Hello NHLGamers,
This article will be a bit detail-heavy and if you're new to the ECL this article will most likely not answer all of your questions. The intention of this article is to bring clarity to the upcoming ECL 12 season; When will it be played? When can I sign up? Who is qualified for what level?
Due to the introduction of our new Core division and the restructuring of other divisions coming with that this season, we are now launching signups exceptionally early in order to ensure proper time for qualifiers that need to take place before the regular season starts. That is also why the signups will be concluded in two various groups, as instructed below:
-
Sign-up period 1: 23.3-7.4, applies to
- ECL Elite
- ECL Pro
- ECL Lite
- ECL Pro Qualifier
-
ECL Lite Qualifier
-
Sign-up period 2: 23.3-19.4, applies to
- ECL Core
- ECL Neo
When the signup window for ECL Elite, Pro, Lite and the Qualifiers has shut, we will be ready to start the preseason qualifiers in order to determine who will land at which level and to ensure the maximum competitiveness of each division. Here's a layout of the season schedule starting with the Qualifiers:
-
ECL Pro & ECL Lite Qualifiers 14.4-29.4
-
Regular Season Kick-Off Dates:
- ECL Neo 25.4
- ECL Core 2.5
- ECL Lite 9.5
- ECL Pro 20.5
-
ECL Elite 24.5
-
Playoff Dates:
- ECL Neo 30.5-4.7.
- ECL Core 6.6-16.7
- ECL Lite 13.6-18.7
- ECL Pro 28.6-28.7
-
ECL Elite 5.7-31.7.
All dates are preliminary, but according to current plans. We realize that a lot of the season will be played during the beautiful summer months, so we ask that teams take this into account and make sure there are enough players on the roster to complete the season successfully. There will be a midsummer break from June 24th to the 27th during which no games will be scheduled.
In ECL 12, Neo will continue acting as the entry level into competitive virtual hockey and with that, will continue at the pace of two gamedays each week. Our other divisions will run at the pace of three weekly gamedays with Elite also hosting three broadcasts weekly.
-
Gamedays:
-
ECL Neo
- Wednesday
- Sunday
-
ECL Core
- Tuesday
- Thursday
- Sunday
-
ECL Lite
- Tuesday
- Wednesday
- Sunday
-
ECL Pro
- Monday
- Tuesday
- Thursday
-
ECL Elite
- Monday
- Wednesday
- Thursday
-
ECL Neo
ECL 12 divisions framework:
ECL Elite: 16 teams
- Sign up: ECL Elite eligible teams
- Regular season: One group
-
Playoffs:
- 8 teams
- Best-of-7
-
Gamedays:
- Monday
- Wednesday
- Thursday
-
Prize pool: TBA
QuoteECL Elite Eligible Teams
- FILADELPHIA
- hREDS
- HAVU Gaming
- JYP Jyväskylä
- Färjestad BK
- Northern Ascendancy
- Vesa Pompa
- Roots Gaming
- SJ Gaming
- KOVA Esports
- SAWO ESPORTS
- YMCA Esports
- Enigma
- GOONS
- Tunnel Vision
- ZSC Esports
ECL Pro: 32 teams
-
Sign up: ECL Pro eligible teams
- Open spots will be decided based on Qualifiers
- Regular season: Two groups
-
Playoffs:
- 16 teams
- Best-of-7
-
Gamedays:
- Monday
- Tuesday
-
Thursday
QuoteECL Pro Eligible Teams
- Gotham Knights
- Team LEISURE
- Conquer Gaming
- Dark Horse
- Vaxjö Lakers
- Djurgarden Hockey
- Rookie Mistakes
- RCTIC
