The NHL GWC returns to play - regional competitions produced remotely

 NHLGamers,

With the NHL's return to play programme seemingly working great, we're getting closer by the minute to having hockey back in our lives. Besides the Stanley Cup Playoffs a spring tradition that's been dear to our gamer hearts has been the NHL GWC, which the NHL broke silence on today by announcing a continuation of the tournament. The 2020 NHL Gaming World Championship will resume and conclude with remotely produced regional final events. The Grand final has been cancelled in order to comply with social gathering and travel restrictions. However, this frees up a whole lot of prize pool money, which has been allocated towards the regional finals, where Regional Champions will now earn $10,000 USD whereas Runner-Ups will earn $2,500 USD. Other prizes have also been increased in amount.

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“We want to thank our players, partners (Great Clips, Honda, Navy Federal Credit Union and Scotiabank) and global gaming audience for their patience and understanding during this unprecedented time,” said Chris Golier, NHL Vice President of Business Development and Innovation. “Our Regional Finalists have looked forward to putting their skills to the test in the next round and we are committed to completing the Regional Finals and crowning three Regional Champions as among the top EA SPORTS NHL® 20 players in the World. We have learned through this pause that gaming has become central to hockey fans’ lives and we look forward to concluding a very competitive tournament and entertaining our fans.”

The regional finals will feature a total of twenty-four players - the top four players from each region on both PS4 and Xbox. The remaining competitors include 2019 World Champion Matthew "Top-Shelf-Cookie" Gutkoski, 2018 & 2019 GWC finalists John "Johnwaynee90" Casagranda and Matthew @YungGren Grenier to name a few.

A schedule for the regional finals will be released in the coming days. All of the events will be broadcast on the NHL's Twitch-channel, NBCSN (US), Sportsnet (CAN) and Viasat (EU) as well as various social platforms of the NHL and its global broadcast partners. Fan favorite, Emmy-nominated sports and esports commentator Arda Ocal returns together with YouTube sensation Andrew @Nasher Telfer to provide play-by-play and game analysis. NBC Sports reporter Corey Robinson is a newcomer in the team, he will help viewers get an inside look on things and get to know the competitors. Another returning aspect is The GWC Lobby, which is a pregame show dedicated to profiling competitors, reviewing team selections and breaking down player strategy. This show is hosted by gaming experts Cole "TacTix" Mogg and Cam "NoSleeves" Halbert.

 
Cole "TacTix" Mogg and Cam "NoSleeves" Halbert will host The GWC Lobby prior to regional final broadcasts.

Here are the remaining competitors in the NHL GWC:

🇪🇺  EU Regional Final (Xbox)
Paul @PleeMaker Arontie
Henrik @Eken45jr Eklund
Samuli @ssampee37 Mäntylä
Joonas @SUPERVIRTA Virta

🇪🇺  EU Regional Final (PS4)
Roni @MrNipsuli Kajan
Arttu @Artuzio Mustila
Juuso @Kemppane_ Kemppainen
Samu @Suppe19 Salmela

🇺🇸  US Regional Final (Xbox)
Eric "PureFishin" Fisher
Matthew "TSCCookie" Gutkoski
Josh @OFs Fuss
Josh "LAK1NGS23" Gonzalez

🇺🇸  US Regional Final (PS4)
David "JrPens91" Roebuck
Gage "Mekilu" Baker
Jonah "dirtyduster1" Pollack
John "Johnwaynee90" Casagranda

🇨🇦  CAN Regional Final (Xbox)
Carson "CoreyPerry1" Bellaire
Jonathan @Mxtayer Metayer
Harley "Sitful" Sitko
Chris @Odie O'Donnell

🇨🇦  CAN Regional Final (PS4)
Justin @Regs84 Reguly
Matthew @YungGren Grenier
Brett @desyd19 Deschene
Luke "Drewy_12" Drewitt