ECL '22 Winter Elite Finals: "We have some aces up our sleeves"

It's that time again, the ECL Elite finals are here, and a long season sees it's end. But this time, we'll have no new European champion just yet, but one team will punch their ticket to the Grand Final in June. This season we saw new stars on the ascent, like Niklas @uhNikke Nieminen for SAWO ESPORTS, but in the finals, we have the new El Clásico and a rematch from the two latest Elite finals - hREDS and Frölunda HC will clash.

The Finals will be played over the course of two days (Friday 4.3 & Saturday 5.3) and the entirety of it will be broadcasted at www.twitch.tv/SportsGamerGG. Action starts at 19:30 CET on both days and in the booth you'll see Cody @Tougie24 Tougas and Paul @Cyn Anderson getting the crowd hyped up for the battles.

We reached out to hREDS defenseman and assistant captain Tuukka @Tuukka.R Röpelinen (KingOfApes_) for a few quick comments ahead of the finals:

Barring just a few losses, you dominated the regular season with relative ease, where does your clinical execution come from?

We've got top 2 players in Europe on every position, so that's definitely it. Also we've played together for a long time, which gives us an advantage and makes us even better.

How was the team spirit when going in the playoffs, and how have your preparations gone since the Finals spot was confirmed?

Our team spirit has always been really good, so no worries for the finals. Preparations have gone well and I'm confident we'll bee at our absolute best this weekend!

Is your game on your highest level yet, or is there something more we can expect?

I think we have a few new looks and some aces up our sleeves for the weekend that Frölunda won't be expecting. Otherwise we'll be trusting the process and doing what we do best.

How will the series end and why?

4-1 to us, because we have more variation in our gameplay and our game is more versatile. Those things will make a difference in a long series.

Good luck to both squads in the Finals! Make sure to keep your eyes peeled for a more extensive Finals preview dropping tonight!