- Inter Iceland
- Herlev Eagles
- Pata Hellalla
- Blackdawgs
- Nordic Stars
- Frosty Kiekko-Vantaa
- Company of Geeks
- Sack Brothers
- Finnish Roosters
- RPEAT ESPORTS
- Leksands IF
- Kiekko-Espoo Esports
- Sulkavan Sudet
- HV71
- Exerceo
- Bjorkloven Esports
- Hotbox
- PRO QUALIFIER WINNER 1
- PRO QUALIFIER WINNER 2
- PRO QUALIFIER WINNER 3
- PRO QUALIFIER WINNER 4
- PRO QUALIFIER WINNER 5
- PRO QUALIFIER WINNER 6
- PRO QUALIFIER WINNER 7
ECL Lite: 64 teams
-
Sign up: ECL Lite eligible teams
- Open spots will be decided based on the Qualifiers
- Regular season: 4 Groups of 16 teams
-
Playoffs:
- 32 teams
- Best-of-7
-
Gamedays:
- Tuesday
- Wednesday
-
Sunday
QuoteECL Lite Eligible Teams
- ECDC Memmingen eSports
- Beast Hockey
- Nearbird Fighters
- Lekstugan HC
- Golden Nights
- Old Farts
- NOVA
- TeQuila SunRise
- Hokurit
- Northern Legacy eSports
- Birka Vikings
- Tic Tac Toes
- Syndrome
- Central Hockey Canucks
- Pahat Pommittajat
- TTK
- Powerhouse HC
- ASM Hockey
- Juggernauts
- Taavetin Starat
- AfroDunk
- Grilli Tulille
- Nordic Nosebleed
- PRO QUALIFIER LOSER 1
- PRO QUALIFIER LOSER 2
- PRO QUALIFIER LOSER 3
- PRO QUALIFIER LOSER 4
- PRO QUALIFIER LOSER 5
- PRO QUALIFIER LOSER 6
- PRO QUALIFIER LOSER 7
- PRO QUALIFIER LOSER 8
- PRO QUALIFIER LOSER 9
- PRO QUALIFIER LOSER 10
- PRO QUALIFIER LOSER 11
- PRO QUALIFIER LOSER 12
- PRO QUALIFIER LOSER 13
- LITE QUALIFIER WINNER 1
- LITE QUALIFIER WINNER 2
- LITE QUALIFIER WINNER 3
- LITE QUALIFIER WINNER 4
- LITE QUALIFIER WINNER 5
- LITE QUALIFIER WINNER 6
- LITE QUALIFIER WINNER 7
- LITE QUALIFIER WINNER 8
- LITE QUALIFIER WINNER 9
- LITE QUALIFIER WINNER 10
- LITE QUALIFIER WINNER 11
- LITE QUALIFIER WINNER 12
- LITE QUALIFIER WINNER 13
- LITE QUALIFIER WINNER 14
- LITE QUALIFIER WINNER 15
- LITE QUALIFIER WINNER 16
- LITE QUALIFIER WINNER 17
- LITE QUALIFIER WINNER 18
- LITE QUALIFIER WINNER 19
- LITE QUALIFIER WINNER 20
- LITE QUALIFIER WINNER 21
- LITE QUALIFIER WINNER 22
- LITE QUALIFIER WINNER 23
- LITE QUALIFIER WINNER 24
- LITE QUALIFIER WINNER 25
- LITE QUALIFIER WINNER 26
- LITE QUALIFIER WINNER 27
- LITE QUALIFIER WINNER 28
ECL Core: 128 teams
- Sign up: Without restrictions (but capped at 128)
- Regular season: 8 groups of 16
-
Playoffs:
- TBD
- Best-of-7
-
Gamedays:
- Tuesday
- Thursday
- Sunday
ECL Neo: 32+ teams
- Sign up: Without restrictions
- Regular season: TBD
-
Playoffs:
- TBD
- Best-of-5
-
Gamedays:
- Wednesday
- Sunday
Then, the information you've all been eagerly waiting for - here are the teams that will be eligible for the ECL 12 Pro and Lite Qualifiers:
Pro Qualifier teams:
QuoteECL Pro Qualifier Eligible Teams
- Grenoble BDL Esport
- Sjukstugan
- Ringette HC
- BoxinElite
- Oton Letkutemppu
- Sinister
- Södertälje SK
- Perttilan Kommandot
- Kaupallinen Yhteistyo
- Ducktales BK
- UNI Gaming
- TIKI TALK
- noRex Gaming
- We Kings
- Alliance HT
- Orebro eHockey
- WILDCARD 1
- WILDCARD 2
- WILDCARD 3
- WILDCARD 4
Lite Qualifier teams:
QuoteECL Lite Qualifier Eligible Teams
- Armada Hockey
- Hammarby Hockey
- Murohoki
- Almtuna ESPORT
- RoKi Esports
- Dynastia
- IK Oskarshamn
- Illumination
