Our first champion has been crowned in the ECL '25: Winter season with Blackbirds defeating SSK Esports 4-0 in the finals of the Pro Division. With their championship, they clinch their spot in Elite in the upcoming ECL '25: Spring season whereas SSK will have to fight for their spot in the qualifiers.
The core of the Blackbird squad goes all the way back to the ECL '22: Spring season but they really got going in the ECL '23: Spring Lite season with the xBOTS squad and earned a spot in Pro. After a very short-lived stint in the Pro Division, they got their original squad back together for another season in Lite. After that season they made some key changes in the lineup, acquiring their new goaltender and attacker who would end up being their top-scorer of their Championship season. Interestingly enough, prior to this season the team had never made it past the second round of the playoffs.
The Blackbirds squad started their season in the Pro Qualifiers, which they went through in the second stage. After an up-and-down regular season, they found themselves in fifth place in Group 1 heading into the playoffs. In the postseason we saw a total turnaround from the team as they crushed opponents one after another, losing only two games on their road to the Championship. We got to see some great offense from the team as each of their attackers scored over a goal per game in the playoffs as well as one of the best goalie performances to remember. Following the footsteps of the Almost Famous team from the ECL '24: Spring season, they're now the second team to win a Championship in the Pro Division straight after being promoted.
We got a chance to interview Blackbirds' captain and right winger Lauri @sopulii04 Enström after clinching the title, where he spoke about their season and the dominant playoff run.
Blackbirds' Road to the Championship:
Regular season: 13-5-5-7 (54pts) - 5th in Group 1
Round 1: 4-0 vs Aspyre
Quarterfinals: 4-1 vs Ismon Valinta
Semifinals: 4-1 vs NOVA
Finals: 4-0 vs SSK ESPORTS
Blackbirds' ECL '25: Winter - Pro Championship Roster
Forwards:
Lauri @sopulii04 Enström (C)
Olli @I0LL1 Sorsa (A)
Aatu @aomyo6195 Myöhänen
Defense:
Tommi @Kibeeex Lehtimäki
Onni @ONN123 Forss (A)
Goalies:
Jesse @Jeerik17 Leppä
Miika @miiixu96 Pulkkinen
Huge congratulations to the team and all the players! See you in Elite 
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