ECL '22 Winter Pro: Season Recap - JYP Redemption Tour

Another ECL Pro season is now finished and what a season it was. Two top teams managed to earn their places in the Elite division for the Spring season. On behalf of SportsGamer and the community I want to congratulate JYP Jyväskylä and Stargazing for their successful seasons and wish them good luck among the European top 16.

Regular season

At the beginning of the season we had some clear favorites and playoff candidates in both groups. Especially JYP Jyväskylä, Reality Check, GHETTO FIREBIRDS and VISU Gaming were named as favorites in both groups and most of them were very hard to beat in the regular season. Teams like Dynastia, RCTIC, Hanaa HC and Renascor were expected to be stronger after some great offseason signings and that turned out to be a correct prediction as all of these teams made their way to the playoffs. A couple of the favorite teams started their seasons weaker than expected and they had big troubles against some teams on occasion. At the end of the regular season we saw some really tight battles for the final playoff spots.

Perhaps the biggest surprises of this ECL Pro regular season was that VISU Gaming and Växjö Lakers didn’t make their way to the playoffs. VISU Gaming played in the finals of the Elite Qualifiers before the season started. Somehow they just didn’t get their game going in the regular season, but they managed to keep their spot in the Pro division eventually. Växjö had a strong team with all the Elite experience, but alike VISU Gaming they didn't get their game going in time to make the playoffs. Also I would add Pata Hellalla to this list, they have played in the top two divisions for so long now but at this time they didn't have a chance to keep their spot. 

Regular season All Star lineup

@Ojala16 (Tohtorit) - @Virusactive (Renascor) - @Valluxet (Renascor)

@MCH_98 (Hokurit) - @xXPsykoSkillsXx (Deadly Phantoms)

@Jeresti (GHETTO FIREBIRDS)

Playoffs

In the first round we saw some really tight series including one that went all the way to game seven. With only one series ending in a sweep, we can really say that all of these teams belonged in the playoffs.

In the quarterfinals we saw two matchups going all the way to a game seven and both clear favorites were on the brink of elimination, but both Reality Check and JYP Jyväskylä managed to come away with the win in the end.

The semifinals were a joy to watch, both series extending to a game seven. It was a game of inches and with these small margins, a bounce or two the other way could've changed the outcome. JYP and Reality Check pushed through to the Finals.

In the finals we saw the two strongest teams in the Pro division. Both teams won their own group. Reality Check started their series with two complete blowout wins but after that JYP Jyväskylä showed how dominant of a team they can be at their best by winning four games straight and being crowned the Champions of ECL '22 Winter Pro, gaining their promotion to Elite back.

Quite interestingly, two teams that had a weaker regular season really came out of their shells in the playoffs. Those teams were RCTIC and Stargazing. Both teams lost the Semifinal in game seven and both of those teams can be proud of how good they played against two contender teams. Having tight defense and scoring on counter attacks kept their hopes alive all the series. Also having great goalies behind their tight defense almost led their way to the finals.
 

Playoffs All Star lineup

@Buantso (JYP) - @tbnantti (JYP) - @Pursuitti (Reality Check)

@vSilenttio (JYP) - @kim_johan (Reality Check)

@FINSeRe (Reality Check)

Elite Qualifiers

After their successful Pro campaign, Reality Check, RCTIC and Stargazing were allowed a great chance to climb their way to the Elite Division in the Elite Qualifiers against Conquer Gaming, HV71 and Northern Ascendancy respectively.

We saw tight battles between all these teams but unfortunately only one team from the Pro division managed to secure their spot in Elite for next season as Stargazing overcame Northern Ascendancy. Going from Core to Elite in two seasons is something that you could just dream about. Congratulations to Stargazing for achieving that huge step forward.

The most important individuals for their teams

There are so many players that can be put on this list but I named one from every playoff team. These players aren’t just scoring points, these players are helping their team to win every game and play to the best of their abilities in both ends of the ice. Also there are two goalies on this list that made an impact this season.  