- Northern Falcons
- TuTo Esports
- Oulunsalo HT
- Rogle BK
- Remparts de Tours Esport
- Spirit
- MUKIMIEHET
- GIFU Hockey
- Calzone HC
- TAKAVUOSIEN TEKIJAT
- Lulea Hockey
- Handu Pumpulla
- Baby Goons
- Black Sharks
- Rusty Bulls
- PunaKala
- The Black Jacks
- Night Shift Hockey
- The Last Line
- Finnish Hockey Legends
- Hockey iNC
- StickLifters
- Northern Dust
- Clowns On Ice
- Thunder United
- EISFORCE HOCKEY
- Le Club Chat Noir
- Bare Knuckles Hockey
- Helter Skelter
- Vasteras IK
- Verket
- Lassen Lampaat
- No Name
- Burning Goats
- United Front
- TEAM MODO
- Virtuoso
- KohKae Esports
- Lutunilkat
- Sopranos
- Saucer Hockey
- VANHAT KYLJYKSET
- KSE Teutons
- Seinajoki Noms
- Pinaattikone
- Vemppaosasto
- UKnighted HC
- Herforder Ice Dragons
- 5th Line Heroes
- FILA DE LA HC
- SCB eSports
- Dynamo Dragons*
- WILDCARD 1
- WILDCARD 2
- WILDCARD 3
- WILDCARD 4
* League Administration has decided to disqualify ECL 11 Neo finalist Goosebumps as a result of multiple instances of rule circumvention. In addition to what we announced previously, the suspended captain was found guilty of participating in the Neo Finals.
Note about the ECL 12 Lite Qualification Tournament:
During the preparation of the new ECL 12 season, we noticed that the transition qualifier that we previously introduced for the ECL 12 Lite season had a small error. We failed to take the Wildcard teams into consideration in our math for the qualifiers which would have lead to an 68 team Lite division.
We will still use the previously announced system we mentioned in our structure article, but we will be making a small adjustment: The playoff line will be moved from above the 7th seed to above the 6th seed. This means that the top 5 teams out of each qualifying group has a chance to continue to play for the ECL Lite promotion, while the 6th-8th ranked teams in each group will solidify their spot in the Core division.
We apologize for the miscalculation while creating the new system, but we still believe that having a chance to fight for the ECL Lite promotion as a 5th ranked team in your individual group still gives you a very fair chance to make it.
Below you'll find an updated image of the ECL 12 Lite Qualification tournament. We have also updated the original news story with the corrected information.
Gauging interest for an ECL Warm-up tournament
Due to the combination of sign-ups, qualifiers and the staggered start of the different divisions, some teams might find themselves waiting for the season start longer than they would want. This is why we are gauging the interest towards a short ECL Warm-up tournament where teams get their chance to get some games in as they prepare for the upcoming season. If you think this would be something your team would be interested in - please leave a comment below!
Edit: Due to technical reasons, the sign-up start has been moved to March 23rd.
Edit 2: The order of the Pro Qualifier teams has been fixed for clarity on the seeding order, as per the original Division and Promotion Structure documentation.
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