NHLGamers,
First round action in the FCL was short but sweet! The games continue in quick succession as we are closing in on the grand final at Assembly Summer 2019.
The quarterfinal round of playoffs is to be completed and reported by end-of-day Wednesday July 24th. Playoffs are played best-of-3 - meaning two wins takes you to the next round.
FILADELPHIA (#1) vs GHETTO FIREBIRDS (#11) 
The reigning champion kicked off their FCL campaign by a first round matchup against Invictus, in which they showed no signs of rust or struggle to get going. Although Invictus put up a good fight in game 2 by taking it to double overtime, FILA were in the drivers seat all along. That is exactly what we are expecting of this series. The Firebirds have already played a sensational tournament by making it this far and have a chance of extending their streak by upsetting a giant in this series. They are heavy underdogs and have nothing to lose going into these games.
The games will be played on Wednesday, 24th of July at 21 CEST.
SOPPAJENGI (#2) vs Symphony (#8) 
I'll bet you most people hadn't even heard of SOPPAJENGI prior to the FCL. Their tournament so far has been a fairytale for them as they had an incredible road paved for them, starting with splitting points in their very first group stage matchup against HAVU Gaming. SOPPAJENGI is a wildcard and is by no means to be counted out of the top 4 contention. Although being one of the more established top-tier teams, Symphony only came in 3rd in their group 3. Swedish import goaltender @ICappeI paired with their overwhelming offensive firepower will be the tools they need in order to make a second consecutive final event appearance.
According to current information, the games will be played on Wednesday 24th of July, time TBA.
Northern Ascendancy (#3) vs Butterfly Effect (#7) 
Northern Ascendancy are sporting a somewhat different lineup than usual, as they are now trying to invade Finnish soil and therefore forced to comply with FCL rules. The teams new recruits are no slouches, as they've brought in veterans @Aze and @Nampa77 together with goalie @Supreex, who we're used to seeing between the posts for Rusty Blades in the past. Butterfly Effect are a younger team who made a fast rise to the top and have been steadily improving in the recent tournaments. Their lineup is stacked with talent. Don't be surprised if they manage to take the series.
It looks like the games will be played on Tuesday, 23rd of July at 20 CEST.
HAVU Gaming (#4) vs Almost Famous (#5) 
HAVU dropped a few positions due to surprising group stage losses but still managed to climb to a #4 spot overall. Despite not having an undefeated record this time around, they are as big of favourites as ever to take the trophy home. Almost Famous is going into the series with a rather heavy underdog status. The team has never beaten HAVU in a competitive setting and needs to do that twice in the coming days. To quote NHLGamer insider @vSilenttio: "aF good luck :D"
Currently it looks like the series will be played today, Monday 22nd of July at 22:00 CEST.
Stay tuned for possible broadcast announcements!
Recommended Comments
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.