ECL '26: Winter - Elite | Finals Preview

After a brutal season of non-stop action, Europe's absolute top teams are ready for a showdown. These squads have clawed their way here through hell and back, with massive stakes beyond just hoisting the trophy. Four wins from immortality, but only one gets the crown. This finals banger deserves a rewind on their wild paths, a deep dive into the chaos ahead, plus our bold calls as always. Enough hype, let's roll into the preview and unpack how they got here.
 

Tohtorit

• Regular Season: 18-14-1-7 (63pts) 2nd in Elite Division
   
• Quarterfinal: 4-0 vs (7) KUUSAMO.gg
• 5-2 W, 3-4OTW, 3-2OTW, 2-0 W
   
• Semifinal: 4-2 vs (4) GOONS
• 1-5 L, 2-1 OTW, 0-1 W, 7-1 W, 0-3 W

Season Summary

Tohtorit has been a dominant team for the entire regular season, right there with HAVU Gaming. They were one of the top teams this season, and with HAVU out, Tohtorit takes their spot as the favourites to win. As for the regular season, they took it upon themselves to be the best defensive team in the league. Now they're in the finals and putting their defense to the test against a team that has fought their way through hell to be here. Tohtorit's season is coming down to a best-of-seven series; now is the time to put their best foot forward and take home the trophy.

In the quarterfinals, they put their defense to the test immediately against a skillful Kuusamo.gg team, with 7 goals conceded in four games, and a shutout, you could say they were successful. For any other team, yes, for Tohtorit, this was bang-average defense. With a sweep in the series, you always assume that the other team was dominated. For this series, the answer was yes and no, Kuusamo.gg challenged Tohtorit with two games going to overtime, but with great defense comes great results.

For the semifinals, Tohtorit managed to take out Goons in another dominant performance; it just seems there is no stopping this Tohtorit team. Goons took a surprising game 1 win by the score of 5-2, showing the scene that this Tohtorit team isn't invincible. One of the best offensive teams in Elite, Goons took Tohtorit by surprise and had a real shot to advance, but Tohtorit adapted quickly and won four straight after that, Goons scored twice in those four games, which highlights just how unpredictable the playoffs can be.

Now in the finals, Tohtorit will face vNexs, who faced off in the season opener, which Tohtorit managed to take full points, hopefully this finals series will be as tight of a series as that matchup, in which Tohtorit won both games by one goal. The playoffs are a different breed, and everybody who has ever played in the ECL playoffs at any level knows that it's just different. Now we get to see the best of the best faceoff in a thrilling battle for the ultimate prize. There is no higher prize in the ECL ladder than the Elite championship.

If Tohtorit want to avoid a loss in this series, they need to take vNexs seriously. They're brimming with confidence and are ready to fire on all cylinders heading into this series. With their defense, Tohtorit have every tool in their toolbox to tear the Swedes apart as the Finns did in the Olympics. @Stammer70 is still the favourite to be the starter for Finland in the upcoming games, and now he's going to show just how good he is.

Player to Watch

@Ojala16

His story has gone on for a while; he has found his best gear in the ECL this season, showing the entire ECL that he is one of the best talents in EU. Now in the finals, looking for his first championship, we'll get to see firsthand just how talented this winger really is.

Projected Starting Lineup

LW - @Ojala16- (9gp, 8 goals, 10 assists, 2GWG, 70 Giveaways)

C - @Patzlaf- (9gp, 11 goals, 49,5 faceoff %, 15 interceptions, 42,3 shooting %)

RW - @Harlowi- - (9gp, 6 goals, 21pts, 27 shots, 0GWG)

LD - @Kkarkass- (9gp, 4 assists, 2 goals, 6pts, 6 PIM, 20 hits)

RD - @FlyerKungen- (9gp, 2 goals, 7 assists, 9pts, 34 hits, 0 PIM)

G - @Stammer70- (9gp, 8 wins, 84,78 SV%, 3 shutouts)

vNexs

• Regular Season: 15-4-3-8 (56pts) 6th in Elite Division

• Quarterfinal: 4-3 vs (3) Mythix
• 1-0 L, 6-2 W, 8-1 W, 4-2 L, 2-1 W, 2-1 L, 4-2 W
   
• Semifinal: 4-3 vs (1) HAVU
• 5-0 W, 1-0 L, 0-1 L, 1-2 W, 1-0 W, 2-1 OTL, 6-1 W

Season Summary

vNexs, which was quite a refreshing sight to the ECL scene when they started their journey, have teams in all ECL divisions and try to implement a system in which they promote players from within, giving players familiar play styles within the organization and a gateway for people to gain easier entry to the different divisions. Their star-studded group of Swedes has had a great season so far. I mean, they're in the finals; that's a given, but considering many had them in their preseason projections missing the playoffs, you could say they're on a tear right now.

