ECL 11 Lite Playoffs: Quarterfinals Preview

NHLGamers,

The ECL 11 Lite season has progressed to the quarterfinal stage and the stakes are higher than ever. There are four tremendously exciting matchups to be played and all of these teams are hungry for the chance to compete for possible promotion spots. the eight best teams are left to battle it out in best-of-seven series. Last round, several predictions failed but the most fascinating thing is that in a top tier league like the ECL, there are so many great players and teams that you can see many good teams losing despite a great campaign simply because their opponents are even better or just happen to have a great day. However, the lightning rarely strikes the same target twice so I won't necessarily flip the table entirely by predicting some of the phenomenons of the season ending in this round.

 Here is the full playoff schedule for ECL 11 Lite:

Lainaa

10.5.3 ECL Lite Playoff Schedule
• Playoffs Round 1: 28.12 - 3.1 (BO7)
• Playoffs Round 2: 4.1 - 10.1 (BO7)
• Playoffs Round 3: 11.1 - 17.1 (BO7)
• Quarterfinals: 18.1 - 24.1 (BO7)
• Semifinals: 25.1 - 31.1 (BO7)
• Finals: 4.2 - 7.2 (BO7)

(1)  Bjorkloven Esport vs Oton Letkutemppu  (51)

Oton Letkutemppu is no noubt one of the phenomenons of the ECL 11 Lite season. Last round, they knocked out 2nd seed ECDC Memmingen Esports so reaching this far is by no means an accident and there could be more to come. Bjorkloven Esports has been a dominant team so far and eliminated another surprise team - the Golden Nights - in quite impressive fashion. Oton Letkutemppu is now in for their biggest challenge yet but has all the means to continue their success story in these playoffs. Bjorkloven Esports is the favorite but like we have already seen, just about anything can happen in these games.

Prediction: Oton Letkutemppu has played their best so far but this time the challenge is likely to be a little too tough and this teams quite phenomenal playoff journey is likely to end. Bjorkloven Esports faces a great team in the series but advances with the score 4-2.

(6)  Ringette HC vs Hotbox   (42)

Similar to the cases of Oton Letkutemppu and Golden Nights this season, Hotbox has managed to pave their way into the top eight against all odd and are running an outstanding playoff campaign. Ringette HC is, however, their biggest challenge so far with a bunch of individual skill and the ability to move the puck quicker than most teams in the division. Hotbox must maintain their current level and boost it just a little bit. Maintaining the level might not be the problem, but boosting it enough to beat Ringette HC four times in this series looks like it could be too much even for this team.

Prediction: Hotbox puts forth great opposition but Ringette HC ends this campaign convincingly 4-1.

(8)  Exerceo vs BoxinElite  (24)

In this series an underdog playing at the limits of their potential faces a marginally but probably decisively stronger opponent. BoxinElite is also one of the highlights of this season and I greatly underestimated their potential in the last round against Lekstugan HC. Exerceo on the other hand is a slight favorite in this matchup but there is no reason that BoxinElite couldn't cause an upset and after reaching this far it is probably not too surprising anymore. This time, BoxinElite will not go underestimated and will at the very least go down swinging.

Prediction: BoxinElite beat favorite Lekstugan HC last round and might do that again. However, Exerceo knows that and sure are more ready than Lekstugan HC for what's to come. Exerceo disrupts BoxinElites run this time by winning 4-2.

(18)  Sjukstugan vs Grenoble BDL Esport  (22)

Grenoble BDL Esports eliminated Sinister in an exciting seven game series. Sjukstugan eliminated Old Farts quite unexpectedly in four straight games. They have the advantage of being able to prepare for longer but Grenoble BDL Esports sure have a massive boost from their recent game seven victory and they also must have a high confidence after defeating a strong Sinister team. I would not be surprised if we end up fighting our way to a game seven again in this series and Sjukstugan will definitely be the biggest test for Grenoble so far. Sjukstugan is their biggest test so far. This is arguably the series to watch this round.

Prediction: Game seven needed. Grenoble BDL Esports has the strength to battle through the series but Sjukstugan is too strong. Sjukstugan advances 4-3.

As always, play hard - have fun!