Renascor: @Valluxet, Tohtorit: @Ojala16, Hanaa HC: @xLeikku, Reality Check: @vvlampela, JYP Jyväskylä: @Buantso, Sinister: @OsquuG, RCTIC: @Naikou88, Deadly Phantoms: @xXPsykoSkillsXx,Dynastia: @Pikkardz, Hokurit: @MCH_98, GHETTO FIREBIRDS: @Jeresti, Herlev Eagles: @TeikDaun, Stargazing: @Flopper71, Sulkavan Sudet: @Koppipelaaja, noRex Gaming: @Keuschemischand Gifu Hockey:  @N44TTI_16.

Finally, two teams really stood out above all others this season, capping their campaigns off with promotions. Let's go through the journeys to success for both JYP Jyväskylä and Stargazing.

JYP Jyväskylä 

Regular season record (23-5-2), #2 seed in the playoffs. 

In the regular season JYP dominated their opponents, but in the beginning of the season they also had some serious problems. After the first eight games JYP had a 4-2-2 record, which was a tremendous disappointment but after that they really got their game going and only lost three games after that hard start. 

Round 1

JYP Jyväskylä - Gifu Hockey 4-0

In the first round of the playoffs JYP faced #8 seed GIFU Hockey. JYP dominated every game even though they hardly even reached their best level. JYP allowed only one goal in four games and paved their way quite easily to the next round. 

Quarterfinals

JYP Jyväskylä - noRex Gaming 4-3

This series will be remembered as the tightest series in the Quarterfinals, the series went all the way to game seven. noRex Gaming put up a really good fight against JYP and looked very dangerous from time to time. noRex started the series with two wins, but after that JYP took the drivers seat in the series and cruised their way to the semifinals. 

Semifinals

JYP Jyväskylä - RCTIC 4-3

This incredibly tight series between these two strong teams went all the way to game seven. Even though this series went to game seven I feel like JYP had this series under control all the time. JYP won game seven 3-1 with a dominant performance and kept their dream alive going to the final against Reality Check. 

Finals

JYP Jyväskylä - Reality Check 4-2

Reality Check got a dream start to this series and won the first two games. After that JYP really shut things down defensively and started converting on their chances. JYP won four games in a row without allowing a single goal and honestly dominated every single game in this series even though Reality Check won game one and two. There weren't any underdogs in this series, clearly two best teams in the Pro division this season. 

Stargazing

Regular season record (20-9-1), #10 seed in the playoffs.

Stargazing started their regular season with four wins in a row and lost only three games in the first 17. After that they started to struggle a little bit, but still managed to make their way to the playoffs easily. 

Round 1

Stargazing - Sinister 4-2

In the first round of the playoffs Stargazing faced the very good defending team Sinister. All these games were tight in this series but at the end Stargazing managed to get their game going and kept their dream alive, closing the series in game six with a 3-2 win. 

Quarterfinals

Stargazing - Tohtorit 4-2

In the quarter finals we saw last seasons Core bronze game rematch between Stargazing and Tohtorit. Stargazing dominated the first night between these two teams and won the three first games in this series. After that night, Tohtorit started to bounce back, but a bit too late. Tohtorit won game four and five but after that Stargazing closed the series with a clear 3-0 win and got through to the semifinals. 

Semifinals

Stargazing - Reality Check 3-4

This series was a close one and went to game seven. After the first night Stargazing was leading the series 2-1 and also won game four. They had three chances to end the series but Reality Check somehow found their game in the right time and dominated games after that, getting away with the win in the end. Even though Stargazing lost this series they still had a chance to achieve that Elite spot through the relegation series. 

Elite Qualifiers

Stargazing - Northern Ascendancy 4-0

This series included three overtime games and every single time Stargazing left the ice as a winner. Stargazing won the first game 6-1 with a dominant performance but after that they started to struggle in the offensive zone. Having great goalies in both ends made this series even more interesting. Every single overtime game Stargazing ended with a power play goal, and every single time @Flopper71 scored the game winner. Stargazing are now playing in ECL Elite next season. A great performance all season long and a deserved promotion for them.
 

That's all for the ECL '22 Winter Pro season, remember that the signups for the spring season are now open and we're hoping to see you all there!