They had no easy task in the quarterfinals; their first opponent was reigning FCL champions Mythix, who were the clear favourites in this series, but vNexs showed that this was not the case. They took down Mythix in seven games and showed they lack no confidence this season. The almost full Swedish team has shown that game sevens are their speciality this season, so Tohtorit look out for this. The quarterfinals served as their show; they managed to show teams that their offense is one of the best in Elite, and the duo of @AntonLxnd & @Alpha borje are not ones to shy away from showing off their great individual talent.

Nobody expected vNexs to beat Mythix, let alone HAVU Gaming in the semifinals, but they came prepared, and HAVU came in with the assumption this was a walk on the beach? Lesson learned, don't underestimate your opponent. vNexs took this series in seven games, showing everyone once again that their talent is immense, they had done their homework and exposed the ECL veteran @Hansulinho in net, and really showing the true definition of the word "underdog".  Low scoring games, combined with a few high scoring wins they held HAVU to only 6 goals in 7 games, sounds strange when the series went to seven games, but HAVU won 2 games with the score 1-0 and got shutout in another 2 games, this isn't quite what everybody expected from the number one seed, this shows how dominant @FINSeRe can be when he wants to, still one of the most accomplished players in EU and gets disrespected by a big part of the community is outrageous.

Being in the finals, vNexs has the opportunity to show that not even the best defense in ECL can stop them, the showdown of best offense vs best defense is always great to see. They lost twice to Tohtorit in the regular season and have everything to play for now. Tohtorit have been great at stopping the best of wingers, but @FlyerKungen & @Kkarkass will have their hands full with the Swedish trio in offense. If the Swedish giants can now keep their production high and rely on their great goaltending, they will just see themselves in a similar situation as before in the quarterfinals and semifinals, with a real shot at winning.

If vNexs can keep these games high scoring, and keep Tohtorit on their toes and behind most games, they will be in the driver's seat this series, but if the games are low-scoring the roles will be reversed. Scoring first will be of utmost importance in this series. It's still shown with statistics that the team that scores first has the better chance to win in the end, and when it comes to eHockey, no exceptions. 

Interview with RW @Alpha borje

We caught up with @Alpha borje before the series, and he answered a few questions.

HF - "What has been the main reason for your success this season?"

AB - "The main reason for our success is the teamwork and good communication & the grind all season, I would say."

HF - "Who has been the leader within your team, and what has he done to stand out?"

AB- "Our leaders has been @pappeen-, and @antoniomannen004 who have been in the scene a long time and know what it takes! They help us stay calm and focused throughout the whole games! And clear in the communication."

HF - "Your rise from the Pro division into the Elite finals is quite something. What advice could you give to the new players trying to reach the same milestones as you?"

AB - "My advice would be to stay patient and keep working hard. Improvement takes time! And put in the grind! Listen to the feedback!

HF - "And lastly, what do you need to do to take home the championship trophy next week?"

AB - "We need to stay focused and calm the whole games, be disciplined, create chances from their mistakes, and dare to play what we do best, and last but not least have a good vibe in the party chat!"

Player to Watch

@dippen04

Has found his form with vNexs, one of the best goalscoring centers in the Elite division, will now faceoff against another great center in @Patzlaf. Now he has the chance to cement himself as a top 3 center in the highest division.

Projected Starting Lineup

LW - @AntonLxnd - (14gp, 15 goals, 11 assists, 1GWG, 110 Giveaways)

C - @dippen04 - (14gp, 16 goals, 12 assists 50,4 faceoff %, 32 takeaways, 35,6 shooting %, 6GWG)

RW - @Alpha borje - (14gp, 7 goals, 19pts, 43 shots, 109 hits)

LD - @pappeen- - (14gp, 19 assists, 0 goals, 19pts, 0 PIM, 38 hits)

RD - @antoniomannen004 - (14gp, 0 goals, 9 assists, 9pts, 63 hits, 0 PIM, 6 shots)

G - @FINSeRe - (14gp, 8 wins, 87,9 SV%, 2 shutouts, 1.36GAA)

Watch the Finals

Watch the Finals live on twitch.tv/ReactioMedia, with commentary by our very own @Tougie24

Wednesday, February 18th, 20:45 CET - Games 1-2

Thursday, February 19th, 20:15 CET - Games 4-7