölunda was going to get trampled under the heavy onslaught. Although the outcomes of the first Final games were very ugly from Frölunda's perspective, they still don't give a complete overview of the entirety of the matches, as the element of luck was heavily on the side of hREDS - although some might say that has to be earned. For the second day of the Finals, we saw a very calm Frölunda HC, arriving with confidence and frankly, nothing left to lose. They managed to grab one win and looked to be on a path towards their second one of the series until it all fell apart with a second to spare in game five. The decisive goal was scored by who else than hREDS captain @Beniittto - crowning the redshirts the first ever back-to-back ECL Champions.

SportsGamers, The sun is shining, and the snow is melting. As your traditional hockey seasons might be pushing towards the postseason, on the virtual side of things, we're just about to witness the Elite Finale tonight! We're very excited for what the games ahead will hold, but we're also turning our heads towards the ECL '22 Spring season and launching registrations for all divisions. For the ECL '22 Winter season, we brought in licenses to our lower divisions for the first time. We received huge support from the community and will continue with the same formula for the ECL '22 Spring season. We're always in the process of developing further, so all feedback will be welcomed with open arms. During the ECL '22 Winter season, you probably also noticed our rebrand, which brought a new name, a refreshed website, and some other added features. Most importantly, this allows for us to operate vertically across all sports games in the esports market. The community is certainly also interested to know on which console the ECL Spring will be played? We’ve decided that the ECL '22 Spring season will be played on the PlayStation 4 version and we’ll move to the PlayStation 5 version in the next ECL. However, this does not exclude playing other tournaments on the PlayStation 5 version already in the summer. Without further ado, let's go into it. The ECL is the pinnacle of European NHL esports - a league where all the best European NHL gamers create teams and compete against each other in the game mode EASHL (6v6) for the title of Best EASHL Team in Europe. The league currently features five divisions, so action is guaranteed for everyone regardless of skill level and experience! Basic information/requirements of ECL: Regional restrictions: ECL is a European tournament format, however, we do not necessarily exclude North American or Russian players. A European server will always be used. In case of severe connection issues, we reserve the right to exclude teams or players. Russian-owned organization's participation is currently prohibited 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. 6v6 tournament: ECL is played 6 vs. 6 only, using the EASHL Challenge Club game mode in NHL 22. Individual requirements: Each player needs to have an account at NHLGamer.com and create their personal player card. Roster requirements: Teams in ECL Elite need to have at least 7 players to sign up. Teams in ECL Pro, ECL Lite, ECL Core and ECL Neo need to have at least 8 players to sign up. The roster cap is 14 players. ECL licenses: Teams in ECL Elite & ECL Pro will be require their respective ECL '22 Spring license in order to play. Optional licenses are available for the ECL Lite and Core levels. More details below. Rules: The ECL '22 Spring ruleset will follow the same foundation as in ECL '22 Winter season. Wildcard Battle: 5.-10.3. ⚠️ ECL Lite Qualifier: 5.-13.3. ⚠️ ECL Pro Qualifier: 5.-13.3. ⚠️ ECL Neo: 5.3.-1.4. ECL Core: 5.3.-1.4. ECL Lite: 5.-20.3. ECL Pro: 5.-20.3. ECL Elite: 5.-20.3. * Sign-ups will close 23:59 CET on the last day mentioned unless otherwise specified. Additionally, players qualifying for the Wildcard spot must be on the team roster by the time the sign-ups close. Below you'll find the condensed version of what's new this year in the ECL. For a longer look, please read our article about the new era of ECL. ECL Winter & Spring ECL seasons will no longer carry the same numerical distinctions next to them as before. Instead, NHLGamer will be hosting two annual ECL seasons: ECL Winter and ECL Spring. The combined prize pools for ECL Winter, ECL Spring and the ECL Grand Finals will be larger than anything seen before in NHL esports! We’ll be hosting an ECL Grand Final – with an additional prize pool – to crown the annual ECL Champion. This much-anticipated best-of-seven event will feature the ECL Elite teams who won ECL Winter and ECL Spring, respectively. Prize pools for ECL Pro, Lite and Core ECL Elite remains the pinnacle of virtual hockey gaming in Europe but as our community continues to grow and the competition becomes increasingly tougher, playing in ECL Pro, Lite and Core is more prestigious than ever before. We’ll be adding a license and prize pool for our second-tier division; ECL Pro – and voluntary licenses and prize pools for ECL Lite and Core. ECL Pro will feature a mandatory license fee and prize pool. All the money from the team licenses goes into the prize pool. The top sixteen (16) out of the divisions’ 32 teams will be awarded a share of the prize pool. ECL Lite and Core will feature a voluntary license fee and a prize pool for the teams who choose to acquire a license. The top 16 teams that choose to acquire a license in ECL Lite (64 teams) will be awarded a share of the prize pool. The top 32 teams that choose to acquire a license in ECL Core (128 teams) will be awarded a share of the prize pool. See more about licenses in our Licenses section. The divisions framework for the ECL '22 Spring will follow the same logic as for the previous season. We will have a total of five divisions with the following team allocation: Elite 16 teams, Pro 32 teams, Lite 64 teams, Core 128 teams and Neo 32+ teams. Please use the below links for more detailed info about each division and which teams are eligible to sign up: Wildcard Battle information (for ECL Lite and Pro Qualifiers) ECL Lite & Pro Qualifiers information ECL Neo Season Information ECL Core Season Information ECL Lite Season Information ECL Pro Season Information ECL Elite Season Information *If you're an existing team that wants to change names, simply sign up with the old name and contact support for the name change. If you're having issues with signing up overall, please contact support. Don't have a team yet? Team looking for additions to your roster? If you are a free agent looking to be picked up, please head over here. If you are representing a team looking for players, please head over here. Did your team sign with an organization that is represented in the game and needs in-game unlocks? Fill in this form. (Only if your organization has unlockables available in NHL 22) Social media Here's an update to the social media instructions. Our sponsors this season are Kouvolan Lakritsi, Wilhelm & St Hockey. Twitter: When posting tweets of your lineups, matchups, recaps, clips, articles - or any other content you might want to create - please make sure to tag the following accounts and hashtag: @SportsGamerGG #ECL22Spring #NHL22 #esports #kouvolanlakritsi #MukanaWilhelm Instagram: When posting on Instagram, please make sure to tag the following accounts and hashtag: @SportsGamerGG #ECL22Spring #NHL22 #esports #kouvolanlakritsi #MukanaWilhelm Note: It is super helpful and critical for us to succeed in getting our partners tagged, so they get the necessary mentions and interaction to validate their participation in the future. That being said, it is understandable that there may be circumstances due to your other partners where you are unable to tag competition etc. Your support is appreciated. As there are quite a few hashtags by now, especially from a Twitter perspective with limited characters, we recommend using at least #ECL22Winter in the text part of the tweet and leave the sponsor tags for the end. If you need to cut out tags, remove #esports and #NHL22. For Instagram this shouldn't be an issue. 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 post has been promoted to an article