ECL 11 Pro Playoffs: Semifinals Preview

NHLGamers, 

What a season it has been so far and now we are already heading to the semifinals! It seems that I was completely wrong with the predictions of the quarterfinals when it was predicted that the games were going to be extremely tight. All of these four great teams had impressive performances in the quarterfinals beating their opponents with clear margins and they showed us the reason why they belong in the top four of ECL 11 Pro. Now all that remains is to figure out which of these teams will go to the finals. As previously, we here at NHLGamer will take a look at the semifinalists and make our best try at predicting these series.

Here is the full schedule for the ECL 11 Pro Playoffs:

Lainaa

10.5.2 ECL Pro Playoff schedule
• Playoffs Round 1: 11.1 - 17.1 (BO7)
• Quarterfinals: 18.1 - 24.1 (BO7)
• Semifinals: 25.1 - 31.1 (BO7) Page 19 of 31
• Finals: 8.2 - 10.2 (BO7)

(1)  GOONS vs ZSC Esports  (8) 

GOONS continued their victory march by beating RCTIC with a clear 4-0 score. There isn’t really that much to say, this team is having a perfect season and no-one has been able to find out how to stop them. Left winger @pikkuroger is dominating the stats table with an unbelievable 40 points in just 8 games and his teammates @xKeskitalo and @kriketski17 are right behind him in the top 3. Something that can’t be overlooked is Kriketski‘s playing style. It’s really interesting that a player can score 34 points and have 82 hits in 8 playoff games. I think we’re closing in on the division record since the guy has now hit a total of 378 times in 38 games. While the GOONS attackers are smashing, scoring and stealing the spotlights up front, the teams defenders @Miika(MiiQu81-), @viba2008 and goalkeeper @SanteriAK47 (santerichristian) are keeping their own end clear and giving the team and especially the attacking trio a chance to play brave offensive hockey without the fear that every loose puck will turn into a dangerous counter-attack. As I have described in earlier previews, GOONS is really complete in every part of the game and it takes a lot of work to find out how to overcome them.

Could ZSC Esports be the team that will finally figure out the weak points of their opponent and put an end to GOONS perfect season? There is no doubt that the team should be mentally well prepared for this great challenge ahead. ZSC Esports took a really convincing victory over Djurgarden Hockey with a 4-0 score and sent a strong message to the whole league that they deserve to be among the teams competing for the Elite spot for next season. Team captain and center @Original-SnuS is the scoring leader of the team with 17 points in 10 games and the fact that every skater on ice has grabbed pretty much the same amount of points tells a lot about ZSC Esports' style of playing this game. Left winger @Alex28 (I__LX__I) is the best goal scorer for his team with 9 goals in 10 games while right winger @Freeman7187 has concentrated more on the creative side of the game. Defenders @Toneee9 and @Haldeem have played a good season at back and become a known threat on the blueline for their accurate slapshots. Even though we are talking about a great team effort it is the goalkeeper @afc_Tschitsch (eTschitsch) that has become one of the brightest stars for his team and of the whole playoffs as well. 90 saves in 10 games and an outstanding 84.11% save percentage tells the fact that GOONS will be facing the hottest keeper in the division at the moment.   

Prediction: ‘’Domination’’ is the word to describe GOONS' season and we are still searching for the team that is able to stop them. The individual talent, experience from high level and the way these things have formed up into a single unit have made GOONS unstoppable so far. ZSC Esports has a great task at hand but as the season has shown us this team has been able to improve their game throughout the competition and there is no doubt they will be well prepared for the semifinals as well. However this won’t be enough. It seems to be impossible to stop talented GOONS attackers from scoring and even the rock solid ZSC Esports defense won’t be able to shut the doors this time. ZSC Esports great season will end in the semifinals and GOONS will continue to the finals with a score of 4-1.        

(2)  Tunnel Vision vs Enigma  (6)

Tunnel Vision played a strong series against Rookie Mistakes in the quarterfinals and the team advanced to the semifinals with a comfortable 4-0 series win. After the first game that ended 1-0 in overtime for Tunnel Vision, Rookie Mistakes couldn’t keep up with the speed of their opponent. It was a great response to the difficulties in the first round of the playoffs against Nordic Stars as this time Tunnel Vision came out as clear winners. Left winger @BensaPoju (Jerskayy) continues his good form and is the top scorer for his team with 12 goals in 10 games. Right winger @Sokkelo__ is right behind him with 9 goals and 16 points in 10 games and center @Pikkardz is a couple of points behind his wingers. Defender @tombo_02 is currently leading the defenders points and assists table with 13 assists and 14 points in 10 games as the other defender @Frilander is clearly the more defensive of the two. Goalkeeper @Erholtzi has been the starting goalie with an 81.08% save percentage and a league leading 1.4 GAA. Tunnel Vision has been able to improve their game a lot since the start of the season and now they have to play at their maximum limits to beat another strong title favorite in the semifinals. 

Enigma was able to beat the strong Vaxjo Lakers with an impressive 4-1 series win in the quarterfinals. Even though the series ended clearly in Enigma’s favor, games were extremely tight and almost all of the games ended with a one goal margin. Vaxjo Lakers had a great season in the offensive zone and Enigma showed real maturity as they put forth a balanced display with strong defense and finished the series as deserving winners. Left winger and captain @Nieppii is the points leader for Enigma with 24 points in 9 games. Right behind him comes the center @laitineen64 with 21 points and right winger @sannteri has scored 17 points so far. Defenders @Makeaxl and @zNico aren’t enjoying a great playoffs in the points department but it’s clear that their job in this team is to defend while the goal scoring is left to the forwards and they have done their job with great success. In this series we’re also having a matchup between two great goalkeepers as Enigma keeper @Pirtsa89 is also having a great season with 81.69% in save percentage and a 1.44 GAA. Enigma was really close to being one of the Elite division teams this season and they are now certainly hungrier than ever for success and claiming what they feel is theirs.       

Prediction: In the end Tunnel Vision had a smooth run to the semifinals as they were able to play their own game at the best level. Tunnel Vision has been constantly improving this season and now they are facing a team with a pretty similar story. It’s obvious that both of these teams have a real shot to earn the promotion to Elite this season but also both teams want to do that with the Pro division title in their trophy case. In my opinion Enigma’s series against Vaxjo Lakers was really promising. The team knows what it takes to shut down even the most dangerous attacking opponents and this could give them an edge over Tunnel Vision. That's why I believe that the series will be tight but Enigma will advance to the finals with the score 2-4. 

That’s it! The predictions have been given. Now it’s time for the teams to prove them true or false. Every one of the teams are now one step closer reaching the finals and winning the competition. We at NHLGamer wish you enjoy the games whether you’re playing or watching them. Remember to respect the opponents and have fun! Please tell us your favorites in the comments section below and also other feedback that comes on your mind. Let the games begin!