ECL '22 Winter - Qualifiers Info

NHLGamers,

Ahead of the first ever ECL Winter for the '22 season, we have some qualifying ahead of us and with that, let's get right to it with the info to follow below:

Firstly, ECL '22 Winter Pro and Lite Qualifiers will start officially on Monday, December 13th.

The Qualifiers will be completed at an intensive pace, and therefore it is advisable for teams participating in the Qualifiers not to attend our ECL Warmup playoffs. Here are the schedules for the respective Qualifiers (all dates in December):

NOTE! The games of Monday 13th will be moved to Thursday 16th due to issues caused by the newest EA Sports NHL tuner.

• Pro Qualifiers:
  • Round 1: Monday 13th, Tuesday 14th, Wednesday 15th, Thursday 16th
  • Round 2: Sunday 19th, Monday 20th, Tuesday 21st
  • BO5 series (where needed): Wednesday 22nd
• Lite Qualifiers:
  • Round 1: Monday 13th, Tuesday 14th, Wednesday 15th, Thursday 16th
  • BO5 series (where needed): Sunday 19th, Monday 20th, Tuesday 21st, Wednesday 22nd

In our Lite & Pro Qualifier registartions article, we stated the following logic as a basis of filling potential open spots in divisions and Qualifiers:

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• Teams will not be promoted directly and all open spots will be filled through qualifiers (excluding automatically relegated/promoted teams). If there happens to be more open spots than anticipated (e.g. from teams disbanding which would have been invited to play in the qualifier) spots are filled as follows:
  • Pro Qualifiers
    • Pro relegated teams
    • Lite #10-16
    • Wildcard teams #5-8
    • Lite #17-32
    • Core #5-8 
  • Lite Qualifiers
    • Lite relegated teams
    • Core #13-16
    • Wildcard teams #9-12
    • Core #17-32

Based on that logic, to fill the available spots after sign-ups, the following ECL 12 Lite teams have gained the right to participate in the Pro Qualifier:

• Spirit
• AfroDunk
• Baby Goons

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 ECL Pro Qualifier Teams

1. Powerhouse HC
2. Södertälje SK
3. Hokurit
4. Project X
5. GIFU Hockey
6. Sjukstugan
7. RCTIC
8. PENTA
9. Golden Nights
10. EHC TATNEFT AK BARS (METALLURG MAGNITOGORSK)
11. Resurrection
12. Stone Age
13. Tohtorit
14. Spirit
15. AfroDunk
16. Baby Goons
17. Nemesis
18. Vaxjo Lakers
19. Fiasko
20. WannaCry

Due to us having a total of seven Pro Wildcard applicants fulfilling the requirements for a Pro Qualifier Wildcard spot, we made the decision to allow these teams play a pre-qualifier determining which teams will get the four Pro Qualifier spots. The teams not entered into the Pro Qualifier will be entered into the Wildcard spots in the Lite Qualifier.

Below are the Wildcard teams:

• Alliance HT
• Bastu
• Fiasko
• Nemesis
• Prima eSport
• Vaxjo Lakers
• WannaCry

After sign-ups closed and the number of available spots was determined, none of the ECL 12 Lite relegated teams were interested in participating, due to that the following ECL 12 Core teams have gained the right to participate in the Lite Qualifier. 

• Its a nice city
• Virtuoso
• Mora IK esport
• Including Me
• Kymmenelta baariin
• New Jersey
• Blessed Suedis

 Lite Qualifier teams:

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 ECL Lite Qualifier Teams

1. Arkham Asylum
2. Pasilan SKA
3. Tadpole
4. Darkwing Ducks (Jokers Hockey)
5. Lemmenvelhot
6. BonusAmbers
7. PunaKala
8. Toxicity (Syndrome)
9. TEAM MODO
10. Helter Skelter
11. Dynamo Dragons
12. HC SHH
13. Hunters (Klassikko)
14. Its a nice city
15. Virtuoso
16. Mora IK esport
17. Including Me
18. Kymmenelta baariin
19. New Jersey
20. Blessed Suedis
21. Prima eSport
22. Alliance HT
23. Bastu
24. SEVERSTAL CHEREPOVETS

Teams that applied and are eligible for an ECL '22 Winter Lite Wildcard spot:

• SEVERSTAL CHEREPOVETS
   

The Lite Qualifier teams will be played in two stages, here is a breakdown of the structure:

1. Four groups, six teams - the Top 2 out of each group will gain direct promotion to Lite, the Mid 2 will advance to stage 2 and the Bottom 2 will play in Core.
2. The remaining eight teams will clash for best-of-five series to determine the who will gain spots in the Lite division. 

We wish all participating good luck in the Qualifiers, play hard, play fair and most importantly have fun!